Firebreather

Firebreather is one of those childhood movies that I thought for sure wasn't gonna hold up - knowing what I know about films and storytelling, and how far the art can be taken. But I was very pleasantly surprised to give the movie two rewatches in a single week - after not watching it in about 12 or so years - and find myself enjoying and appreciating the movie more than I ever did. The movie isn't for everyone, and it's UNDENIABLY filled with the angst of teenage boys that want to be cool, but if you don't mind an action-adventure filled with kaiju then this could be your thing. There is genuinely a lot to love here.

First, the presentation. The art direction is really unique with some really cool, but eerie, kaiju designs and even Duncan himself has a really great look to him. The environments look great, from the high school to the canyons. The cinematography is also really stellar. It's slick, but keeps focus on the action in a really compelling and epic way. But then there's the animation in motion. The animation can be quite inconsistent. At times characters move really smoothly, in a believable fashion even. Then there's times when the animation is a bit janky and almost puppet-like. It can be a bit jarring.

Firebreather also has a pretty good soundtrack. A catchy theme song, that's pretty much the typical badass rock song you here in many action-fantasy animations, but with a bit more angst. The more low-key tracks, such as what we hear in the first seconds of the movie, the music we hear in the canyons and even calmer moments at the school have a mellow and almost dreamlike nature to them. The overall atmosphere of the movie is also pretty well done, as it fits with the slightly mature story. The movie juggles between light-hearted, high school teen drama and a more eerie kaiju fantasy. It's really compelling.

Finally, there's the story and writing. Firebreather has a pretty good narrative premise, but the execution leaves a little to be desired. I think the story and plot is decent. Duncan's character arc is good and he does come with a bit of nuance. What the story struggles with is the world around Duncan. There are certain things that aren't explained all too well and the worldbuilding feels a bit sloppy. But what REALLY impressed me about watching Firebreather, after so many years, is how great the writing is. The dialogue in this movie is honestly the best part of the whole thing. There's so many clever lines - backed up by great performances - and there's just a suave feeling to it. The writing is sharp, sometimes mature, and just really entertaining. Although one thing that plagues the story and writing on a slightly obnoxious level is the whole theme of 'father figures'. There are quite a few times when the conversation of growing up without father figures feels forced or heavy-handed. At times, it makes the overall theme of the story come off as kind of cringeworthy. And the story unfortunately suffers from that, too. But in more positive terms, there are also some REALLY great scenes and setpieces throughout the movie. These scenes showcase the strong animations and presentation, as well as the writing chops that the movie has going for it.

Firebreather is a good time if you're looking for an underrated gem of an action-adventure animation. It's got some great action, punchy writing, a good atmosphere, some mature themes, and a mostly great look. If you can get past some of the worldbuilding shortcomings and the teenage angst, Firebreather is a nice little treat and a forgotten Cartoon Network classic.

The movie is also based off a series of comics, if you're looking to dig deeper into the world of Firebreather. Although, said comics are a lot more gritty and unapologetic than the film, which is a bit more sanitized.

You can tell this movie, most likely, got its expected budget cut several times. For a movie, the animation is sub par. The voice actors were amazing, the only highlight of this film. Story was amazing but dialog was weak. It developed normal enough I think the story board was probably rushed. All in all I just would not bother. Had way to many political garbage for an animated movie. I am an ARIES. It is very hard to make a movie about fire, or fire related things that I would not be into. Who you think you iz, freedom toons? Just skip to the next one on the list. This one is just not worth the time!

Firebreather can be said that a good animation. But it's not a great one. Mostly because of a fact that doesn't make sense. A child born with a dragon? I can understand that they wanted to create a character with the ability to produce fire, but it's not the perfect way to do it. If you think carefully, its not possible. How can a woman can have a child with a dragon? It entirely doesn't make any sense.

Except for this fact, Firebreather is kind of a good animation. If they could do something that makes sense, it'd be better than this.

This has been on the back of my head for a long time now. I remember having seen a movie of a high-school guy with a cool blonde quiff who could spit fire. And there it is, a short movie about the clash between the humans and the legendary Kaijus in a futuristic setting, where the protagonist obviously suffers an internal conflict as he is half human and half "monster". Most of the story seems to be left unexplained, but it doesn't take away that this is top notch animation for the time it was made, the characters are memorable and, despite all the clichés, I know this is a lowkey classic. Potential contender for what could be a great animated series.

Entertaining, fast and effective, Firebreather turns out to be a Incredible's wanna-be for all of us who enjoyed the great superhero family-saga, as we are desperately waiting for a sequel. Though Firebreather isn't that sequel, it gives a taste of what could be. Of course there is the budget question, The Incredibles were made with some 92M$ for the big screen, what the little descendant took on expenses we can only assume...maybe 5-8 M$ ?

Well, it doesn't look cheap, on the contrary, the last 7 years in computer progress enabled CGI artists to produce good-looking 3d animations for a fraction of their previous cost. And this movie is an impressive showcase for decent Cartoon Networks's production abilities. If this is what we have to expect in the future, I appreciate that.

What Firebreather lacks, compared with the big predecessor, is story innovation and likable characters, its a mixture of the Movies mentioned in my Headline:

The Incredibles for some kind of family issues, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs for some CGI gymnastics and the town environment, How to Train your dragon for the father/son relationship and action movements, and Godzilla for the size and speed of the monsters.

Of all comics out there - and there are many good comics - I would not expect Firebreather to manage coming to cinematic life, and the second lack is that this Comic is not exactly well-known all over the world, so it left me a bit alone puzzling about the world it takes action in. It's a bit like these Manga stories which are about a future not too far, but far enough from us for energy weapons and other gadgets, and near enough to show a very current non-changed school system. People in this world are actually afraid of those huge Kajin Dragons, but not so much that they would talk about them all the time, so, maybe they became familiar with those violent beasts.

OK, one day, 16 years ago during a war between dragons and humans, our Hero's Mother rescued a complete town by facing the King of the Kaju (not exactly Japanese, but likely) Dragons, and while she faced him, they fell both in love and the result is their son, Duncan. It seems that the 300 ft father was not really the family guy type of a father, so he may have been disappeared for political reasons, and left the mother with their son alone. Only to come 16 years later and to ruin his son's poor attempts to find a place in his new high school. It turns out that the father has some plans for his half bread descendant, and Duncan has to fight against his father's will, his nature, other Kajun and, important enough, Highschool ignorance.

These are the provisions, and the movies tries hard to add some humor and to be be all things to everyone, but in some cases it fails. For example, when a 300 ft Dragon mates with a 5 ft woman, what's like it ? - There's a little funny dialog, where Duncan's mother does want to reveal details about that, but Duncan disagrees about the necessity. So we don't hear anything about intercourse between Dragon and humans, let alone DNA compatibility. It remains a magic secret.

Besides the few minor glitches the movie is absolutely watchable, full of amazingly nice rendered action and never boring, it tries even to bring in some new insights, like killing your enemies may not be the wisest decision. All things considered - well done.