| Dragon Rider | |
|---|---|
.jpg) German theatrical film poster. | |
| German | Drachenreiter |
| Directed by | Tomer Eshed |
| Screenplay by | John R. Smith |
| Based on | Dragon Rider byCornelia Funke |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Olaf Aue |
| Edited by | Rikke Malena Nielsen |
| Music by | Stefan Maria Schneider |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Constantin Film |
Release dates |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Countries | Germany Belgium |
| Languages | German English |
| Box office | €6.4 million[1] |
Dragon Rider (German:Drachenreiter), also known asFiredrake the Silver Dragon byNetflix, is a 2020 animatedfantasy film; while officially based on the1997 novel of the same name byCornelia Funke, the film takes influence from theHow to Train Your Dragon series byCressida Cowell, with its visuals and marketing based on that of theDreamWorksfranchise.[citation needed] The film was due to be released in theatres on 6 August 2020,[2] but due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the film release was postponed until 1 October 2020.[3]
Netflix acquired global distribution rights to the film, and it was released on the streaming platform on 10 September 2021.[4]
Firedrake is a young silverdragon, who has had enough of constantly having to hide in a wooded valley. He wants to show the older generations of dragons that he is a real dragon. When humans are about to destroy his family's very last refuge, Firedrake secretly sets off on an adventurous journey with Sorrel a bad-tempered cat-likeforest brownie. He wants to find the "Rim of Heaven", the dragons' mysterious haven. On their quest, Firedrake and Sorrel encounter Ben, an orphanned teenager who claims to be a dragon rider. While Ben and Firedrake make friends quickly, Sorrel becomes increasingly distrustful and tries her best to get rid of the orphan at every opportunity. But the unlikely trio have to learn to pull together, because they are being hunted by Nettlebrand, a monster created by an alchemist with the aim of tracking down and destroying every dragon on Earth.
It was announced in June 2017 that production had begun on an animated adaptation ofCornelia Funke's novel.[5][6][7] The film is a German-Belgian co-production. The animation was handled bySpain's Able & Baker and Cyborn Studios, while additional parts of the lighting and compositing took place atRise FX and Big Hug FX.[8] The production work took place inBerlin,Munich andAntwerp.[9]
In May 2018, the castings of Felicity Jones, Patrick Stewart, Freddie Highmore, Thomas Brodie-Sangster,Nonso Anozie,Meera Syal andSanjeev Bhaskar were announced.[10]
The film was due to be released in theatres on 6 August 2020,[2] but due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, the film release was postponed until 1 October 2020.[3]
Dragon Rider has earned $6,385,553 at the global box office.[1][11]
OnRotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 80% based on 15 reviews with an average rating of 5.5/10.[12]
Robbie Collin ofThe Daily Telegraph gave it 3 out of 5. Collin said the film borrows heavily from other recent films and wrote: "Dragon Rider is unlikely to spawn many imitators of its own—even if it did, how could anyone tell?—but as a half-term diversion, it ticks every box."[13] Cath Clarke ofThe Guardian gave it 3 out of 5 and called it a "bland but entertaining family film".[14]
Quotations from Wikiquote
Data from Wikidata