Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight

There were rumours of a Dragonlance film from almost the start of it being published with many fans submitting their preffered cast list.

Having now seen the entire film (not just the rushed out trailer) I have to say even Dragonlance fan that i was a little disappointed in the effort put into this.

With the quality of animation and CGI available today this could have been absolutely massive, with a worldwide fan base of the books to easily rival the Harry Potter franchise why do we get cartoon style graphics that weren't even as good as the '80s DUngeons & Dragons cartoons (which should have been given their final episode but thats another criticism for another day).

The only highlights for me were the voice talents of Keifer Sutherland (though being a big Raistlin fan may have biased me).

A below average attempt at a brilliant story but I don't expect them to follow it up.

Six Companions - a dwarf, half-elf, warrior, mage, knight and kender reunite amid rumours of war and growing evil, horrors that will either destroy them or forge them into heroes of the world of Krynn.

Dragonlance: Dragons of Autumn Twilight, directed by Will Meugniot is a standard affair especially given the voice talent involved, the CGI animation hampers the traditionally drawn cells. Even the voice- acting talents of Kiefer Sutherland and Lucy Lawless can lift the mix of traditional 2D animation and computer-generated 3D elements

It's a Dungeons & Dragons tale, even with the wealth of Dragonlance's source material that I know is out there from Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, George Strayton's screenplay is quite skimming. At times it's naturally reminiscent to Lord of the Rings with orcs, Elves, Dwarfs, dragon and Wizards. The story beats echo Conan the Destroyer and Krull, I must admit I've never read first novel for the campaign setting on which it is based, given it was made in 2008 it feels very cheap where as the '80s Dungeons & Dragons cartoon still holds up and fares much better as a piece of entertainment.

As the Companions flee, struggle against enemy forces, escape, and encounter undead warriors despite Meugniot's best efforts it feels quite flat which is a shame given some of the character designs are visually interesting. It has all the right fantasy elements however, the animation shortfalls takes you out of the moment dulling any danger and excitement.

Overall, it never reaches the heights or atmosphere of the comparable D&D series, Fire and Ice or Gauntlet the video game.

Four stars of ten.

I've seen the movie twice. The first time was the obvious 'sit down, and enjoy the story from my youth," viewing. The second time was, "lets see that again in drunk-o-vision." I won't say what has already been said time and time again; choppy animation, bad mixture of dated 2d with dated 3d, and an average of 5 or 10 frames. Oops! I said it. :) This, of course, pales if you've had a couple shots first. Sure, this is the unexplored review. The Story is mostly intact, and the heart in the right place, but still it remains; this is a badly done movie. Of course, have the right beverage, and suddenly it's a great movie! No more will Verminards dishtowel face mask bother you! Fuzzy animation won't be an issue, because your vision will be fuzzy. Tas will be funnier, Raistlin will be creepier, and the Forestmaster will... well the Forestmaster will still be downright wrong, and no amount of drinking will stop that. :) Drinking helps, but it doesn't cure.

The movie earns points for trying, on what was obviously a tight and tiny budget. I grant the makers that. The end result wasn't up to the expectations of the public, and I'm sorry for that. Wizards of the Coast doesn't like taking big risks, and their products show this (any D&D movie shows this to be true). A good story got squandered with bad production because of it.

... but drinking helps. ;)

I rented this movie today and was looking forward to watching it ... big disappointment. It really is sad, too, because the story was decent enough but the rest of the production was dreadful.

Not only was the animation stiff and "cheap," but the voices were, also, with no emotion or enthusiasm. It was as if the voices were just reading their lines deadpan. Then again, due to the stiffness of the arted characters' animation, even if the voices had more spunk in them it would not have helped.

It would be nice to see someone put some dollars into re-doing this movie as was spent on the artwork for the DVD jacket cover. The jacket cover is about the only good thing I can say about this movie.

Avoid renting or buying this one .. truly one of the worst animations I have seen in years, if not THE worst.

Where to start? The animation is definitely sub-standard. Jerky, unsubstantial and boring. They mix bad animations with bad CG, and it looks horribly. The characters are like pieces of wood, expressions very simple or not at all. Only Sutherlands outstanding voice-acting makes any lasting impression. The story works, but no thanks to the movie makers.

I really like the books, Hickman and Weis write good fiction, the Dragonlance universe is nice. But this movie is an affront to it. Hard core Fanboys of Dragonlance might give this trash a higher rating, but I will not. Don't waste your time.