Dragonlance Movie

angelius · Post by **angelius** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:04 pm

Yeah

I have NO idea what made someone say,

"Hey I KNOW we'll make ALL the dragons in CGI. It'll be so cooool"

"Erm sir, shouldn't we make the entire movie in CGI then?"

"Heck no! Think of the budget my young apprentice, you'll never get a VP position in paramount if that's how you think!"

"Whatever you say sir...."
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gideon_thorne · Post by **gideon_thorne** » Wed Jan 16, 2008 11:19 pm

angelius wrote:
I'm sure I didnt do myself any favours by watching Record of Lodoss and Rune Soldier before I watched Dragonlance...

Hey, Im all about the Lodos movies. Those rule all over the place.

I agree on the animation comments in this thread. Looking at the 'previews' of the Dragonlance animation made me decide to give the movie a pass.

As I mentioned, what with all the technology out there, I've seen better fan made videos than what the DL cartoon came up with.
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Rigon · Post by **Rigon** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 3:54 am

So you guys are saying I should just wait for it to come out on SciFi.

R-
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Tadhg · Post by **Tadhg** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:39 am

jaybird216 wrote:
I watched half of it before I got bored with it and headed to bed last night. It wasn't horrible, but also wasn't compelling. It just... was. I'll probably pick it up when it hits the used DVD bin at Blockbuster.

As angelius stated above, the cheap production house animation married to the CG sucked. They should have just gone 100% animation. For some reason, someone thought it would be a good idea to make the dragons, draconians and fire effects 3-dimensional CG while everything else is flat and shabby.

Raist and Fewmaster Toade were done pretty well though, and the voices didn't even bother me too badly. From what I can remember of the book, they stayed pretty close to the story. Just that damned CG...

YMMV

Jay, excellent. I sort of liked the trailer but there was something that made it not completely convincing and accepting.

And that was the mixing of the 2 methods. In thinking about it, bad idea.

One makes the other look like crap - CGI over basic animation.

Or decent animations may make the advanced CGI too graphic and if not done right - CGI'ish - meaning sharp and crisp but not realistic or convincing or altogether phony.

Methinks they should have stuck with 1 method. And either way, it probably would have worked better.

Now - someone may take this an go forward and figure a way to blend them so that they compliment each other rather than detract. We'll see.

Still, I'm hoping my library picks up a copy . . . actually the reference librarian is my bud and very cool. She ordered the C&C PH and M&T at my request (due to my natural CHA - 18 and the fact that tax payer/library members can request purchase of most anything).

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Dragonhelm · Post by **Dragonhelm** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 6:27 am

Omote wrote:
It's a very, very low-budget animation movie. There is a reason that this feature is never going to see theaters, and didn't even attempt the film festival circuit.

According to John Frank Rosenblum, it is so they can get a sequel made. If it's in theaters and doesn't draw in enough money, we'll never get a sequel. If it does well enough in DVD sales, we may get a sequel, and hopefully a better budget.

So that's the reason it went straight to DVD.

Omote wrote:
Oops, forgot to say that Margaret Weis revealed the trailer for the movie at GenCon. For a fact she said to me the animation wasn't complete yet, even for the final trailer... I have since learned that all of the animation was completed for this film before GenCon. So I was a bit peeved that she flat out lied to those who she spoke to.

Grr.

Or, there might have been some sort of communication error. I know Margaret personally, and she's a class act.

Unlike the following...

serleran wrote:
They have the right to let some diarrhea go. Awesome.

Now why did I come back to these boards again?

Omote wrote:
There is nothing outstanding or special about this video at all.

How about the outstanding soundtrack?

angelius wrote:
Yeah

I have NO idea what made someone say,

"Hey I KNOW we'll make ALL the dragons in CGI. It'll be so cooool"

"Erm sir, shouldn't we make the entire movie in CGI then?"

"Heck no! Think of the budget my young apprentice, you'll never get a VP position in paramount if that's how you think!"

"Whatever you say sir...."

They did try a CG look for the Heroes of the Lance, and found that it didn't look good. However, they loved the dragons. So they opted for a hybrid. Certainly, a hybrid worked very well for the Invincible Iron Man DVD.

Contrary to belief, it would have been cheaper to go all-CG on this one.
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Harry Joy · Post by **Harry Joy** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 7:07 am

That whole "Firefly", "Family Guy", or whatever routine, of relying on the fans to comes out en masse and support the DVD release, creating a groundswell of interest that will help push forward a sequel, well, they had one little thing that apparently this "Dragonlance" cartoon lacks:

A quality product in the first place that the fans enjoyed and raved about.

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:22 pm

Hey Dragonhelm,

Thanks for answering one of the questions I had ... I'm happy that they've earmarked some cash to do the follow up. Opinions on the quality of this piece, are just that -- opinions. There certainly won't be the possibility of pleasing everyone when dealing with a story that has touched or influenced so many of us (at least as far as gaming is concerned). Personally, I'd rather see this thing get done and completed than see only the first part released.

As with the style of animation, I've managed to watch a bit of it, and although the decision to animate this the way they did isn't to my liking, I will give it a shot in the next few days. Truth to tell, I was considering buying it but the possibility of the series going unfinished (or changing style) was holding me back from doing so.

The one thing I'd like to point out, especially for those with kids, is this is probably an excellent way to introduce a much younger audience to Dragonlance and the Chronicles. They won't care about the style of the animation used and from what I've seen flipping through the channels on Saturday morning, the animation is *at the very least* on par with what passes as cartoons now-a-days.

I have nothing but respect for the authors (Weis & Hickman) and their work and, from what I've seen and heard, are good people. Personal opinions aside, I do hope the sales to well enough to justify more of this to be released in some form or another. Some is better than none and I'll watch this over Disney animation releases any day!

Oh, as an aside... the clips I've heard for the soundtrack are pretty awesome.

M
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jaybird216 · Post by **jaybird216** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 2:52 pm

I tried to watch the rest of it, but fell asleep. Strangely, the animation bothered me less on the second go-round. The mixed media still sucks though.
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Omote · Post by **Omote** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:09 pm

Omote wrote:
Oops, forgot to say that Margaret Weis revealed the trailer for the movie at GenCon. For a fact she said to me the animation wasn't complete yet, even for the final trailer... I have since learned that all of the animation was completed for this film before GenCon. So I was a bit peeved that she flat out lied to those who she spoke to.

Grr.

Dragonhelm wrote:
Or, there might have been some sort of communication error. I know Margaret personally, and she's a class act.

Omote wrote:
There is nothing outstanding or special about this video at all.

Dragonhelm wrote:
How about the outstanding soundtrack?

There might have been a communication error, as I also think MW is a total class act. In speaking to her for many years at various conventions, and on MBs, I agree. However, I can clear as day remember hearing her at GenCon say that the trailer wasn't the finished product, but looking at the DVD, there wasn't anything added from the trailer footage to the final product. Error, possibly but I think MW is also a business woman and knows that the product needs to sell. That is why I said what I did.

As for the soundtrack, I take back my previous statement. The soundtrack is lightyears ahead of the rest of the production. It is good stuff. My bad.

-O
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Dragonhelm · Post by **Dragonhelm** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 4:53 pm

moriarty777 wrote:
Thanks for answering one of the questions I had ... I'm happy that they've earmarked some cash to do the follow up.

Hopefully DVD sales will warrant a sequel, and perhaps one with better animation.

Quote:
Opinions on the quality of this piece, are just that -- opinions. There certainly won't be the possibility of pleasing everyone when dealing with a story that has touched or influenced so many of us (at least as far as gaming is concerned).

Yeah, I know that this movie has some criticisms, especially where the animation is concerned. I won't deny that it could have been better. I was expecting something more on par with The Invincible Iron Man. The story got truncated a bit too.

Quote:
Personally, I'd rather see this thing get done and completed than see only the first part released.

Agreed. I think there's a good possibility that the others will have a larger budget. Also, I think that this is but a stepping stone to a live action movie. After all, we have the Bakshi version of Lord of the Rings.

Quote:
The one thing I'd like to point out, especially for those with kids, is

this is probably an excellent way to introduce a much younger audience to Dragonlance and the Chronicles. They won't care about the style of the animation used and from what I've seen flipping through the channels on Saturday morning, the animation is *at the very least* on par with what passes as cartoons now-a-days.

Yeah, though note that the movie is rated PG-13. Honestly, I think most of it is okay. Just a few parts that may not be.

Oh, by the way, guys, if you do buy the movie, you might consider buying it through the Dragonlance Nexus.
http://www.dlnexus.com/products/558.aspx

We're set up as an Amazon associate, so sales of the DVD help us to pay for the costs of the site.
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Post by **Breakdaddy** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:17 pm

It looks a little cheesy but it could be good if they stick to the story and the actors dont stink.

angelius · Post by **angelius** » Thu Jan 17, 2008 8:29 pm

I dont think you can compare the quality of if invicible iron man to dragonlance. I have seen the iron man movie, both avengers movies.... and they are at least twice as good as the dragonlance movie.

I mean its just plan terrible man...

Dont get me wrong I love dragonlance, I still almost 20 years after the fact... and i wanted to like this movie.

But I think they did a dis-service to the franchise by making this movie.
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CharlieRock · Post by **CharlieRock** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 2:56 am

I just watched it this morning after work. It was decent enough.

Making the draconians cgi was a mistake. I didn't mind the big dragons being cgi so much, but the draconians would have been better if animated. It gave me an odd flashback to the Lord of the Rings animated movie, the parts where the cartoon guys were fighting what looked like real people.

The storyline seemed a bit forced. But I got the pace of it by the second goblin battle.

Final Grade: C
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Plaag · Post by **Plaag** » Fri Jan 18, 2008 11:02 pm

Yeah..thought of Lord of the Rings cartoon when I watched this. Seems the movie could have been longer so everything wasn't rushed and characters could develop as they do in the book. But I may actually watch this again..

ShaneG.

moriarty777 · Post by **moriarty777** » Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:07 am

I got a chance to watch it... and, if it wasn't for the computer animated stuff, I'd would have been relatively satisfied. In fact, after about 15 minutes in, the older style animation didn't bother me at all. I was just so jarring with the badly done, computer animated Draconians...

I'll give it a passing grade as well and thank my lucky stars that I didn't rush out to buy the thing before seeing it first.

M
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:16 am

I finally sat down and watched it tonight, fully ready to gnash my teeth and pull out my hair after hearing all of the doom and gloom about the movie.

I liked it though.

Sure, it most definitely could have been better, but it was an enjoyable watch. My only real complaint is how so many cool parts got ditched to make it movie length. Oh, and I expected Keifer Sutherland to do a better job.

CharlieRock · Post by **CharlieRock** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:49 pm

I liked it enough to buy it. The draconians could've been better, and that one guy could try to not talk all over Kiefer Sutherlands lines (rushed dialogue maybe?). But I'm hoping they make more and then I'm going to want to have part 1 sitting around.

But then again I liked D&D2:Wrath of the Dragon God, too.
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:02 pm

CharlieRock wrote:
But then again I liked D&D2:Wrath of the Dragon God, too.

Hah! Same here.

Omote · Post by **Omote** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:04 pm

Sheesh. I know some people don't like the anime style, especially for such a western style fantasy tale. But think how much better that this flick could have been in the anime style?

I don't know much about about the budget process of anime films, but late last year an anime film called Solid State Society (based on the popular Ghost in the Shell series) only cost $6,000,000US to produce! Heck, if 6 mil was put into the Dragonlance Movie and released in theaters, heck i think it could have made it's money back in spades.

-O
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DangerDwarf · Post by **DangerDwarf** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:15 pm

Higher budget anime, yeah maybe. But there's a lot of crappy looking anime out there too.

The western cartoon look didn't bother me in the slightest. I preferred it over anime. It was the frame rate that made it suffer, which even if they did it anime it would have suffered due to the frame rate.

Omote · Post by **Omote** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 3:20 pm

Yeah, DL was perhaps the most choppy cartoon I've seen in decades. I agree. I know the animation was farmed out to an Indian company, my question is whether or not this company has ever done large scale animation work before... or was there budgetary concerns, or something else.

-O
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CharlieRock · Post by **CharlieRock** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:27 pm

The only place I noticed it getting really choppy was when they were fighting that black dragon and the cave collapsed.
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Omote · Post by **Omote** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:33 pm

Ugh, that and the pixilization.

Good soundtrack though.
-O
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Mike Frank · Post by **Mike Frank** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 4:15 am

O.K. So I went and rented this movie from Red Box.

My expectations were very low. Although, in the back of my mind I was holding out hope that with low expectations, I would like the flick.

I did like it! Matter of fact, I'm going to watch it again before I have to take it back!

Yamo · Post by **Yamo** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 2:48 pm

Ah, Dragonlance. D&D for the romance novel set.

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