The Flight of Dragons (1982)

Directors:

Jules Bass
Arthur Rankin Jr.

Writers:

Peter Dickinson (novel)
Gordon R. Dickson (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

3 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Romance

Tagline:

Man is faced with the ultimate question, of whether to have a world of Magic or a world of Science. Which will it be?

Plot:

A young Boston writer goes back in time into an era where wizards and dragon reign and science is just barely known.

Plot Keywords:

Science | Dragon | Magic | Quest | Wizard

Cast

Victor Buono	...	Aragh (voice)
James Gregory	...	Bryagh / Smrgol (voice)
James Earl Jones	...	Ommadon (voice)
Harry Morgan	...	Carolinus (voice)
John Ritter	...	Peter Dickenson (voice)
Larry Storch	...	Pawnbroker (voice)
Don Messick	...	Giles of the Treetops / Lo Tae Zhao (voice)
Bob McFadden	...	Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe (voice) (as Robert McFadden)
Ed Peck	...	(voice)
Jack Lester	...	(voice)
Alexandra Stoddart	...	Princess Melisande (voice)
Nellie Bellflower	...	Danielle (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Cosie Costa	...	Gorbash (voice) (uncredited)
Paul Frees	...	Antiquity (voice) (uncredited)
Don McLean	...	The Balladeer (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Jules Bass
Arthur Rankin Jr.

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Peter Dickinson		novel "The Flight of the Dragons"
Gordon R. Dickson		novel "The Dragon and the George"
Romeo Muller
Jeffrey Walker		additional material

Produced by
Jules Bass	....	producer
Lee Dannacher	....	associate producer
Arthur Rankin Jr.	....	producer
Masaki Îzuka	....	associate producer (as Masaki Iizuka)

Original Music by
Maury Laws

Film Editing by
Tomoko Kida

Art Department
Fumihiko Takayama	....	storyboard artist
Katsuhisa Yamada	....	storyboard artist

Sound Department
Tom Clack	....	sound effects
John Curcio	....	sound recording engineer
Bob Elder	....	sound recording engineer
Dave Iveland	....	sound recording engineer
John Richards	....	sound recording engineer

Camera and Electrical Department
Hiroyasu Omoto	....	camera operator

Animation Department
Toru Hara	....	animation coordinator
Emiko Ishii	....	animator
Kazuyuki Kobayashi	....	key animator
Hidemi Kubo	....	key animator
Tsuguyuki Kubo	....	continuity animation (as Kubo)
Minoru Nishida	....	background artist
Kiyoshi Sakai	....	assistant animation coordinator
Yoshiko Sasaki	....	animator
Fukuo Suzuki	....	animator
Fumihiko Takayama	....	animation director
Katsuhisa Yamada	....	animation director
Masahiro Yoshida	....	animator
Tadakatsu Yoshida	....	key animator
Kazusuke Yoshihara	....	background artist

Music Department
Jules Bass	....	composer: theme music
Maury Laws	....	composer: theme music
Maury Laws	....	conductor
Don McLean	....	musician: guitar (uncredited)
Don McLean	....	singer (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Rankin/Bass Productions

Distributors

• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1986) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• Telepictures Corporation
• Warner Bros
• Warner Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Warner Home Video (2009) (USA) (DVD) (DVD-R)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:U | Iceland:L

Company:

Rankin/Bass Productions

Trivia:

The last film project of Victor Buono.

Quotes:

Sir Orin Neville Smythe:Blade with whom I have lived, blade with whom I now die, serve right and justice one last time, seek one last heart of evil, still one last life of pain, cut well old friend, and then farewell

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Hewy's Animated Movie Reviews: How to Train Your Dragon (#3.2)" (2010)

Soundtrack:

The Flight of Dragons

THIS is how to make an animated feature!

When I saw this film at a local cinema, I was expecting a simple child's fare. What I got was a most profound experience.

A land ruled by magic is brought to a perilous crossroads, and an evil wizard (voiced magnificently by James Earl Jones) seeks to bring about war and chaos. The good wizard Carolinus (voiced by Harry Morgan) seeks help and finds a most unusual ally...a young fantasy game designer in 20th century North America.

The diologue is intelligent, the action is well-paced, the plot is believable, and the ending will touch your heart. Kids will be drawn by the storyline and the animation. Adults will enjoy the jokes about science and aeronautics of dragons' wings.

Strongly recommended for the fact that it shows the link between science and spirit. That and the fact that you don't normally hear Larry Storch, Henry Morgan, John Ritter and Victor Buono doing voices for animated films.