Dragon Hunters Blu-ray delivers stunningly beautiful video and superb audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
Zoe is a little girl who believes in fairy tales. Not because she is naive, but because she likes
fairy tales. So in order to help her uncle Lord Arnold get rid of a terrible dragon, Zoe decides
she has to find some heroes. And when she meets Gwizdo and Lian-Chu--a couple of two-bit,
fly-by-night dragon hunters--well what the heck, she decides that she's going to believe in
them anyway!
Last April, my wife and I had the opportunity to travel to Paris for the first time in my life. While I was there, I noticed billboards strewn throughout the city depicting an oddball group of characters standing on a grassy hill and the title Chasseurs de dragons. I'm a huge fan of any animated production, but I was especially intrigued by the idea of a theatrical animated film originating in France. As with any country, France has it's fair share of wonderful and dismal films, but I tend to look at France as a place that has managed to maintain a higher level of artistic integrity in filmmaking over the years. Ever since I saw City of the Lost Children, I've been hooked on the enthusiasm for visual flair that is so readily apparent in the works of Luc Besson (The Big Blue, La Femme Nikita), Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Amelie, A Very Long Engagement), and a number of rising French directors. Given my excitement for animation and my respect for French films, I made it a point to snap several pictures of the billboards I saw, with the clear intention of looking up the film as soon as we returned to the U.S. After waiting over a year for the film to finally receive a stateside release, I was able to enjoy Chasseurs de dragons (Dragon Hunters) from the comfort of my own home theater and it's everything I anticipated it would be.
Nothing says tough like a warrior that likes to knit...
Set in an alternate medieval universe consisting of floating islands and small grassy globes with their own gravitational center, Dragon Hunters tells the tale of a young girl named Zoe (Mary Mouser) who sets out to find a fairy tale knight known as the Silver Knight Gothic, who she believes can save her great uncle's castle from a wicked dragon known as the World Gobbler. Shortly after leaving on her quest, she is attacked by two small electric dragons and rescued by a reluctant sword-for-hire named Lian-Chu (Forest Whitaker). Accompanied by his friend Gwizdo (Rob Paulsen) and their furry sidekick Hector (Jeremy Prevost), Lian-Chu agrees to hunt down the World Gobbler in exchange for a healthy reward from Zoe's great uncle. Much to the dismay of Gwizdo, the adventurously talkative Zoe tags along with the misfit trio on their quest to destroy the World Gobbler. Will the unlikely foursome survive a perilous journey to the outskirts of the floating metropolis, or is The World Gobbler destined to awaken, leaving a path of destruction in his wake?
Rather than mincing words, I'll come right out and say I absolutely loved every minute of Dragon Hunters. The plot is somewhat formulaic at times, but the world these characters populate is chock full of imagination, demonstrating a brilliant level of creativity on the part of the filmmakers. I'm sure it's hard to picture how a world could consist of floating islands and spinning globes that characters walk across, but once you actually see the film, you'll marvel at the subtle elements that show the level of thought put into the production. For instance, there's a scene where Zoe, Hector and Gwizdo walk from the end of one island, and have to jump down to the end of the next island in order to continue their journey. When Lian-Chu comes close to the edge, the floating island he is currently on sinks down to the level of the next island, demonstrating the effect weight has on the ability of one land mass floating next to another one. The attention to detail concerning gravity and physics doesn't have to be perfect, but I was surprised with the fine-tuning that was done in order to bring the world to life.
Regarding the quaIity of the animation itself, this is truly a sight to behold. I didn't go into this film with the expectation that I was about to see animation that rivals a Pixar production, but having said that, this certainly comes close to matching the quality of several recent Hollywood productions. The character models are intentionally outlandish (which you can see from the screenshots), but they also match the creative nature of the environment in which they live. One of the most impressive characters is Zoe's great uncle, Lord Arnold, who's frighteningly long fingers, huge eyebrows, and glossy eyes are enough to scare any small child under the age of five. Out of all the creatures in the film, my favorite were the small electric dragons that chase Zoe early on. The dragons are fierce and relentless as they snap and crackle through the forest with pulsating bolts of electricity radiating all over their body. Whether you're an adult or child, there's enough eye-candy in the animation to hold your attention, and I'd bet you'll still be picking up on newfound subtleties after your third viewing.
The voice acting in Dragon Hunters is above average, with every character given their own set of traits for the actors to bring to life. Without a doubt, my favorite character in the film is Hector, the furry, purple sidekick to Lian-Chu and Gwizdo. Hector comes awfully close to winning the most-hilarious animated character award, and it's largely done without any dialogue whatsoever. He's always in the background making faces or pulling antics that will have you in stitches. I'd be curious to watch the film with children since I'm sure they will absolutely love Hector, and ask to watch the film over and over again for the sole purpose of watching his comedic shenanigans.
In the end, Dragon Hunters is much more than simply a run-of-the-mill childrens film. I'd personally love to see several sequels made, or perhaps be given the opportunity to watch the animated television series (by the same name) at some point in the future. Creating a fantastic world is no easy feat, but Dragon Hunters delivers creativity in spades.
Presented in 1080p utilizing the AVC codec (at an average bitrate of 20Mbps), Dragon Hunters looks incredible on Blu-ray. As I mentioned earlier in the review, the character models aren't quite as expressive or detailed as we'd expect from a Pixar production, but the overall animation quality is still stylized and highly detailed. Fortunately, the transfer picks up the detail in every frame with a level of precision that rivals the best Blu-ray has to offer. From the individual strands of fur on Hector's body, to the blades of grass in the floating landscape, every texture and nuance comes to life before your eyes. Equally impressive, is the brilliant color spectrum that gives the overall viewing experience a wonderful level of pop. It was breathtaking to watch one of the final scenes where the gang confronts the World Gobbler Dragon, and the landscape turns from dark, monochromatic, to a brilliant crimson as flames lick up into the night sky. A film of this nature is meant to be a feast for the eyes, and that's exactly what the coloring technicians have provided. Given the shockingly beautiful detail and coloring in the film, I had my eyes peeled for the presence of any banding, edge enhancement or digital artifacting that might otherwise hamper this wonderful presentation, but I'm happy to report I never detected even the slight presence of anything out of place. We've been treated to many wonderful animated productions on the Blu-ray format, and Dragon Hunters easily deserves a place beside the best of them.
The primary audio offering on the disc is a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track dubbed in English. The original French track is also included, but it's only been given a DTS 5.1 lossy mix. I've mentioned this before, but I typically prefer the original language track on any foreign film, so I was slightly disappointed it was not given the same treatment as the English dubbed track. Regardless, it was still nice to see the original track included and the English dubbed track is very well done. When watching a film of this nature, it really adds to the enjoyment if the sound effects, music and dialogue are just as over-the-top as the subject matter of the story, and Dragon Hunters demonstrates this principle perfectly. Whether it's the crumbling bricks from floating castles or the roar of flames enveloping the forest, every subtle (or not-so-subtle) effect is given appropriate weight in the mix and divided among the sound field to the extent that you'll feel your actually a part of the fantastic world. One of the highlights from a sound standpoint is a sequence later in the film where our heroes are attacked by a monster that consists of small crimson flying creatures. The scene contains a combination of excellent LFE utilization to bring out the bombastic effects from the larger monster, as well as precise spacial separation with the stray flying creatures fluttering from side to side. In the end, I can't say I was always left with my jaw hanging open at the proficiency of the audio track, but it certainly bests a large number of other animated productions that have made their way to Blu-ray.
The extras on the disc are a bit light, but I didn't expect much from such a reasonably priced release.
Interview with Forest Whitaker (1080i [full frame], DTS 2.0, 4:23 min): This brief extra provides footage of Forest Whitaker and Mary Mouser (Zoe) in the sound booth providing their lines. Considering the brief runtime and the lack of any real substance, I'd say you can skip this featurette.
Aside from the interview/sound booth session, the only supplements included are a theatrical trailer for the main feature, a "Dragon Gallery", an animated character biography and a short look at the "Dragon Hunters" mythology (as mentioned earlier, there is also a television series set within this world).
If you absolutely hate animated films, or productions geared toward a younger audience, I could understand avoiding this film altogether. For anyone else, I'd give a wholehearted recommendation of Dragon Hunters as an addition to your growing collection of animated Blu-rays. The picture and audio are reference material, the animation is eye-candy, and the price is extremely affordable for such a proficient release. Do yourself a favor and get caught up in the world of Dragon Hunters.
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