| The Last Dragon | |
|---|---|
 Title Screen | |
| Genre | Fantasy,science fiction |
| Created by | Charlie Foley |
| Developed by | Charlie Foley David McNab Justin Hardy Kevin Tao Mohs |
| Directed by | Justin Hardy |
| Starring | Paul Hilton Katrine Bach Aiden Woodward |
| Narrated by | Ian Holm(English release) Patrick Stewart(U.S. release) |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | John Smithson David McNab Alice Keens-Soper |
| Producer | Ceri Barnes |
| Running time | 99 mins |
| Original release | |
| Network | Channel 4 Animal Planet |
| Release | 1 December 2004 (2004-12-01) |
The Last Dragon, known asDragons: A Fantasy Made Real in the United States, and also known asDragon's World in other countries, is a 2004Britishdocufiction made by Darlow Smithson Productions[1] forChannel Four and broadcast on both Channel Four andAnimal Planet.
It posits aspeculative evolution ofdragons from theCretaceous period up to the 15th century, and suppositions about what dragon life and behaviour might have been like if they had existed and evolved. It uses the premise that theubiquity of dragons in worldmythology suggests that dragons could have existed. They are depicted as a scientifically feasible species ofreptile that could have evolved, somewhat similar to the depiction of dragons in theDragonology series of books. The dragons featured in the show were designed byJohn Sibbick.
The programme switches between two stories. The first usesCGI to show the dragons in their natural habitat throughout history. The second shows the story of a modern-day scientist at a museum, Dr. Jack Tanner, who believes in dragons. When the frozen remains of an unknown creature are discovered in theCarpathian Mountains, Tanner and two colleagues from the museum undertake the task of examining the specimen to try to save his reputation. Once there, they discover that the creature is a dragon. Tanner and his colleagues set about working out how it lived and died.
The docufiction features two interwoven stories. Jack Tanner, anAmericanpaleontologist working for theNatural History Museum in London, suggests the theory that a carbonisedTyrannosaurus rexskeleton on display was killed by a prehistoricdragon, causing him to believe that the legends were more than myth. This ruins Tanner's reputation. As viewed in a flashback, Tanner's theory is proven true, as saidTyrannosaurus battles a female dragon in theCretaceous but is mortally wounded. The female, with two legs and two wings, dies from her wounds, forcing her son to survive on his own, escaping an aggressive male dragon by learning how to fly for the first time. This is aided by bacteria that can produce hydrogen, aidingbuoyancy. A later vignette shows the dragon, now an adult, trying to mate, and successfully challenging a dominant male in a sky duel.
The museum is contacted byRomanians, who discovered the corpse of a dragon in theCarpathian Mountains, along with many carbonised human bodies from the15th century. Tanner and two colleagues are sent to examine the bodies, which have been moved to a warehouse. The scientists are baffled by the corpse, discovering that despite being 900 pounds (410 kg), it was capable of both flight and breathing fire by storing bacteria and hydrogen inside its body, like the prehistoric dragon.
The prehistoric dragon was a victim of theK-T Event, but he had a cousin, the marine dragon, which was protected by living in theocean. It eventually evolved into other species, such as the Chinese forest dragon, able to glide with her smaller wings and capable of camouflaging herself in the dappled forest light. The forest dragon hunts thewild boar and theSouth China tiger, but the arrival ofhumans in the forest challenges her survival. Another descendant is the mountain dragon, which has four legs and fully-functional wings, and inhabits theCarpathian andAtlas mountains.
By analyzing the dead dragon's reproductive system, Tanner concludes the corpse is actually that of a baby, having been killed by the humans. The scientists travel back to the mountains to explore the caves where the corpses were found. A flashback shows that in 1475, a lone female dragon is living on the verge of extinction within the Carpathian Mountains, looking for a mate. A male arrives from the Atlas Mountains and they perform an airborne courtship ritual. They grasp each other's talons and free-fall from the sky at high speed. Just before touchdown they break free and fly off together, breathing fire and leaving scorch marks on rocks below. While scouring the cave system, Tanner discovers a preserved dragon egg. It is surmised that the male dragon guards the nest, made from a cluster of rocks and the eggs are kept warm for preservation. However, the male is negligent, letting one of the eggs die, and is chased away by the female.
Some time later, the female dragon has had a lone daughter, hunting sheep from the local shepherds, leading to dragon slayers being hired to kill any dragons that get too close to the livestock. The lord and his squire attack, slaying the young female but are in turn killed by the mother. Tanner discovers more human corpses and then that of the mother dragon, twice the size of the baby. In a final flashback, a larger group of dragon slayers approach the cave, leading to the deaths of all involved. Tanner and his team take the dragons to the museum, reuniting mother and daughter. A year later, Tanner receives information of another discovery and sets off to investigate.
The Scotsman opined thatThe Last Dragon's computer graphics made it "awesome", but ultimately the show gave the feeling of conveying the message "Do not believe this slice of old hokum" to the viewer.[2] According toThe New York Times "it's easy to forget that [the film] isn't a serious documentary" after the fiction disclaimer at the beginning, judging the computer graphics to be well made, sometimes beautiful, but not impressive "to the point of wonder".[3]
| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd Visual Effects Society Awards | Outstanding Visual Effects in a Broadcast Miniseries, Movie or Special | Sirio Quintavelle, Alex Knox, Neil Glaseby | Nominated | |
| 57th Primetime Emmy Awards | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program | David McNab, John Smithson, Alice Keens-Soper, Rola Bauer and Tim Halkin, Charlie Foley, Justin Hardy, Kevin Tao Mohs, Aiden Woodward, Mike Milne | Nominated | |
| Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Visual Effects | Laurent Benhamo, Neil Glasby, Daren Horley, Alec Knox, Dan Lavender, Christian Manz, Catherine Mullan, Sirio Quintavalle, Sarah Tosh | Nominated |