Dragon Hunters (2008) Chasseurs de dragons (original title)

Directors:

Guillaume Ivernel
Arthur Qwak

Writers:

Arthur Qwak (writer)
Frédéric Lenoir (writer)

Release Date:

20 March 2008 (Russia)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

La chasse aux dragons, c'est pas un conte de fées (Dragon hunting isn't a fairy tale)

Plot:

A fantastic tale telling the adventures of two dragon hunters!

Plot Keywords:

Dragon | Hunter | CGI Film | Computer Animation

Cast

Vincent Lindon	...	Lian-Chu (voice: French version)
Patrick Timsit	...	Gwizdo (voice: French version)
Philippe Nahon	...	Le Seigneur Arnold (voice: French version)
Amanda Lear	...	Gildas (voice: French version)
Marie Drion	...	Zoé (voice: French version)
Jeremy Prevost	...	Hector (voice: French version)
Jean-Marc Lentretien	...	Mamular (voice: French version)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John DiMaggio	...	Fat John (voice: English version)
Elias Eliot	...	Gildas (voice: Danish version)
Jess Harnell	...	Gildas (voice: English version)
Nick Jameson	...	Lord Arnold (voice: English version)
Mary Mouser	...	Zoé (voice: English version) (as Mary Matilyn Mouser)
Rob Paulsen	...	Gwizdo / Bat / Lensflair (voice: English version)
Forest Whitaker	...	Lian-Chu (voice: English version)
Dave Wittenberg	...	Hector (voice: English version)

Directed by
Guillaume Ivernel
Arthur Qwak

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Frédéric Lenoir		writer
Arthur Qwak		writer

Produced by
Klaus Badelt	....	co-executive producer
Michael Coldewey	....	co-executive producer
Antonio De Campos	....	associate producer
Philippe Delarue	....	producer
Robyn Klein	....	co-executive producer
Gladys Morchoisne	....	associate producer
Marcus Schöfer	....	co-producer
Tilo Seiffert	....	producer

Original Music by
Klaus Badelt

Film Editing by
Soline Guyonneau

Production Management
Katrin Arndt	....	production manager
Jean Baptiste Lère	....	unit production manager
Marine Tuloup	....	production manager
Georg Wieland	....	assistant production manager

Art Department
Nathalie Mathé	....	texture painter
Christophe Messier	....	matte painting artist

Sound Department
Thomas Ailhaud	....	sound recordist
Sébastien Ariaux	....	sound mixer
Sebastien Cortequisse	....	assistant sound editor
Alexandre Fleurant	....	foley editor
Alexandre Fleurant	....	foley recordist
Alexandre Fleurant	....	sound editor
Alexandre Fleurant	....	sound effects editor
Jean-Marc Lentretien	....	sound designer
Jean-Marc Lentretien	....	sound effects recordist
Jean-Marc Lentretien	....	supervising sound editor
Sebastien Marquilly	....	sound editor
Piste Rouge	....	sound: studio
Bruno Seznec	....	sound re-recording mixer
Bruno Seznec	....	sound studio manager
Bruno Seznec	....	sound supervisor
Biccheri Stephane	....	assistant sound

Special Effects by
Emilien Dessons	....	special effects supervisor

Visual Effects by
Marie-Claire Bazart	....	visual effects supervisor
Olivier Beierlein	....	cloth dynamics: MacGuff Ligne
Le Ster Benjamin	....	character effects supervisor
Vincent Blanqué	....	visual effects artist
Albert Bonnefous	....	visual effects supervisor
Marie Bourguet	....	lead digital compositor
Maxime Bray	....	digital effects artist
Bastien Brenot	....	digital compositor
Xavier Breuil	....	effects technical director
Bertrand Breuze	....	lead digital compositor
Guillaume Carniato	....	digital compositor
Matthieu Chardonnet	....	digital effects artist
Nicolas Combecave	....	modeler and rigger
Clement Darbois	....	digital compositor
Emmanuel De Lange	....	modeler
Selim Draia	....	lead lighting
Florence Dubin	....	digital visual effects artist
Marc Dubrois	....	layout artist
Marc Dubrois	....	layout modeler
Bruno Ebe	....	digital effects artist
Francois Elie	....	digital effects artist
Jean-Pascal Gaïffas	....	digital compositor
Virginie Giroux	....	digital artist
Stephan Guerin	....	digital compositor
Stephan Guerin	....	lighting artist
Sebastian Haas	....	pipeline technical director: Trixter Film GmbH
Aurelien Hulot	....	lighting and compositing: Mac Guff Ligne
Aurelien Hulot	....	texturing artist: Futurikon
Aurelien Hulot	....	texturing artist: Luxanimation
Vanessa Lamblet	....	digital artist
Francois Launet	....	title sequence
Francois Launet	....	visual effects supervisor
Loic Laurelut	....	digital compositor
Tim Lebon	....	assistant modeler
Romain Leclerc	....	digital effects artist
Sandrine Moniez	....	digital compositor
Prothais Nicolas	....	character rigger and animator
Thomas Pastor	....	lighting technical director
Michel Pecqueur	....	rigging supervisor
Jan-Hilmar Petersen	....	lead pipeline technical director: Trixter Film GmbH
Benoit Philippon	....	digital compositor
Carles Piles	....	texture artist
Nicolas Renou	....	character shading
Nicolas Renou	....	lighting
Marion Roger	....	senior digital compositor
Isabelle Roussel	....	digital compositor
Stephanie Saillard	....	digital compositor: Mac Guff
Antonin Seydoux	....	compositing lead
Alexander Stania	....	cloth simulation: Trixter Film GmbH
Mathieu Trintzius	....	senior character technical director
Pènèlope Vandecave	....	lead digital compositor
Henri Zaitoun	....	layout artist
Loic Zimmermann	....	senior texture artist: Luxanimation

Animation Department
Michael Aerni	....	character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Manu Batot	....	modeler
Max Braslavsky	....	background designer
Daniel Callaby	....	animator
Julien Depoortere	....	pipeline technical assistant
Audrey Fobis	....	animator
Stanislav Glazov	....	cloth td: Trixter Film GmbH
Wolfgang Haas	....	character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Valérie Hadida	....	character designer
Daniel Komosny	....	animation trainee: Trixter Film GmbH
Simone Kraus	....	animation supervisor: Trixter Film GmbH
Robert Kuczera	....	senior character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Jean-Marc Ky	....	animator
Pierre Leduc	....	animation supervisor
David Liebard	....	character rigging
David Liebard	....	modeler: main characters
Stein Lotveit	....	animator
Stephane Mangin	....	lead animator
Prothais Nicolas	....	senior animator
Michel Pecqueur	....	modeler
Boris Plateau	....	animator
Fabrice Senia	....	animation sequence supervisor
Juan Siquier	....	texture artist
Chris Stenner	....	lead character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Nathan Stone	....	character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Tilmann Vogt	....	character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Jörg Volk	....	character animator: Trixter Film GmbH
Daniel Zettl	....	character animator: Trixter Film GmbH

Casting Department
Christine Seznec	....	casting coordinator

Music Department
Malona P. Badelt	....	music production manager (as Malona P. Voigt)
Christopher Carmichael	....	score assistant engineer
Tilo M. Heinrich	....	music preparation
Ian Honeyman	....	composer: additional music
Andrew Raiher	....	composer: additional music

Other crew
Irmgard Bauta	....	accountant: Trixter Film GmbH
Josef Brandmaier	....	film finance representative
Karl Fischer	....	system maintenance: Trixter Film GmbH
Thomas Foncelle	....	lead render wrangler
Julie Halten	....	screenplay translator: German
Silke Harbauer	....	production secretary: Trixter Film GmbH
Emilie Maison	....	press attache
Eva Neufahrt	....	controller
Berit Norrenberg	....	legal consultant (as Berit Wetzel)
Emilie Perret	....	production coordinator
Karl Petersen	....	tax advisor

Production Companies

• Futurikon
• Luxanimation
• Trixter Productions

Distributors

• Bac Films (2008) (France) (theatrical)
• Belga Films (2008) (Belgium) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2008) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Gussi Artecinema (2008) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (2008) (China) (theatrical)
• Independent Films (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• MovieBiz Films (2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Angel Films (2010) (Denmark) (all media)
• Luxor Entertainment (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Peace Arch Entertainment Group
• Premiere Stealth Rights (2010) (UK) (all media)
• SBP (2011) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Stealth Media Group (2010) (UK) (all media)
• Warner Home Video (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Zon Lusomundo Audiovisuais (2011) (Portugal) (all media)

Special Effects

• Mac Guff Ligne (animation studio)
• Trixter Film

Other Companies

• Bayerischer Banken-Fonds  funding
• Skylark Sound Studios  sound recording and editing (voice casting, recording and production services - US title)

Also Known As:

"Chasseurs de dragons" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some scary images, fantasy action and language

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

France | Luxembourg | Germany

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Certification:

Germany:6 | Netherlands:6 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG | Australia:PG | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | South Korea:All

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Futurikon

Quotes:

Zoé:[with reference to jaws] "Were going to need a bigger island"

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Lotus

A Nutshell Review: Dragon Hunters

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!