The Last Dragon (2004 film)

Last updated

The Last Dragon
TheLastDragon.PNG
Title Screen
Genre Fantasy, science fiction
Created byCharlie Foley
Developed byCharlie Foley
David McNab
Justin Hardy
Kevin Tao Mohs
Directed byJustin Hardy
Starring Paul Hilton
Katrine Bach
Aiden Woodward
Narrated by Ian Holm (English release)
Patrick Stewart (U.S. release)
Original languageEnglish
Production
Executive producers John Smithson
David McNab
Alice Keens-Soper
ProducerCeri Barnes
Running time99 mins
Original release
Network Channel 4
Animal Planet
Release1 December 2004 (2004-12-01)

The Last Dragon, known as Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real in the United States, and also known as Dragon's World in other countries, is a 2004 British docufiction made by Darlow Smithson Productions [1] for Channel Four and broadcast on both Channel Four and Animal Planet.

Contents

It posits a speculative evolution of dragons from the Cretaceous period up to the 15th century, and suppositions about what dragon life and behaviour might have been like if they had existed and evolved. It uses the premise that the ubiquity of dragons in world mythology suggests that dragons could have existed. They are depicted as a scientifically feasible species of reptile that could have evolved, somewhat similar to the depiction of dragons in the Dragonology series of books. The dragons featured in the show were designed by John Sibbick.

The programme switches between two stories. The first uses CGI to show the dragons in their natural habitat throughout history. The second shows the story of a modern-day scientist at a museum, Dr. Tanner, who believes in dragons. When the frozen remains of an unknown creature are discovered in the Carpathian Mountains, Tanner, and two colleagues from the museum, undertake the task of examining the specimen to try to save his reputation. Once there, they discover that the creature is a dragon. Tanner and his colleagues set about working out how it lived and died.

Plot summary

The docufiction features two interwoven stories. Jack Tanner, an American paleontologist working for the Natural History Museum in London, suggests the theory that a carbonised Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton on display was killed by a prehistoric dragon, causing him to believe that the legends were more than myth. This ruins Tanner's reputation. As viewed in a flashback, Tanner's theory is proven true, as said Tyrannosaurus battles a female dragon in the Cretaceous but is mortally wounded. The female, with two legs and two wings, dies from her wounds, forcing her son to survive on his own, escaping an aggressive male dragon by learning how to fly for the first time. This is aided by bacteria that can produce hydrogen, aiding buoyancy. A later vignette shows the dragon, now an adult, trying to mate, and successfully challenging a dominant male in a sky duel.

The museum is contacted by Romanian authorities, who discovered the alleged corpse of a dragon in the Carpathian Mountains, along with many carbonised human bodies from the 15th century. Tanner and two colleagues are sent to examine the bodies, which have been moved to a warehouse. The scientists are baffled by the corpse, discovering that despite being 900 pounds (410 kg), it was capable of both flight and breathing fire by storing bacteria and hydrogen inside its body, like the prehistoric dragon.

The prehistoric dragon was a victim of the K-T Event, but he had a cousin, the marine dragon, which was protected by living in the ocean. It eventually evolved into other species, such as the Chinese forest dragon, able to glide with her smaller wings and capable of camouflaging herself in the dappled forest light. The forest dragon hunts the wild boar and the South China tiger, but the arrival of humans in the forest challenges her survival. Another descendant is the mountain dragon, which has four legs and fully-functional wings, and inhabits the Carpathian and Atlas mountains.

By analyzing the dead dragon's reproductive system, Tanner concludes the corpse is actually that of a baby, having been killed by the humans. The scientists travel back to the mountains to explore the caves where the corpses were found. A flashback shows that in 1475, a lone female dragon is living on the verge of extinction within the Carpathian Mountains, looking for a mate. A male arrives from the Atlas Mountains and they perform an airborne courtship ritual. They grasp each other's talons and free-fall from the sky at high speed. Just before touchdown they break free and fly off together, breathing fire and leaving scorch marks on rocks below. While scouring the cave system, Tanner discovers a preserved dragon egg. It is surmised that the male dragon guards the nest, made from a cluster of rocks and the eggs are kept warm for preservation. However, the male is negligent, letting one of the eggs die, and is chased away by the female.

Some time later, the female dragon has had a lone daughter, hunting sheep from the local shepherds, leading to dragon slayers being hired to kill any dragons that get too close to the livestock. The lord and his squire attack, slaying the young female but are in turn killed by the mother. Tanner discovers more human corpses and then that of the mother dragon, twice the size of the baby. In a final flashback, a larger group of dragon slayers approach the cave, leading to the deaths of all involved. Tanner and his team take the dragons to the museum, reuniting mother and daughter. A year later, Tanner receives information of another discovery and sets off to investigate.

Reception

The Scotsman opined that The Last Dragon's computer graphics made it "awesome", but ultimately the show gave the feeling of conveying the message "Do not believe this slice of old hokum" to the viewer. [2] According to The New York Times "it's easy to forget that [the film] isn't a serious documentary" after the fiction disclaimer at the beginning, judging the computer graphics to be well made, sometimes beautiful, but not impressive "to the point of wonder". [3]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryResultRef.
3rd Visual Effects Society Awards Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or SpecialSirio Quintavelle, Alex Knox, Neil GlasebyNominatedref
57th Primetime Emmy Awards Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program David McNab, John Smithson, Alice Keens-Soper, Rola Bauer and Tim Halkin, Charlie Foley, Justin Hardy, Kevin Tao Mohs, Aiden Woodward, Mike MilneNominatedref
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects Laurent Benhamo, Neil Glasby, Daren Horley, Alec Knox, Dan Lavender, Christian Manz, Catherine Mullan, Sirio Quintavalle, Sarah ToshNominatedref

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dragon</span> Legendary large magical creature with no real life taxonomy in folklore

A dragon is a large magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian, mammal, and avian features. Scholars believe large extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Asian dragon imagery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Komodo dragon</span> Largest living species of lizard

The Komodo dragon, also known as the Komodo monitor, is a member of the monitor lizard family Varanidae that is endemic to the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, and Gili Motang. It is the largest extant species of lizard, growing to a maximum length of 3 m (9.8 ft), and weighing up to 70 kg (150 lb).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Savage Land</span> Fictional place on Marvel Comics

The Savage Land is a hidden prehistoric land that features in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. It is a tropical preserve hidden in Antarctica. It has appeared in many story arcs in Uncanny X-Men as well as other related books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European dragon</span> Mythical creature in European folklore

The European dragon is a legendary creature in folklore and mythology among the overlapping cultures of Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave bear</span> Extinct species of carnivore

The cave bear is a prehistoric species of bear that lived in Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene and became extinct about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.

<i>Mon Colle Knights</i> Japanese manga series

Mon Colle Knights, known in Japan as Six Gates Far Away Mon Colle Knight, is a Japanese manga series written by Satoru Akahori and Katsumi Hasegawa and illustrated by Hideaki Nishikawa. The original concept was made by Hitoshi Yasuda and Group SNE. The series is based on the Monster Collection trading card game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skull Island (King Kong)</span> Fictional island in King Kong movie

Skull Island is the name most often used to describe a fictional island that first appeared in the 1933 film King Kong and later appearing in its sequels, the three remakes, and any other King Kong-based media. It is the home of the eponymous King Kong and several other species of creatures, mostly prehistoric and in some cases species that should have been extinct long before the rise of mammalian creatures, along with a primitive society of humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niah National Park</span> National Park in Malaysia

Niah National Park, located within Miri Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, is the site of the Niah Caves limestone cave and archeological site.

<i>Dragon Flyz</i> French-American animated television series

Dragon Flyz is a 1996–1997 animated television series created by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and produced by Gaumont Multimédia in association with Abrams/Gentile Entertainment. The show, based on a toy line by Galoob, ran for two seasons, in syndication in the US and Europe. 26 episodes were produced.

<i>Tyrannosaurus</i> in popular culture

Tyrannosaurus rex is unique among dinosaurs in its place in modern culture; paleontologist Robert Bakker has called it "the most popular dinosaur among people of all ages, all cultures, and all nationalities". Paleontologists Mark Norell and Lowell Dingus have likewise called it "the most famous dinosaur of all times." Paleoartist Gregory S. Paul has called it "the theropod. [...] This is the public's favorite dinosaur [...] Even the formations it is found in have fantastic names like Hell Creek and Lance." Other paleontologists agree with that and note that whenever a museum erects a new skeleton or bring in an animatronic model, visitor numbers go up. "Jurassic Park and King Kong would not have been the same without it." In the public mind, T. rex sets the standard of what a dinosaur should be. Science writer Riley Black similarly states, "In all of prehistory, there is no animal that commands our attention quite like Tyrannosaurus rex, the tyrant lizard king. Since the time this dinosaur was officially named in 1905, the enormous carnivore has stood as the ultimate dinosaur."

<i>When Dinosaurs Roamed America</i> 2001 American TV series or program

When Dinosaurs Roamed America is a two-hour American television program that first aired on the Discovery Channel on July 15, 2001. The show features the reign of the non-avian dinosaurs in America over the course of more than 160 million years, through five different segments, each with their own variety of flora and fauna.

<i>Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia</i> 2007 film directed by Marc Fafard

Dinosaurs: Giants of Patagonia is a 2007 film about life in the Early Cretaceous of Patagonia, southern South America. It features paleontologist Rodolfo Coria and his work, with Donald Sutherland acting as main narrator.

<i>Age of Fire</i>

Age of Fire is a series of fantasy/adventure novels written by E. E. Knight, who is also known for writing the Vampire Earth series of novels. Age of Fire is eventually succeeded by the Dragoneer Academy Series which is a Spin-Off of the Age of Fire Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parc Cwm long cairn</span> Burial chamber in Wales

Parc Cwm long cairn, also known as Parc le Breos burial chamber, is a partly restored Neolithic chambered tomb, identified in 1937 as a Severn-Cotswold type of chambered long barrow. The cromlech, a megalithic burial chamber, was built around 5850 years before present (BP), during the early Neolithic. It is about seven 12 miles (12 km) west south–west of Swansea, Wales, in what is now known as Coed y Parc Cwm at Parc le Breos, on the Gower Peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Venus of Hohle Fels</span> Oldest known depiction of a human being

The Venus of Hohle Fels is an Upper Paleolithic Venus figurine made of mammoth ivory that was unearthed in 2008 in Hohle Fels, a cave near Schelklingen, Germany. It is dated to between 42,000 and 40,000 years ago, belonging to the early Aurignacian, at the very beginning of the Upper Paleolithic, which is associated with the earliest presence of Cro-Magnon in Europe.

Last Day of the Dinosaurs is a 2010 Discovery Channel television documentary about the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. It portrays the Alvarez hypothesis as the cause of extinction. The documentary was released on August 28, 2010 and narrated by Bill Mondy.

You Are Umasou is a Japanese picture book series by Tatsuya Miyanishi, published by Poplar. The series has spawned an animated film and anime adaptations. The fourth film My Tyrano II: Easter, Garden was planned to release in 2024 but was delayed to 2025.

References

  1. The Last Dragon at IMDb
  2. Tom Adair (7 March 2005). "Last Night's Review Do we all benefit from this filth?". The Scotsman . Archived from the original on 28 March 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
  3. Anita Gates (19 March 2005). "They Didn't Exist. But Could They Have?". The New York Times . Retrieved 6 November 2014.