Chasseurs de dragons

FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Title´s Content and Context

...2,000 Characters??? Not nearly enough to do this film justice. In a perfect world, all CGI animated movies would be of this caliber. Also, we wouldn't be limited to only 2K characters to discuss a cinematic marvel. I'll call this a Pre(re)view of my complete review (More info later)

1st, to clarify: The real title is "Chasseurs de Dragon". Don't confuse this with another 2008 release, "Dragon Hunter". Name any specific area for evaluating or critiquing a CGI film and "Hunters" is flawlessly top-notch. Every frame is, quite literally, a work of art! Immediately after viewing my NF copy, I ran out & bought my own. In areas such as creative/artistic design and rendering, conceptualization, technical precision and execution, music soundtrack, and sound engineering "Dragon Hunters" sets a new CGI standard, & should serve as the yardstick by which all future CGI endeavors are measured.

In fact, at times, remarkably, I felt it was too good! The unparalleled meticulous detail was almost distracting at times. One example: The nerdy little side-kick/manager character had faint acne scars on his face! Can you believe that? After experiencing this surreal French production I'm prompted to issue this warning: Pixar & Dreamworks, you'd best stand up and take notice!

"Dragon Hunters" from an artistic viewpoint, has great highbrow appeal. If Salvador Dali had dreams at age 10, I'm sure they were reminiscent of "Hunters". Yet, there is something in "Hunters" for everyone. The acting, by the way, was delightful. Forrest Whitaker gave a firm but nuanced performance!...6******

ENJOY! / DISFRUTELA!

I really liked the art style and concept in the movie. But as far as the story goes, it's not very engaging. It lacks the polish that the visuals have. The character art reminds me of the game "Mark of Kri". And the floating lands in which the story takes place is breathtaking.

But the story is just too simple. They try to build it up by making the characters fight bigger dragons each time, but this only works if the fight choreography was actually good or if the characters' dragon fighting skill improves over time, but neither of it was the case.

They tried to make it about character development at times but it was too brief and shallow to have any impact.

Then there's the case of the relationships between the characters. There just isn't enough back story to get the viewer into them. But the little girl's character, Zoe, was too cute not to like. Without her character, the movie wild been much worse.

So overall, the art and the Zoe character was reason enough to see this movie. Kids might not mind the simplistic story, because they are young and haven't watched enough movies to see it as a cliché.

For a long time i haven't seen so beautiful animated feature. Having healthy respect for Pixar, i must say that Ratatouille or any other movie made by 'em can not be compared to this. Animators have created an incredibly beautiful world here. The graphics is amazing, the background surroundings are mind-blowing, almost every object in every frame is drawn perfectly. Sometimes i felt tingles down my spine - so much i loved what i've seen.

The plot is absolutely romantic. As romantic as the animated film plot can possibly be. The characters are lovable, especially Hector, the blue rabbit, he owns, pawns, rocks and rules! The other char-s are very nice also. The humor is top-notch.

Generally it seemed that creators didn't invest much effort into this. I mean it looked like it didn't take em too much in difference from people of Pixar&Dreamworks who try hard every time to think on something new. And i'm very glad that a product of European animation studio turned out to be SO great. They've made a magnificent, touching movie, a candy for eye and heart.

The only minus is stupid beginning and that's why it's 9of10 not 10/10

This is a real eye candy. A world made of floating islands and flying ancient cities. Huge monsters whose preferred method of attack is hurling cathedrals at their opponents... Who can resist that? An ancient prophecy, a bunch of underdog heroes and a cute princess in search of her hero... sounds familiar...? Yes we heard that song before. But You will forget that while looking at the spectacular scenery.

This movie is fun to watch while it lasts. But after leaving the cinema You'll be longing for a little bit more story.

What is behind the 30-years-circle? What drove the knight crazy? Who built all these fabulous monuments, castles and cities... and why are they falling apart? And apart from that one bunch of farmers, where are the people? Really, this picture looks so intriguing, but it's no Lord of the Rings.

My first impression would be this is Beowulf only with all the good bits of fighting Grendel and dragons intact, making it one thrill ride from start to end. Written by Frederic Lanoir and Arthur Qwak, the two of them had created a fantastical landscape that becomes a character in itself within their story, with its ever changing environment made up of small spheres of land floating around, which can either be wastelands, or globes of greenery.

The story's a simple one, which tells of a land which is cowering in the expectation of a mighty dragon's unwanted visit to plunder and destroy, and the resident knights have all but been annihilated. Enter the king's granddaughter Zoe (Marie Drion) who gathers Lian-Chu (Vincent Lindon), a huge brute with immense strength but truly a gentle giant, and his partner-in-arms Gwizdo (Patrick Timsit), who balances the partnership with his cunning brain. Lian-Chu and Gwizdo (together with their pet creature which too proudly spews incipient fires) share a common dream of owning a farm land and spending idyllic days tending to their farm animals in retirement, but in order to do that comes the requirement of being financially free, hence their career in monster-extermination which doesn't exactly pay off.

That's basically the whole gist of it, but what makes this film a spectacle, is its CG graphics, which is solidly rich, detailed, and an eye-popping marvel to behold. It has some wonderfully crafted set action pieces that were painstakingly designed to draw you into the thick of the action,, and during those fight sequences, there's nary a boring moment. Photo-realistic moments of non-existent landscapes make you put aside the fantasy of make-belief, and it's easy to be in awe of the landscape which goes beyond the usual three-suns and a kaleidoscope of flying thingamajigs (here's having at you George!) And I couldn't get enough of the finale battle as well, though the usual brick-bats will find some fault at the indestructibility of the principle characters.

I guess this film had opened my eyes that there are many more computer-animated companies out there around the world that have quality in their product to match that of Pixar's. And this is definitely a movie that the local filmmakers of Zodiac: The Race Begins and Legend of the Sea can learn from – to keep the story effectively simple, and let your moving artwork do all the talking. Definitely highly recommended!