Dragonkeeper (Dubbed) (PG)

Plucky orphan Ping is discarded as a mewling infant into the care of elderly servant Lao Ma in a snow-laden settlement atop Huangling Mountain. Portly bureaucrat Master Lan oversees the running of the outpost and is responsible for feeding the last two surviving Imperial dragons, Danzi and Lu Yu, who are incarcerated deep underground. Ping has a close encounter with the winged behemoths and learns she is a fabled dragonkeeper, destined to care for Danzi and Lu Yu's unborn son Kai.

LondonNet Film Review

Dragonkeeper (PG) Film Review from LondonNet

Thanks to the airborne adventures of Viking son Hiccup and his adorable steed Toothless, we know how to train our dragons. Jianping Li and Salvador Simo’s animated coming-of-age story teaches us how to communicate with the majestic beasts by harnessing our chi, the vital bioelectrical life force that runs through every being but can only be mastered and controlled by a select few. A cantankerous old coot (voiced by Bill Bailey) marshals his chi to move a large rock and reveal a hidden subterranean path in the entertaining adventure Dragonkeeper, adapted from the award-winning first book of Australian author Carole Wilkinson’s series of fantasy novels…

Dubbed into English for family audiences, Li and Simo’s Chinese-Spanish co-production doffs a digital cap to Mulan and propels a self-doubting female protagonist on an epic quest of self-discovery and empowerment, facing dark magic and deception along the way. Bill Nighy’s dulcet tones as a wise dragon caress the ears like velvet, purring philosophical teachings (“Sometimes the wider road makes a journey longer”) to shepherd the spunky adolescent heroine along a path to her otherworldly destiny. En route, a pet rat provides obligatory cuteness and Anthony Howell’s necromancer villain commands creepy crawlies like spiders and bees to do his bidding. A gentle emotional kick in the final 10 minutes conjures a modest but appreciable downpour from tear ducts.

The pint-sized harbinger of these sniffles is plucky orphan Ping (Mayalinee Griffiths), who is discarded as a mewling infant into the care of elderly servant Lao Ma (Sarah Lam) in a snow-laden settlement atop Huangling Mountain. Portly bureaucrat Master Lan (Tony Jayawadena) oversees the running of the outpost and is responsible for feeding the last two surviving Imperial dragons, Danzi (Nighy) and Lu Yu (Beth Chalmers), who are incarcerated deep underground where they cannot wreak havoc on the realm. Ping has haunting dreams about the magical beasts and wonders if she is meant for something grander than servitude. “This is what we are. You can’t change destiny,” Lao Ma scolds the child.

Regardless, Ping has a close encounter with the winged behemoths and learns she is a fabled dragonkeeper, destined to care for Danzi and Lu Yu’s unborn son Kai. The ailing Emperor (Paul McEwan) mistakes Kai’s luminous dragon egg for a pearl of longevity and despatches his best soldier, Captain Kwan (Andrew Leung), and scheming advisor Diao (Howell) to forcibly separate Ping from her cargo.

Dragonkeeper skips lightly and respectfully through ancient mysticism, harking back to a golden age when men and hulking creatures existed in harmony. Violence is fantastical and seldom graphic, and scares remain mild even when an army of reanimated zombie soldiers threatens to overwhelm one valiant hero. A linear script attributed to five writers including author Wilkinson clearly has one beady eye on subsequent books.

– Sarah Lee