Top 10 Dragon-based Movies

They defy science and logic, yet have existed longer than most creatures, the dragon has been used just as much as dinosaurs. Scary, funny, a best friend, in movies dragons have been in and done all. So, with the upcoming DreamWork’s animated flick How to Train Your Dragon, Killer Film decided to sit down and count down the Top 10 Movie Dragons.

Let us begin!

10 - Dragon Wars (D-War, 2007)

This is a horribly bad film, but the South Korean take on Dragons offer up some neat visuals and fights. I tend to think of this as a Dragon orgy, with all of the reptilian damage going on here. Just turn the volume off and enjoy some neat looking CG dragons.

9 -Reign of Fire (2002)

In the year 2020, under England, dragons awake mysteriously, throwing the country and perhaps the world into a burnt wasteland. The film features some pretty awesome dragons and some serious macho man antics from Matthew McConaughey and a pre-Batman Christian Bale.

8 -Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Okay, maybe not the most typical dragon-related film, but taking a look at Magnificent again recently on Blu-ray, when she turns into the coal black dragon, makes for a special time. Her dragon follows the typical renderings of a dragon, yet is so elegantly designed and animated, anyone who has seen the film will recall, not the fable, not the gorgeous animation, but Magnificent herself!

7 -The NeverEnding Story (1984)

Who doesn’t love that dog-looking luckdragon, Falkor (voiced memorably by Alan Oppenheimer). The story is a wonderful fantasy film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, that has touched people of all ages, yet it’s Falkor we remember and adore.

6 -Puff, the Magic Dragon (1978)

You know the song, you know the “hidden meaning”, but do you remember the 1978 30-minute made-for-TV film? Voiced by Rocky‘s Burgess Meredith as Puff, a dragon who comes to help a boy be more expressive and out-going. A quirky, little weird thing, that any stoner should love. It’s become a minor and forgotten classic.

5 – Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

Larry Cohen’s memorable horror film features a resurrected Quetzalcoatl and stars the late, great David Carradine. Roger Ebert loved the film, a stunning old fashioned monster movie with slow reveals of the creature until the ending, which features some cool stop-motion animation.

4 -Pete’s Dragon (1977)

Who doesn’t love this film? The super sweet Disney film, was notable back then for its stunning use of live-action and cell animation, features one of cinema’s most lovable dragon in Elliot and some classic songs. Nobody does childhood better than Walt Disney and this film should have been in constant rotation for most boys growing up.

3 -King Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

One of Godzilla’s most dangerous enemy is the three-headed dragon known as King Ghidorah. In the film, we see for the first time Godzilla the savior of Japan as he protects the island-a role he would take from here on-from Rodan and Mothra, until King Ghidorah the monster from Venus, all set against a detective story! Ishiro Honda’s brilliant kaiju film is just another one in his long career.

2 -Dragon Heart (1996)

While the CG isn’t as good as the time it was released, it doesn’t diminish the great film, featuring a Sean Connery-talking dragon as he is the last of a dying, and soon-to-be extinct breed. It’s a wonderful film about friendship, misunderstanding, and coexisting, all themes still relevant today. Followed by a sequel, but this at-the-time ground-breaking film still stands as a great dragon film!

1 – Dragonslayer (1981)

1981 was a great year for genre films, and it also features one of the fan-favorite dragon-based films. What makes this so good? The blend of wonderful FX and storytelling for instance, making this a mature tale of fantasy and adventure. Phil Tippett is a monster genius, given birth not only to Alien in the Alien series but to this Oscar-nominated FX work for the film’s dragons. One viewing should mark to someone on why this is such a special film that holds up year in, and year out. So where’s the Blu-ray?

That does it as dragons are here to stay, in our opinion. What are your favorite movies featuring dragons? Comment below!