Zébulon le dragon

I was more excited that Zog sees the reunion of Lenny Henry and Tracy Ullman. Two thirds of a Kind!

Julia Donaldson's Zog is about a young dragon that is training how to be a dragon.

The other young dragons learn how to roar, fly or breathe fire quicker and better than Zog.

The accident prone Zog tries his best and hopes to get a medal for his efforts.

When he captures a princess, Zog finds that his true vocation is actually helping others.

A charming animation for Christmas bought from the same team behind The Gruffalo and Stickman. Nicely animated, quirky and kids will enjoy it.

The bright orange "Zog" is determined to win a gold star from his teacher at dragon school, but to be honest - he isn't really very good. His flying is dangerous for just about all concerned; his roaring wouldn't scare the skin off a custard so he's pinning his hopes on capturing a princess. Fortunately, he has already befriended a young girl "Pearl", so you can imagine his delight when he discovers that she's really of royal blood, bored and actually wants to be rescued. Thing is, though, her kingly uncle wants her back so despatches the brave "Sir Gadabout" to retrieve her. A duel of epic proportions looms, but who will win? It's perhaps five minutes too long, this, but it's still an enjoyably vibrant (almost hallucinogenic) animation that's amusing as the young dragon tries to find his feet/wings/fire-breathing skills whilst the rebellious "Pearl" is desperate to escape the boredom of her life. The narration is largely in an amiable rhyme, the score has a simple jollity to it and there are just about enough escapades to keep it fun.

We've been reading the book for a while and definitely felt like this was a good adaptation of the story. It's always difficut when a short story is made into a longer animation and you often get the feeling that a lot of it is simply filler. This really isn't the case with Zog - there are some very humerous sections which really add to the story. My kids have been watching it non-stop since Christmas, but it is so well done we don't mind (much!).

An absolutely wonderful piece of TV to watch with your children. Funny and creative. Animation is great. Voices too. Hope they do more than two. Love them both.

Cute little kids short film I watched randomly after seeing a movie. Literally How to Train Your Dragon with dragons being taught how to be dragons at school. Throws some Human characters in the mix and provide a straightforward lesson on growing as a person and helping others.

Moves at a good pace, the Animation and voice work is okay. Some little easy gags here and there. Perfectly harmless little bit of fun. The dragons kind of remind me a bit of the ones in the Spyro video game series. Might be a bit simplistic for adults, but children will have a good time with Zog.

5.5/10