11 best dragon cartoons for fantasy lovers

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Enjoy classic hand-drawn animation, modern 3D graphics and exciting multi-part projects.

The best full-length dragon cartoons

1. The Hobbit

• USA, Japan, 1977.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 77 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

The hobbit Bilbo Baggins, in the company of the wizard Gandalf and the dwarves, sets out on a journey to recover the treasures of the Undermountain Kingdom, which were captured by the insidious dragon Smaug.

Directed by Arthur Rankin and Jules Bass, the simple visual style of this cartoon is as far removed from the graceful Disney as possible, and even has a clear graphic influence from J. R. R. Tolkien himself. In addition, the manner of drawing, as well as the appearance of some of the characters, slightly resembles classic Japanese anime. This is because the artists worked under the guidance of Hayao Miyazaki himself.

2. Flight of dragons

• USA, UK, Japan, 1982.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 95 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

The inventor Peter Dickinson, through the efforts of the sorcerer Carolinus, finds himself in a fairyland where good wizards and dragons live. The hero will have to defeat the evil magician Omaddan. The only trouble is that Peter accidentally turns into a dragon.

Having filled their hand on the film adaptations of J. R. R. Tolkien, Rankin and Bess filmed another joint work, but using already different literary material. This time it was based on the fantasy novel "The Dragon and George" and the book on speculative zoology "Flight of the Dragons" by Peter Dickinson, which combined scientific facts and imagination.

3. Mulan

• USA, 1998.
• Musical, adventure.
• Duration: 88 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

Mulan's parents expect their daughter to become a worthy bride, but the girl fails to impress the harsh matchmaker, despite all her efforts. Suddenly, it turns out that every family is obliged to send one man to the war. Then Mulan, without saying anything to his family, goes there instead of his old and sick father. Only in China, women are forbidden to serve in the army. Therefore, the heroine pretends to be a young man, but at any moment she can be revealed and severely punished.

The cartoon is based on the medieval Chinese ballad "Song of Mulan". This is quite a serious piece, but in the interpretation of the Walt Disney studio, it has become much more fun and easier. The creators also added new characters to the plot, among which the most memorable was the silly dragon Mushu, voiced by comedian Eddie Murphy.

4. Magic Sword: Save Camelot

• USA, 1998.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 86 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 3.

The girl Kylie dreams of joining the ranks of the Knights of the Round Table, but when the villain Rubert kills her father, the noble Sir Lionel, the heroine has to flee. Years later, it turns out that the villain has again plotted unkindness and is going to enslave the whole world with the help of dark magic. Then Kylie goes on a journey to prevent Rubert, and new friends help her in this - the blind hermit Garrett, his falcon Aiden and a funny two-headed dragon.

Spectators will be amused by the dragon heads of Devon and Cornwall, named after the neighboring English counties. These two cannot stand each other, they constantly argue and swear, but in the finale they still come to the conclusion that one must live together.

5. Shrek

• USA, 2001.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

A huge green ogre named Shrek is perfectly content with his bachelor life in the swamp. But one day his idyll is violated by fairy creatures expelled from the kingdom by the order of the evil Lord Farquad. To get back peace and quiet, the hero must free Princess Fiona. She is imprisoned in a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon. The annoying talking Donkey will help the ogre.

The peculiarity of the cartoon is that the characters of classic fairy tales appear in it in unexpected, but always very funny images. For example, a dragon that appears to be very dangerous at first turns out to be a female eager for romance.

6. Spirited Away

• Japan, 2001.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 125 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

While moving to a new house, the girl Chihiro with her mom and dad got lost and wandered into a strange empty city. Having a snack there, the parents turn into pigs and, together with their daughter, find themselves in the world of ghosts and demons, which is ruled by the witch Yubaba. Now Chihiro needs to serve the witch and come up with a plan to save his family.

Virtually all of Ghibli's cartoons have become iconic, but Spirited Away is especially great. After all, this is both a fairy tale and an exciting adventure and an instructive parable. Separately, it is necessary to mention the unusual characters generated by Hayao Miyazaki's fantasy: they make the picture even better. Among them there is a wandering god Faceless, a terrifying but kind grandfather Kamazi, a boy Haku in the guise of a water dragon, and more.

7. Dragon Hunters

• Germany, France, Luxembourg, 2008.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 78 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

The girl Zoe meets the brave dragon-slayers Gwizdo and Lin-Chu and brings them to her uncle. He invites his friends to perform a feat and kill the most terrible monster that ever existed in the world. The company plans to sneak away with an advance, but Zoe's enthusiasm stops them, so the team really embarks on a very dangerous journey.

The full-length "Dragon Hunters" grew out of the animated series of the same name, which will be discussed below. The plot of the film is extremely straightforward and simple, so adults are likely to get bored. But children will surely like this simple fairy tale.

8. How to train your dragon

• USA, 2010.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 98 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The harsh Vikings are accustomed to not letting the dragons terrorizing them descend. But one day there is a boy among the islanders who realizes that these animals are not at all as dangerous as it is commonly believed.

The cartoon about the touching relationship between a young Viking and his pet Toothless is rightfully considered an animation classic. In total, there were three full-length parts of the franchise. In them, the hero manages to grow up, reveal the secret of his origin, start his own family and, of course, go through many adventures associated with dragons.

The best animated series about dragons

1. Dragon Hunters

• France, China, 2006-2010.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

In the story, buddies Lin-Chu and Gwizdo earn their living by hunting dragons. At the same time, the heroes constantly find themselves in difficult or comic stories.

The most interesting thing is that the animated series is not at all pretentious, which is what fantasy works often sin. In general, there is an unusual amount of realism here: heroes often suffer financial failures or find themselves in situations of difficult moral choices.

10. Dragons and Riders of Berk

• USA, 2012–2014.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 2 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

The series continues the events of the feature-length cartoon "How to Train Your Dragon". It tells about the further adventures of Hiccup, who at the end of the first part reconciled his people with dragons. But not everything goes smoothly, especially since the heroes will meet new types of these creatures.

Starting with the third season, the cartoon moved to Netflix and acquired a new title - "Dragons: Race to the Edge". In new episodes, the already matured Hiccup, together with his friends, discovers unknown lands, and also faces new dangerous enemies.

11. The Dragon Prince

• USA, 2018 - present.
• Adventure, fantasy.
• Duration: 3 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

Two young princes embark on a journey to return the dragon's egg to the elven capital and thereby prevent an impending war. On the way, the guys now and then find themselves in dangerous or surprising situations. Meanwhile, at the court intrigues are woven due to the absence of the king on the throne.

The script of the cartoon was written by one of the creators of the beloved "The Legend of Aang". But you shouldn't overestimate expectations so as not to spoil the viewing pleasure: after all, the young studio Wonderstorm could not approach the level of Avatar. Nevertheless, the project turned out to be very cute, despite the minimal detail of the characters and the low frame rate.