Chasseurs de Dragons (Dragon Hunters) (2008)

67% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
60% of users liked it
(2,721 ratings)

A little girl helps two would-be heroes save the world from a rampaging beast in this GCI-animated feature from France. Lord Arnold was once a brave warrior who frequently did battle with the World Gobbler, a fearsome dragon who would return every five years to bring destruction to everything (and… More A little girl helps two would-be heroes save the world from a rampaging beast in this GCI-animated feature from France. Lord Arnold was once a brave warrior who frequently did battle with the World Gobbler, a fearsome dragon who would return every five years to bring destruction to everything (and everyone) in its path. However, Arnold is growing old, his vision is failing him and he's no longer up to the challenge of battling dragons. Arnold's niece Zoe is a spunky young girl who has learned to best the tiny dragons that play in the woods and wants to move on to more ambitious game, but Arnold is wary of letting her face the beasts he's chased most of his life. Fate steps in when Zoe gets lost in the forest and a pair of opportunistic wanderers, brave Lian Chu and conniving Gwizdo, find her and attempt to return her to her uncle in hopes of a reward. As they make their way back to Lord Arnold's castle, Lian Chu and Gwizdo find they've been misidentified as a pair of knights who've come to vanquish the World Gobbler, and with Zoe's help they square off against one of the world's most powerful dragons. The voice cast for the original French release of Chasseurs de Dragons included Marie Drion, Vincent Lindon, Patrick Timsit and Philippe Nahon; for its release in English-langue territories as Dragon Hunters, Forest Whitaker, Mary Mouser, Rob Paulsen and Dave Wittenberg headlined the vocal cast. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 20 min.
Directed By: Arthur Qwak, Guillaume Ivernel
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Kids & Family

In Theaters: Mar 20, 2008 Wide
On DVD: Jun 23, 2009
Studio: Peace Arch Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times
Dragon Hunters is sort of a lightweight, inoffensive programmer if what you want your children exposed to is mindless and pointless audio-visual entertainment rather than, you know, reading a book or stepping outside.
Andrew Barker, Variety
Reasonably enjoyable yet ultimately insubstantial.
Adam Woodward, Little White Lies
At its heart, Dragon Hunters is a decent fantasy adventure that nourishes childhood imagination better than most independent animated releases.
Kevin Carr, 7M Pictures
Many children's animated films pull their punches too often and too much. This film doesn't mind getting its hands dirty.
David Cornelius, DVDTalk.com
an astounding work of the imagination that deserves to be discovered, shared, and loved.
Bill Gibron, PopMatters
Even in its most idiotic moments - and there are more than a few - Dragon Hunters is heaven on the eyes.
Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media
Old tale told with stunning but scary animation.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
An exhilarating, imaginative and very fun adventure from start to finish.
Tim Grierson, L.A. Weekly
Rather than feeling refreshingly old fashioned with its lack of over-caffeinated antics, Dragon Hunters just seems boring, going through the action-adventure motions without much verve.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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paul s

Beautifully filmed, with some truly exquisite passages, this film falls flat by being so typically derivative, showing us nothing we haven't seen before except some beautifully filmed scenes. Even the story seems creaky - a young princess dreams of vanquishing the arch dragon,… More
Beautifully filmed, with some truly exquisite passages, this film falls flat by being so typically derivative, showing us nothing we haven't seen before except some beautifully filmed scenes. Even the story seems creaky - a young princess dreams of vanquishing the arch dragon, that her uncle has kept at bay for years. She runs away from the castle (with underdeveloped motivation) and therefore gets saved by a "team" of Dragon Hunters - one, the strong, pure hearted, but kinda dim Lian Chu (wish they would have called him Dim Sum), and the conniving, quasi jive talking Gwizdo - they form an odd couple indeed... just as we've seen in countless other films. Upon rescuing the girl, the team decides to return her to her uncle, hoping to receive a reward - instead they are sent on a mission to rid the realm of the arch dragon "world gobbler". The rest is a quest, which provides some nice imagery and artful animation, but is ruined by the typical casting of the characters involved. The little girl won't stop yakking while Gwizdo continues to be the typical wise cracking non hero... and Dim Sum? He says next to nothing, continually looking into the camera with a bewildered look behind his fu Manchu. The film is also a bit lazy as it reused several shots - in particular those of a crowd laughing at Dim Sum as he tries to vanquish some kind of giant caterpillar. This is jarring when set against Roger Deanesque vistas of small jagged worlds tumbling through space. Such shots are nice, but the implausibility of jumping from one "planet" to another further reminds you that at all times you are watching animation - not something visceral. I suppose you could suggest that the film is just a dream, and being French, I suppose that's possible... but then I must compare it to another French film that was actually a dream - Fantastic Planet. There you had a film with a purpose, exploring many sci-fi themes with originality - while with Dragon Hunters; well, I'm not sure what the purpose was, or why this film got green lighted - it doesn't cover any new ground and really, except for it's quirky, yet nicely done animated style, has no reason to exist.
Matthew Y

Dragon Hunters is an uneven film with uneven animation that ultimately falls short with its amateur storytelling and cardboard characters. The film has some very stylish animated backgrounds that are actually very impressive considering the budget and talent (or lack there of)… More
Dragon Hunters is an uneven film with uneven animation that ultimately falls short with its amateur storytelling and cardboard characters. The film has some very stylish animated backgrounds that are actually very impressive considering the budget and talent (or lack there of) involved. The human characters however suffer from the emotionless chinadoll look that plagues some 3D computer films and "dragon" monsters are also somewhat lacking in the visual department. Dragon Hunters has an innovative and creative take on an all too familiar story but (much like the animated TV series) it is a mixed bag where the negatives usually outweigh the positives. A very solid nice try from a French animation studio that seems desperate to break-out in the industry.
Chris B

While it's not as polished and fully cohesive like a bigger production, it's one that is passable. That being said the story is very basic but the environments and quality of the images are top notch!
Angela A

This movie was unexpectedly beautiful, different and lovely. I want every kid I know to watch it and I'll be happy to watch it with them again and again. The beauty of the world is very much based on le petit prince, and is just adorable.
Bill C

A darker, grittier and less commercial Arthur and In Invisibles (2006). Set in a stunning "Yes" album cover world. Forrest Whitaker overwhelms the rest of the story as the larger than life, but flawed character of Lian Chu. His depth of feeling and subtle charm remind me of… More
A darker, grittier and less commercial Arthur and In Invisibles (2006). Set in a stunning "Yes" album cover world. Forrest Whitaker overwhelms the rest of the story as the larger than life, but flawed character of Lian Chu. His depth of feeling and subtle charm remind me of his portrayal in Ghost dog 2000. Whitaker and his comic relief Rob Paulsen are orphan left to their own devices grow to become huckster dragon hunters for profit. That is until the meet up with Zoe played by Marie Drion. They save her from two small dragons and while attempting to claim their reward from her rich and blind uncle Sir Arnold who was the greatest dragon slayer in history are offered his fortune if they could kill the worst dragon ever known. The battle scenes with the dragons are very intense for young children, but at the same time a credit to the exceptional artistry of the CGI. The most intense is the Red dragon who forms out of a cloud thousands of equally scary bat like creatures. This movie in all probability, fails commercially for its successes artistically Its not really appropriate for children under 5-9 Years (depending on how easily they are frightened) and thematically not interesting for children over 13 Yrs, Not a wide demographic. Leave as a hidden gem for us animation geeks; Thanks Lance.