Terrific Animation, Great Humor and Heartfelt Message
Published: September 25, 2024
By: Ariel K., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12
In ancient China after a clash with the humans, dragons are banished from the kingdom. Many years later, innocent and freedom-yearning orphan, Ping, is looking after the last two dragons when she discovers that one has sadly died, and the other is guarding a precious and rare dragon egg. As palace guards arrive, the remaining dragon, Danzi disappears, and before Ping has the opportunity to explain what has happened, she is mistaken for an accomplice and must run away herself. Danzi and Ping escape from the palace together and must return the dragon egg to the ocean to save all dragons from extinction! On this wild and dangerous adventure, Ping finds a way to unlock her power and discovers she is a true Dragonkeeper. Dragonkeeper comes from animation studio Ilion Animation Studios (Wonder Park, Planet 51) and the visual direction of the legendary Sergio Pablos (Rio, Despicable Me) & Borja Montoro (Zootopia).
KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Ariel K. comments, “I really enjoyed this film. It has lots of humor – there are all sorts of humorous scenes like my favorite, where the mouse tries helping. He marches up to the big fight against something 2,000,000 times his size.” See his full review below.
Dragonkeeper
By Ariel K.
KIDS FIRST! Film Critic, age 12
I like the movie Dragonkeeper because it is funny and heartfelt.
The storyline is about a slave girl called Ping (Mayalinee Griffiths), who dreams about meeting dragons. Her dream comes true, but one of the magical creatures dies and she goes on a quest to save the dragons and hatch the last imperial dragons’ egg. Joining her is a dragon (Bill Nighy) as her protector and a funny “very helpful” mouse. She soon finds out that she has mystical powers and learns to use them to stop bad guys who want to steal the egg and use its powers for evil.
I really enjoyed this film. It’s an animated film with special effects. It also has lots of humor – there are all sorts of humorous scenes like my favorite, where the mouse tries helping. He marches up to the big fight against something 2,000,000 times his size. Another fun scene is when he rolls the egg away from the bad guys. The movie is also sad and heartfelt because one of the dragons dies. The visual effects are great and really stand out. For example when one of the dragons heals Ping’s wound with the power of the egg as shown in the trailer. I do have to admit that some parts of the movie are a little childish. For example, there is a scene about 30 seconds long of two kids blowing raspberries at each other.
The film’s message is “you can do whatever you want; only you decide your destiny.”
I give Dragonkeeper 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 5 to 12. It is available on digital in the US now and opens in theaters in UK & Ireland on September 27, 2024. I hope you enjoy it.
OFFICIAL TRAILER:
