
Animated children's movie chronicling the story of how Merlin the magician overcomes evil Vortigern the tyrant.... (Full plot summary below)
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Animated children's movie chronicling the story of how Merlin the magician overcomes evil Vortigern the tyrant.
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| User ReviewAdam F"Merlin and the Dragons" is one of those movies you remember being really good because you haven't seen it in years and as a kid, you loved it but if you re-watch it as an adult you'll see that it's plagued with problems. The biggest and most obvious flaw is the quality of the animation. The characters are only partially animated and don't move smoothly while the lip-synch is non-existent. The lack of lip-synch could be intentional to allow the Dvd's multiple language tracks to blend perfectly with the action but combined with the cheap-looking animation and the constant re-use of shots it's doubtful that this was the case. The character range from good to off-putting. "Emrys" and "Arthur" both have eyes that seem way too big for their faces and the pupils look like beady little marbles inside the sockets but other characters like "Merlin", "Vortigem" and the wizard advisors look good. When it comes to the story, it moves at a fast pace (the whole thing is about a half hour long) and the plot is interesting. The main story of "Merlin and the Dragons" is told to a young "King Arthur" and to the audience by "Merlin" so there's a nice wraparound story that helps tie the tale to Arthurian mythos. There are some things that are left totally up in the air and just never mentioned again, like "Emrys'" mother or the three wizard counselors to "King Vortigem" who are seen gleefully sharpening their knives as they prepare to kill "Emrys" but are never mentioned again after the boy's visions are proven to be correct. There are also mistakes in the narrative, with two important characters being called "knights" and "kings" alternatively, as if the two terms meant the same thing. If you're watching the movie for the dragons, you're in luck because the animator in charge was clearly in love with the creatures and all of the good animation is in the scenes where the two beasts are on the screen. As an adult you'll probably notice that the battle is padded out with repeated shots but it's still fun. What it comes down to is that the movie isn't bad as long as you don't discriminate a lot. As an introduction to Arthurian legend or just as a short story with dragons in it, it's fun for children, but doesn't stand the test of time. The story Is meant for a young audience and for that audience, it's quite effective but for adults, they'll find the flaws all too obvious. (Dvd, May 2, 2013) |