Ten Deep 4.29.09: Top Ten Dragons in Film!

Posted by Lucas Huddleston on 04.29.2009

This week, 411's Lucas Huddleston once again double dips in the land of make believe, as he takes a look at the ten great dragons that have been in movies. And no, Bruce Lee doesn't count.

Hello, and welcome back to Ten Deep: Week 29! First off, I must say that last week's column (Films Based on the Works of Robert E. Howard) was without a doubt the most fun I've had writing a column here at 411mania.com thus far during my run. I put a LOT of work into the construction of that particular column, even doing extensive research and beginning the early writings on it as early as two weeks ago, as I was simultaneously crafting my list on Ten Movies That Could Possibly Make Men Cry. I fully dove into the writing of the REH column immediately after I posted my Crying Men column, and, while I didn't (and couldn't) devote every waking hour to the writing of that particular column, I did indeed put a lot of time and effort into it; it was a true ‘labor of love' for me, and I enjoyed myself immensely in the creation of it. With that said, let's get into some of the comments from last week…

Regrets said that, while he was aware of the films based on Howard's work (i.e. Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, Red Sonja…kind of, and Kull the Conqueror), he had been unaware of Howard himself, and said that after reading the column, he would seek out Howard's work. That made my day, as if I can lead others to discover the writings of my hero, then I know all that work that I put into the column was well worth it.

toast really liked Kull and even went to the theater to see it, and he also gave me a ‘thank you' for my column making the dork in him feel better about himself. Hey, thanks! Means a lot to me. As for Kull, I liked it to a certain extent. I don't loathe it by any means, but it was a bit disheartening, as it could've been a lot better.

stephen actually attended the very same college that Robert E. Howard himself attended back in the ‘20's…and said that hardly any of the students there even knew who Howard was! Now THAT'S disheartening; I'd hope that the school at the very least has a statue, mural, or plaque…SOMETHING that commemorates that Howard went to that school (even though he dropped out and didn't graduate).

M:-X brought up the fact that during Kull, there's a line of dialogue that totally rips off dialogue from Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back, as villainess Tia Carrere quips, "I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it further." It should seem fairly obvious to an admitted Star Wars geek like myself that the line was indeed a rip off, but, I must admit, that I'd never noticed it UNTIL I read an interview with initial (and credited) writer for the film Chuck Pogue, which he listed as one of the reasons as why the writer that took over after he was booted from the film was a hack.

The Tortoise King had a rather lengthy response to the column. First, he brings up that the problem most REH purists have with director John Milius' Conan the Barbarian is the fact that Milius seems to have little respect for Howard, as was apparent through the DVD commentary where Milius remarks that Howard thought Conan and the Hyborian Age were real. As The Tortoise King notes, Milius misinterpreted a quote from Howard in a letter the author wrote, and I'd always wondered whether or not that what Milius had said was true or not, as I'd never heard anything about Howard being delusional; thanks for clearing that up. Tortoise King also says that Milius had created a film that was almost a pure Howard-type of film in The Wind and the Lion. You know, I've never seen that film, but I do indeed know what it is, mainly due to the cover of the old VHS release of the film (and, I'd assume, the image was on the poster as well). Though I've never seen the actual film, I've never forgotten. TK also said that he felt that I was selling Tolkien a bit short on his ‘personability', and I probably was, to tell the truth. I love Howard and Tolkien both, but whereas Howard has always seemed like a ‘real guy' to me, I've always viewed Tolkien almost as being a mythical figure, perpetually sitting upright in a great chair, puffing away on his pipe. Also, TK said that he DOESN'T hold out much hope for the upcoming Solomon Kane film, as he's read a script for it. Don't say that! I haven't read any scripts for it, but I do indeed have high hopes for the film.

JLAJRC wondered about the ‘Pigeons from Hell' comic, and then suggested I do a list on Top Ten Worst Fantasy Films Ever. The ‘Pigeons from Hell' comic (as The Tortoise King also pointed out) was produced by Dark Horse, who has the rights to use the many Howard licenses from the holders of the Howard estate, which I believe is Paradox, and the comic, which was written by Joe Lansdale (famous for writing Bubba Ho-Tep) and illustrated by Nathan Fox (who signed my copies of the book at the Kansas City Comic-con, Planet-Con or something like that), stood as being a sequel to Howard's original short story. I liked it, and I believe that it's now in trade form, so if you're interested in buying it, I'd recommend it. As for the ‘Worst Fantasy Films' list, I did something like it back in November, though it wasn't necessarily the ‘worst' but the top ten Fantasy films that disappointed me the most. I don't know if I could ever do a Worst Fantasy Film list, as I honestly find really, really, REALLY bad Fantasy films to insufferable and almost unwatchable.


Here's something I haven't done in a while – give little updates about things that don't pertain to the column in the least! Yay! I initially stopped doing that, as I wanted the column to feel like less like a blog, but here are a couple of tidbits that I just HAVE to speak on…

I knew that it was more-than-likely coming, and so I wasn't all that shocked to see my beloved Kansas City Chiefs trade all-world tight end (and future Hall of Famer) Tony Gonzalez away, which they finally did earlier in the week to the Atlanta Falcons. As I said, I wasn't shocked, but I was a little saddened. I respect the hell out of Tony, and I hope that he's able to get that ring that he desires (just as long as he goes into Canton as a Chief)…but, MAN, did the Chiefs come out on the crappy end of the deal! We lost one of the all-time GREATS at that particular position…and were only able to secure a 2nd Round Draft pick for him? In the 2010 Draft a year from now? That sucks. Every year I've played Fantasy Football for the past three years, every single Fantasy Football magazine I've bought for research purposes always has a blurb about Tony not being a safe pick because he's ‘past his prime'…and, of course, he's proven them wrong every year by being one of, in not THE, most productive TE in the NFL. Surely, despite his age and supposedly ‘past his prime' factor, he would be at LEAST worth a 1st Round pick in THIS year's draft. I wonder how Matt Cassel feels about being on the Chiefs now, knowing that he now only has one truly outstanding weapon left in the passing game in D-Bowe?

As I was doing my Howard column, I found myself wishing that there were still magazines that published Fantasy short stories in this day and age…and guess what? After a little research (research spurred on by my REH research), I discovered that THERE ARE! WHY DIDN'T SOMEBODY TELL ME THIS SOONER?! Now that I know that magazines such as ‘Black Gate' and ‘Flashing Swords' exist, I know what I must do. I've already begun dreaming up a few ideas and plots for potential short stories to send in to them…

TOP TEN DRAGONS IN FILM!

Honestly, after last week's column consumed me for a week-plus, I went into this week somewhat drained and not having even the slightest idea of what to do this week…and I didn't really give it that much thought ‘til the weekend came along. I thought of a few things that I could do, such as devoting an entire article to breaking down the character of Hank Hill (which I'll probably end up doing before too long), but nothing really seemed to garner my interest at that particular time. This subject about dragons in film was actually one of the ever-present stand-bys that I've had in mind since I first got this gig (I'm a big Fantasy fan, remember), but I put it off after the fellas on the podcast did something similar, I believe – and I planned on NEVER doing it after that. However, even the best laid plans can go awry, and so here we are, as it was the only subject that spurred me to the computer over the weekend. I didn't listen to the podcast, so I don't know which movie dragons they discussed, so if you did indeed listen to that particular podcast and see a few retreads here (which there are bound to be), I apologize.

The only real rule here is that the only dragons that have been considered for this list are those that have been in films/television, whether animated or live-action (so no Glaurung or Fin Fang Foom or Fafnir), and they MUST be in the vein of the mythical creature, and not just merely a giant lizard. The dragons must also play either a prominent or pivotal role at some point in the film, whether it be as the main monster or just a ‘sub-boss'…or even the good guy. And they also should bear some form of individualism, and not just be a dragon horde, such as the dragons in the 2000 film Dungeons & Dragons.

Oh, and as a precursor to this list, you won't find Elliot from Pete's Dragon or Puff the Magic Dragon on my list. Why? Because I have no use for pansy-ass dragons, that's why. So no, oh, pink dragons and such.

HONORABLE MENTION

Madam Mim from The Sword in the Stone (1961): Sure, she's not a real dragon, but an insane and hideous witch that eventually turns herself into a giant purple dragon during her wizards' duel with Merlin, which is my favorite part of the movie. And besides, did I say no purple dragons? DID I?!?

Falkor the Luck-Dragon, from The NeverEnding Story (1984): Poor Falkor. I'm sure he'd make most other people's list, but not mine. That's fine, too, as I'd have no qualms with anybody else doing so, nor do I bear any kind of hatred towards Falkor…I love him, but I just happened to prefer ten other dragons before him. Or maybe I inexplicably forgot about poor Falkor after having wrote quite a bit about a few of the ‘on the bubble' dragons that ARE in the Top Ten, and, being much too lazy to erase my write-ups on them in order to replace them with Falkor and write another two paragraphs on HIM, I just decided to relegate him to the Honorable Mention section…nah, that can't be it. Of course, then again, it could be that Falkor, despite being titled as a dragon, doesn't really appear to be a dragon at all, instead looking much more akin to a gigantic albino wiener dog that flies…and makes creepy faces at Atreyu. I mean, just LOOK at it…



10. Dragon from Shrek (2001)



Dragon is, of course, the clever name bestowed upon the female dragon from the Shrek franchise, and who is also the soul-mate to the donkey from those films, also cleverly named Donkey. While I did indeed like the three Shrek films (I've never seen the Christmas Special, or whatever it's called) to a certain extent, I can't say that I've ever been all that crazy about the second and third installments in the franchise (though I liked the first one quite a bit when it was released). Likewise, I can't really say that I've been all that crazy about Dragon and her portrayal throughout most of the series, as she's a little too…prissy and pretty and such for my tastes as it pertains to dragons. And that's completely acceptable by-and-large, as, you know, she IS a female and whatnot, though, in the third film, it seemed that her having children and having known the touch of Donkey seemed to diminish her more bestial and ferocious tendencies, as she's a little TOO easily captured and detained at the hands of Prince Charming's minions. But that's okay, really.

It's okay for one reason – because at the beginning of the very first film in the franchise, she's absolutely AWESOME in the sequence where Shrek and Donkey storm the abandoned castle where Dragon holds Princess Fiona captive. Before her hormones started raging and went completely bonkers after having laid eyes on the veritable sex-machine that is Donkey, Dragon almost seemed kind of…bad-ass. For instance, haphazardly strung about her lair are the charred, skeletal remains of numerous would-be saviors of the fair Fiona, and what's more, one would assume that those remains which are shown can't possibly be the only ones that have tried to enter the castle against the dragon's wishes, as she makes it quite known at film's end that she's not afraid to devour human beings…so I'd like to think that there are several hundred other skeletons that we can't see that she digested. Or maybe we CAN see them, and those skeletons just laying about her lair are ones that she's pooped out at one point or another. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter, for as soon as she sees Donkey and is made subject to his amorous repartee, Dragon goes all ‘horny teenage school girl' on the proceedings (except in the chase scene where she goes after Shrek and Donkey, the reasons of which I'd assume wasn't to procure the princess, but to snatch up Donkey before he got away). But like I said, that's fine though; her introduction more than makes up for her very un-dragonlike behavior later on in the series.

9. Warlock, from Blackstar (1981)



Warlock here is undoubtedly the most obscure of the dragons to appear on my list, no question. In case you don't know, Warlock comes from the animated television show from the early 1980's Blackstar, which (again, in case you didn't know) just happens to be probably one of the most pivotal cartoons shows in history…though most people might not know it. You see, Blackstar was produced by Filmation, an animation house that had seen some success through previous cartoon efforts such as various DC superhero-licensed shows (like The New Adventures of Superman), Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids, The Ghost Busters (the one with the ape), and several different Tarzan-based shows. As I stated in the previous column, in the late-70's/early-80's, there was a bit of a popularity spike in regards to the Fantasy genre, and that particular spike no doubt played a driving part in Filmation's creation of Blackstar. Now, Blackstar isn't your typical Fantasy fare; it's much more in the vein of ‘Science-Fantasy', or the ‘Sword-and-Planet' subgenre (of which Edgar Rice Burroughs' ‘John Carter of Mars' series would be a staple); in the realms of what makes the Sword-and-Planet subgenre tick, suffice it to say that they usually deal with a hero, usually an Earthling, being displaced on a faraway alien world that's usually in a barbaric state, though some traces of high-technology may permeate the world and its workings (as well as magic). The minds at Filmation loved Blackstar; others didn't, however, and after 13 episodes the series was cancelled. According to Filmation producer and founder Lou Scheimer, he was saddened to see Blackstar get cancelled, as he thought that if it ran for a little bit longer it would really catch on; however, that wasn't the case and what was done was done, and all Lou and Filmation could do was learn from what worked and didn't work with Blackstar…which leads directly to He-Man. It seems that, when Filmation agreed to produce an animated series in conjunction with Mattel's initial releasing of the He-Man toys and demanded that they create and use their own mythology for the show (rather than use the continuity that had been set in the comics and mini-comics), Filmation adapted much of the world and continuity of Blackstar into the world and continuity for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. It's all very similar (even utilizing a lot of the same scenery and character designs for monsters and such), with the only differences being that, whereas John Blackstar hailed from Earth and was a normal human being, He-Man had super-powers…which, in the DVD commentary, Lou states that one of the things that he felt Blackstar was lacking was that the main character didn't have any special abilities. But that's all something that can be devoted to some other column.

Regardless, needless to say that, looking back on it through retrospect, it appears as though Blackstar ended up serving the unintentional purpose of being the prototype to the He-Man animated series, presenting itself as a kind of ‘test run' where Filmation could work out all the proverbial kinks and such BEFORE landing the then still-growing license of Mattel's ‘Masters of the Universe'. Perhaps another good example would be that of Warlock, the (what was this column about again?) dragon in question here. In Blackstar, Warlock exists in much the same capacity that Battle-Cat exists in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (except that he doesn't have a secret identity, of course). Warlock serves as John Blackstar's mount, his steed and irreplaceable friend and ally, just as Battle-Cat serves He-Man in the same capacity. The major difference between the two, however, is that whereas Battle-Cat can speak, Warlock can't (or, at least, doesn't). That's not to say that Warlock is little more than a good-natured animal that isn't necessarily intelligent beyond knowing who his master is and who is trying to harm his master, as he seemed to completely comprehend Blackstar and the other heroic figures of the show when they addressed him; however, I'm really not all that sure if that can indeed be construed as Warlock having intelligence, and not just reacting to the gentle tones of those that he's comfortable around. For example, when Blackstar is riding Warlock while he's high in the air, Blackstar may say, ‘Dive, Warlock!' And Warlock would indeed swoop down immediately at Blackstar's command…but Warlock also wears a bit and harness that Blackstar uses to control and guide Warlock, so the question is does he really understand John Blackstar when he speaks, or is he just reacting to Blackstar maneuvering the harness about? Eh, perhaps I'm trying to look a little too deep into things; after all, I have no problem with dragons being presented as little more than instinctive and (somewhat) domesticated animals. You really don't get to see them being as such all that often, honestly.

8. The Male Dragon, from Reign of Fire (2002)



Ah, Reign of Fire. One of my own personal ‘Guilty Favorite' films of all-time, and one that I was almost tempted to squeeze onto the latter half of my Top 50 Fantasy Films list a few months back. Probably like a lot of people, when I first saw the theatrical poster for the film back in 2002 which depicted dragons in flight doing battle with helicopters, I had visions of an Independence Day-style film, replacing the invading alien spacecraft with an army of dragons…and those visions in my head made the film look AWESOME. There was no way that the film could disappoint me, I thought. I thought wrong. It WAS a disappointment, because, instead of depicting a hopeless war being waged between modern man and mythical monsters in the non-stop, action-packed fashion of Independence Day, it was instead somewhat more akin to the likes of Night of the Living Dead -- instead of a zombie apocalypse, however, we were presented with a dragon apocalypse, with all the action taking place AFTER the dragons had taken over the world. As I said, I was mightily disappointed at first…though, as time has gone by, my disappointment has effectively receded, and I've grown to like the film more and more. And, I must admit, a dragon apocalypse is indeed a cool idea, now that I think on it.

As stated above, the film holds more than one dragon within its folds, with only one discerning aspect separating one from all the others in the world that the film creates: only one is male, and the rest are all females. Being the only male dragon in the race (and the film, as well), the Male Dragon in this film stands as being the de-facto main heavy for the heroes to defeat, as well as a pivotal crutch in resolving the plot of the film, as, since the Male Dragon is the only male, upon his death the dragon race will eventually die out, as they would no longer be able to reproduce. The Male Dragon is about as vicious and brutal looking as one would hope he would be, which is supremely fantastic, considering how other mainstream films had depicted dragons as being in that same time period (such as the Dungeons & Dragons film, where the dragons looked rather cartoony and more suitable to a PlayStation 1 game's cinematic sequences). The dragon is rightly depicted as being quite the force to be reckoned with, which is also great, as it lends credence to the thought that the creature essentially caused the modern world to collapse. The final battle between the Male Dragon and the three puny humans is also quite bad-ass, and what's more is that Matthew McConaughey really plays the part of the ‘bad-ass army guy that's almost ready to flip the hell out' role quite convincingly, in what is my favorite role that he's had in every single one of his movies; he's probably the coolest looking dragonslayer in the history of film, as he's all bulked up and bald, with a big freakin' axe. And hey, even if you don't particularly care to see awesome dragons in your movies, you could at least check out Reign of Fire to see Matthew F'n McConaughey outshining actor extraordinaire Christian Bale. It's true.

7. Maleficent, from Sleeping Beauty (1959)



As I believe I've stated before, Maleficent stands as being my all-time favorite villain (or villainess, in this case) of all the animated Disney Classics. The character of Maleficent always seemed to pure evil, and unlike contemporaries such as Captain Hook or Cruella De Vil, was a much more SERIOUS evil-doer that wasn't ever given to provide laughs for the audience at any time during the film (the Horned King was one such Disney villain, too). Of course, it also just happens to be that…Maleficent isn't really a dragon at all. But – I couldn't leave her off the list, as her dragon form stands as being not only the highlight of THIS film, but one of the all-time highlights of ANY animated Disney classic that has ever been created. But, still…not a dragon per se, so I tried to compromise a bit by squeezing her in at a lower spot than what I was initially inclined to give her.

Now that I own the film on DVD, I find myself at times putting the movie in only to skip ahead to the final sequence where Prince Philip escapes from Maleficent's castle (with magically imbued sword and shield in hand) to make his way to Sleeping Beauty, only to find Maleficent in wait in the form of a dragon, which is something that I almost ALWAYS found myself doing as a child. What can I say? It's one of the greatest and most exciting battles between one man and a dragon ever depicted in the history of film. Perhaps the thing that's always caught my eye when it comes to Maleficent in her dragon form is that, unlike other Disney animated dragons (mostly Elliot, though even Madam Mim as well), Maleficent-Dragon looked vicious. Her dragon form held very little by way of round, fluffy additions to the design; it was sharp and angular, with many pointed edges to it, lending the look of the dragon-form of Maleficent an even GREATER air of cruelness and evil than her more human form…and perhaps the point of the dragon. Nonetheless, that final sequence in the film stands as being perhaps one of the most memorable in all of the large pantheon of Disney films, and since it features an incredible dragon and one of the most heart-pounding battles with a dragon ever, I have no qualms whatsoever in placing Maleficent at least SOMEWHERE on this list. Even if she's not a ‘real' dragon, per se.

6. Draco, from Dragonheart (1996)



As time goes on, it seems as though more and more people look back on Dragonheart and crap all over it. Hell, whilst doing research for last week's column, I came across an interview with the original (and credited) writer for the film Kull the Conqueror, Chuck Pogue. Pogue, who was unhappy with the final film product for Kull, also just happened to write the script for Dragonheart, and, likewise, was unhappy with the final result that was left on film. Since I did indeed grant the film a place on my Top 50 Fantasy Films list, it should go without saying that I've always quite enjoyed the film, from the very first time that I saw it in theaters. Of course, I can still understand where Pogue is coming from; he created the thing, and then had to sit back and watch as his vision was bastardized to conform to someone else's vision. But still, it's always been one of my favorite ‘dragon' movies.

Draco debuted at a time when the great ‘CGI Revolution' was just beginning to take off in the film industry, following in the footsteps of the incredible computer effects extravaganza that was Jurassic Park. Much as how the dinosaurs in that particular film were rendered in a far more realistic manner than had ever been seen before, Draco was also constructed beautifully back in 1996, as I myself stared in awe at the big screen of the theater whenever Draco would make an on-screen appearance. Today, the effects used to create Draco still hold their own, considering that computer animation has moved on well past 1996, as I think he still looks decent. As for Draco's character, he falls into the general overall portrayal of what ‘good-guy' dragons have been deemed to be: strong and noble, wise and morally upstanding – essentially, an ultimate force for goodness. While that's not particularly my own personal favored way to portray a dragon, I must say that it works wonderfully for Draco, in no small part due to the man that gave the great dragon his voice – Sean Connery. While some may argue that the star of Connery may outshine his actual performance (ala Jack Nicholson as the Joker), I've always felt that Connery's voice-work helped to lend the character a nice little bit of a more human touch, which is something that makes Draco unique among the other dragons on this list.

5. Tiamat, from Dungeons & Dragons (1982)



Those that read my cartoon column a few weeks back may very well remember me expressing my love for the old 1980's cartoon Dungeons & Dragons. While I didn't go into too much detail about Tiamat in that particular column (though I did indeed name-drop her), don't take that as meaning that I don't hold the dragon from that show in any kind of ‘low regard'. In fact, during the lean years between the time when the show went off the air and the time that I discovered a handful of tapes that had a few episodes strung about on them, I'd never forgotten the image and hissing voice of Tiamat, as it had apparently been burned into my imagination. In fact, other than the brief memories I had of the opening carnival-ride sequence, Tiamat stood as being the one thing that I remembered the most from the show, as it aired during my early childhood and my memories were fairly lean in regards to the series. Decades later after I'd purchased the incredible DVD set for the show (which would approximately be three years ago or so), my interest and almost lost love for the show was completely rekindled, which lead me to do a bit of diving into the subject over the world wide interweb. It was there that I discovered that Tiamat stood as being the only character from the D&D animated series that actually had a life outside of the show (with the exception of the Dungeonmaster, I suppose, but more in the vein of the idea behind the character and not the character itself). Named from an ancient Babylonian goddess/monster, Tiamat in the world of D&D is an evil dragon goddess, whose dragon form wields five heads (each with a different color and with different powers/breaths associated with each respective color – red/fire-breath, white/ice-breath, and so on), and with what I assume to be the power to transform into a human sorceress (or vice versa), was referred to as being the ‘Mother of All Evil Dragons'.

Of course, in the cartoon show, Tiamat never morphed into the form of a human being, though that stands as essentially being the only superficial difference between the Tiamat from the annals of D&D and the Tiamat that was portrayed in the D&D cartoon series. In the cartoon, she is indeed female, as the characters all refer to her as being as such, and her voice obviously bears the tones and sounds of a female (though voiced by a man, Frank Welker). She also retains her massive, five-headed form, which obviously stands as being the characters most iconic attribute (if you can call it an attribute). What's more is that, while I don't believe that Tiamat was ever referred to as being a ‘dragon-god', I can't help but think that the show's writers went about depicting as an unspoken physical deity, as Tiamat is invulnerable to nearly everything and cannot ever be truly disposed of…which, of course, is much to the chagrin of the series' main villain, Venger. In truth, that was always the one ‘slant' on the show that really intrigued me, meaning the relationships between the heroes, Venger, and Tiamat. For example, Venger is evil, no doubt about it; however, nearly all of his evil machinations are tied up in personal gain. Tiamat, who wasn't so much a villain in the sense that is usually presented in animated cartoon shows, is much more of a force of true evil, whose evil intentions rest mainly in the want to destroy, and since Tiamat was the only being that Venger could not defeat, any time Tiamat showed up, Venger would either flee or join the heroes in battle against the foul dragon. However, it should also be noted that Tiamat guards certain ancient, magical weapons…those same weapons that the Dungeonmaster bestows upon the heroes. How did he get them? Did he steal them, or did Tiamat give them to him? If indeed she gave them to him, no doubt that such an act would effectively cause Tiamat's character to become just THAT much more intriguing. Hmph – oh well, too bad we'll never know.

4. King Ghidorah, from various Godzilla films



Yeah, he's a space dragon, but so what? He's still a dragon after all, and perhaps one of the oddest looking dragons ever created outside of creepy Falkor. For me, personally, King Ghidorah has always looked a little more than odd, mainly because of the fact that he's lacking any arms. That's probably just me, though. At any rate, Ghidorah probably stands as being Godzilla's arch-nemesis, mainly by proxy that Ghidorah represents being the proverbial ‘unstoppable force' and toughest challenge that Godzilla has ever faced in his films. Of course, I put the whole ‘unstoppable force' bit in quotes because, quite frankly, he's not THAT unstoppable, as Godzilla has always risen to the challenge and defeated the mighty three-headed space dragon. However, only one time did Godzilla actually stop Ghidorah on his own; every other time the two giant monsters faced off, Godzilla had to enlist OTHER monsters to aid in his cause, usually Rodan or Mothra. And yet, Godzilla is still referred to as the ‘King of the Monsters'. Go figure.

To be honest, I was almost tempted to place Ghidorah here WAY down on the list, down near the bottom, actually (though still probably in the top ten). Not because I don't think that Ghidorah is awesome and all that; quite the contrary, as seeing images of him when I was a kid (in a video game for the Super NES, I believe) was one of the main reasons that prodded me into searching out whatever Godzilla films I could find, particularly those that feature King Ghidorah. No, the reason why I toyed with the idea of dropping him down to ‘cellar dweller' status is simply that, as portrayed in the several of the films, it seems quite easy for telepathic aliens to get inside his mind and control him. A little too easy, in fact, as it seemed to happen far too often, as in four of the seven film in which he's appeared he's been made subservient to mind-control. Of course, in the end I decided that Ghidorah in and of himself was much too great to have his status of greatness be hampered by my pettiness. After all, he's without a doubt one of the most powerful and incredible dragons ever dreamed up…and at 100 meters tall, he damn well better be.

3. Granamyr, from He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1985-1987)



In the years that passed between the time that He-Man and the Masters of the Universe went off the air and the time that BCI Eclipse released the first set of my beloved childhood cartoon on DVD, I mainly had a few shows recorded off on the odd videotape here and there to tide me over for that two decade span. At various different times in that period, I would find myself digging out those old recorded VHS tapes, pop them into the VCR, and relive a bit of the old He-Man magic. It really didn't matter to me what episodes were on what tape…except for one: ‘The Dragon's Gift', which stood (and probably still stands) as my all-time favorite episode that the show ever put out. Why? Well, the reason was simple: it was the only episode that I had that Granamyr appeared in (though all told, he appeared in four episodes all together in the show's run). When Granamyr makes his initial appearance by bursting up through a massive fire-pit, roaring like mad and showcasing his bestial ferocity, that same image of said appearance seemed to be almost instantly burned into my mind for the rest of my life. He came off as a spectacle of awesome proportions, and, since at the time of that first viewing it was unclear as to whether the great dragon was good or evil, you just knew that if He-Man did indeed have to battle Granamyr that it would be a struggle the likes of which had never been showcased in the show before. Even though He-Man and Granamyr didn't battle each other, it was still a bit unclear as to whether or not Granamyr was evil, as he tasked He-Man with the job of chopping down the Sky-tree in exchange for a spell to save Man-at-Arms' life (He-Man went to the dragon to seek out such a spell), the oldest and wisest sentient being on Eternia, all for the reason that Granamyr, the second oldest and wisest being on the planet, seemed to be jealous of the Sky-tree.

Of course, He-Man couldn't bring himself to chopping down the Sky-tree, which ended up being exactly what Granamyr wanted of He-Man (to not chop down the tree), as Granamyr was essentially testing He-Man in an attempt to gauge as to whether or not He-Man was better than most men. So, Granamyr was proven to be a good guy…somewhat, I suppose. For starters, while it appeared that Granamyr and the Sky-tree were friends (or, at the very least, on friendly terms), it seems that Granamyr had no trouble putting his friend's life on the line so that his little test could be carried out – for his amusement, in other words. What kind of a friend does that? Or what kind of Heroic figure does such a thing, for that matter? What's more is that Granamyr really doesn't appear to be too concerned in saving the life of a good man, an act that is no doubt spurred on by the dragon's general loathing for the human race. Compare Granamyr's actions with the likes of other Heroic characters from the show, such as He-Man or Man-at-Arms; nearly every other Heroic character on the show makes no bones about the fact that they'll save pretty much anyone that needs saving…including the likes of Skeletor and his Evil Warriors, if need be. Granamyr makes it quite clear that he'll do no such thing, and perhaps that's why he's wise. Regardless, while you can't out-and-out say that Granamyr is evil, you can't out-and-out say that he's a true hero, either. But then again, what would such acts as ‘being a true hero' be to one such as Granamyr, who may or may not actually be the strongest being in the universe? It's made quite clear that Skeletor is prone to leave the dragons be, as he's terrified of Granamyr and his superior magical abilities, as the great dragon would squash old Bone-Head like a bug. It's also hinted at that, while He-Man may claim to be the most powerful MAN in the universe, Granamyr could easily give He-Man a run for his money – perhaps even defeat him (which makes one wonder if that's indeed could be, especially considering the lengths that He-Man goes to be compliant with the dragon). And hey, any dragon that can beat the likes of He-Man easily deserves his spot on my list.

2. Vermithrax Pejorative, from Dragonslayer (1981)



I've always felt lucky that Dragonslayer was created, as it stands as perhaps being the greatest true dragon movie ever made, and I mostly feel lucky for its creation for the simple reason that I loved the movie as a child before the hateful hand of fate stepped in and took the movie away from me, leaving me to never watch it again until I was nearly twenty years old…though I desperately wanted to. In other words, I feel lucky that it was given back to me. I can remember reading about the movie in film review books such as those of critic Leonard Maltin's and thinking, ‘God, I wish I could watch it again!' It was a long wait, but I did indeed get to watch it again, and yes, it still stood as being the finest dragon movie ever created. It still holds that title, in my opinion. And it still contains the single greatest looking dragon to ever be committed to a live-action film, without a doubt.

Sure, Draco still looks good today, and in 1996 he looked fantastic, breath-taking even. Yet, with all due respect to Draco and the other animated dragons that have been featured many animated films or the CGI-rendered dragons in films like Dragonheart or Reign of Fire…well, they're still animated, and NOT physical, tangible things that can't quite carry true weight in scene like something that IS physical and tangible. With Vermithrax, while there are indeed times when the dragon looks a little out of place, you have a dragon in a film that, by-and-large, most often appears as though it could be a real-life creature. The way in which Vermithrax was created was by the creators utilizing a process called go-motion, a variant of stop-motion animation; using this process, the camera would shoot a still image of the dragon (whether it was of the massive, mechanized forty-foot hydraulic lift in the visage of the dragon, or one of the smaller puppets), then give a sense of movement and such through computer technology while the camera is shooting. This would create a ‘motion blur', which would cause the dragon to move much more smoothly than it would if it had been animated through stop-motion animation. In other words, even though this film was made in 1981, Vermithrax looks FANTASTIC still to this day.

As for the character of Vermithrax, it would appear at first that the dragon is little more than a wild (albeit very deadly) animal, and not the holder of even the slightest bit of intelligence (beyond that of instinctiveness), as can be found with most dragons that permeate the realms of Fantasy. However, I'd be one to argue that statement. In the film, the ruler of the land that lies in the dragon's dominion states that he struck a bargain with Vermithrax, in the form of an annual lottery where the lucky ‘winner' gets to be served to and devoured by Vermithrax, in exchange for the humans living in her lands. Of course, that could just be chalked up to that ruler and his people giving into their ignorance and superstitions, causing them to believe something that isn't true; however, it seems as though Vermithrax upholds her end of the bargain, content to not attack the humans…so long as they continue giving her free food that she doesn't have to work for. But I'm not real sure on that count. Regardless, Vermithrax stands as being my all-time favorite dragon in a live-action film, but my love for her could only be usurped by the greatest dragon ever dreamed up…

1. Smaug, from The Hobbit (1977)



Of course, in my mind there can be no other Number One on this list. Ever – and what's more is that once the live-action The Hobbit movie hits theaters, I have no doubt that Smaug's reign on my list of favorite big/small screen dragons will be everlasting, as the sequence where Bilbo and Smaug have their ‘confrontation' is the part of the upcoming film(s) that I'm looking forward to the most. If you read my Top 50 Fantasy Films list, I'm sure you know that I'm awful partial to Tolkien (I was able to squeeze all of the films based on Tolkien's work on the list except for one); as such, it should go without saying that I'm awful partial to Smaug, as well. In his literary form, Smaug stands as being the dragon from whence all other dragons in Fantasy literature have since been spawned, as, much as how Tolkien's Elves and Dwarves would be the standard which most other Fantasy tropes would adhere to, Smaug remains as essentially being the prototype for how most people in today's world view dragons. At least, that's what I think, as we know that while Tolkien based Smaug on Fafnir from Norse mythology (as he could speak as Smaug does, and perhaps Tolkien also took a bit of inspiration from the dragon within the epic poem ‘Beowulf', as well), how many of the dragons that we see in today's Fantasy literature/pop culture would you suppose are influenced directly by Smaug (created by the Father of Fantasy), or Fafnir? Which is more likely? Eh, who knows for certain, but my money's on Smaug.

Whenever most people (or, at the very least, I) think of dragons and how they should be portrayed, I think of Smaug. Smaug isn't a mere simple animal, nor is he some good and noble (obviously) wyrm with a touch of humanity to him. Smaug is, like most dragons that would come after him (and even Fafnir, which came before him, obviously) driven by greed and selfishness, and the desire to only do right by himself. Smaug is extremely intelligent, and he lets you know as much, as he enjoys riddles and, I'd presume, toying with people's minds, if given the chance to do so. Smaug is also exceedingly arrogant, to the point that his arrogance becomes his downfall. You see, Smaug had lain on his huge pile of gold and gems that his underside had become encrusted with those same coins and jewels. Thus, with his one true physically weakness extravagantly armored, Smaug believed himself to be invincible, which of course he wasn't, as Bard, after being told of a weak spot in Smaug's underbelly by a thrush sent by Bilbo, took his black arrow and shot was is undoubtedly the luckiest shot in the history of Middle-Earth, as the arrow struck home in an area that was about the size of an arrow itself. Pfft. You know, I've always hated that Smaug met his end in The Hobbit, as I thought that it would have simply awesome to have had Smaug survive and play a role amongst Sauron's minions in the War of the Ring. Ah well, it wasn't meant to be. Here's hoping that Smaug's live-action turn coming up here in a few years lives up to the unquestionably laughable high-standards to which I'm holding it. I'd expect no less with Smaug.

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That's all for this round! See you next week.