Because after much debae against myself and school being the eternal time consumer, Spyro The Dragon is complete.
Release date: April 20th 2001
Produced and Distributed by: Universal Animation Studios with production assistance by Polygon Pictures
Directed and Written by: Brad Bird
Characters design and art direction by: Charles Zembellas
Cast:
Haley Joel Osmont as Spyro
Fred Tatascoire as Sparx and Gnasty Gnorc
Hynden Walch as Elora
Christopher Mcdonald as Barathelos
Will Smith as Hunter
Gregg Berger as Ripto
Barbara Goodson as The Sorcerer Queen
Budget: $85 Million
Domestic Box Office Total: $195 million
Critical Reception: 3 out of 5.
Production History:
The success of Dreamworks Sonic the Hedgehog did not escape the eye of the industry. Universal, looking to break into the game movie business, green lights a Crash film and Spyro film for 2000 and 2001 respectively. The first hurdle would be finding a director and a studio to do the production. Robert Zemeckis was considered but turned down the offer due to production on Cast Away. Prince of Egypt director Simon Wells also showed interest in the project but turned it down when Dreamworks greenlit a cgi adaption of H.G. Wells The Time Machine. Finally, the project was offered to Iron Giant creator Brad Bird. Bird agreed to the project if his superhero project would be put in production afterwards. For the studio, Universal did want Wang Film to do both Crash and Spyro but Wang Film turned down the project due to an offer from Bandai to do CG work for their next Gundam Project, “Rise of the Red Comet.” They did however recommend Polygon Pictures for the project. They agreed as a small Ape Escape short they made for Sony was turned down but shown to Universal as a test reel. Both agreed to a 3 film deal with this film being the first.
Plot Synopsis:
It is year 398 of the Draconic age. 300 years prior, dragon kind were sent to these lands for unknown reasons. One dragon curious on why is a purple hatch ling named Spyro. One day, Spyro evades the watchful eye of his guardian Barathelos and travels out to the furthermost part of the land. Once there, he finds two things, a broken mural of a red dragon holding a staff triumphantly while a magic caster and a warrior charge towards him. He treks forwards to find more clues to that mural to stumble upon a horde of Gnorcs. Gnorcs were the native people of their land but the dragons forced them away out of each their kingdoms. They all stand at attention as standing ahead of them are two creatures: a giant green gnorc in battle armor and an orange creature garbed in the robes of a sorcerer. The two has just finished rallying their troops for an invasion of the dragon lands, all by using the power of a spell that can turn anything into a crystal statue. Only one with great magic can break the spell, and the only person with that kind of magic was their mysterious benefactor. Horrified but determined to stop them, Spyro jumped forward and charged to meet his foe. The Gnorc leader laughed at this futile effort and ordered his men to capture the hatchling while his sorcerer readied the spell. Unfortunately for the sorcerer named Ripto, the chant needed for the spell was only one syllable off from casting a power buff spell enchanting Spyro with the ability to not just breathe fire, but ice as well. Spyro used this ability to escape his captors and return to his homeland. Angered, Gnasty casts the spell himself with his enchanted warhammer changing every dragon within his territory into crystal. Now armed with this ability and his dragonfly familiar Sparx, Spyro heads forth to fight the Gnorcs and save Dragonkind.
Spyro travels through many lands to free the dragons from their crystalized prisons while also looking for information on his guardian. After going through a misty bog, a stone forest, and a tree top village; Spyro finally gets a lead on Barathelos’s whereabouts. He was taken to Dry Canyon fortress where his crystalized form will be taken to the Gnorcs base. Spyro rushes into the fortress only to be attacked by a squadron of the invaders wielding magic resistant armor and guns using crystals. The armor is enchanted to absorb both ice and fire while the guns stun Spyro. He is taken to a dungeon where both Barathelos is being held. The two reconcile in their cell and Barthelos tells Spyro what’s happened. The lord of the pueblo Maegor had been gathering the people in town to be hunted for sport. So when the gnorcs came forth, they quickly threw in with them to bring down Maegor and his brood. Barathelos came to stop the coup, only to be brought down by their leader Gnasty Gnorc. Their conversation is halted when the guards come to take Barathelos away to be crystallized but the guard drops the key to Spyro's cell along with a map of the foretress. Sparx grabs the key and unlocks the cell. The two fight their way through Gnasty's forces only to enter the library finding Ripto and a fawn looking over a spellbook. Spyro crashes into the room, angering Ripto as he's been disturbed.
Ripto:
“THIS IS A LIBRARY, YOU FOOLS!!! A PLACE OF KNOWLEDGE AND SILENCE!!!”
He looks up, sees Spyro and scoffs. “Pff, if you know what's good for you, you'll head back to your cell and wait until you're crystalized, SHRIMP!” Spyro responds by charging him into a bookcase causing an avalanche of books on him. The fawn looks to her left and sees that Spyro is between her gun and Ripto's staff. Seeing the gun as closer, she dashes towards the gun when Spyro shoots a burst of flame where she was once standing. The two proceed to fight, lighting the room with fire, ice and knocking the bookcases over with reckless aplomb. The two are interrupted by Ripto bursting out of his book pile enraged. He then dashes over to his staff and casts a spell of binding on Spyro.
Ripto:
“YOU LITTLE LIZARD!, FORGET CRYSTALIZING YOU FOR THE SORCERESS, I'M GONNA MOUNT YOUR HEAD ON THE WALL FOR DESTROYING THIS LIBRARY !”
He doesn't get the chance though, as Ripto is shot with the gun by the fawn. She removes the bind spell on Spyro and introduces herself as Elora. Her people live in the Tree Tops Swamp Village and she ended up being forced into the army when the Sorceress's army invaded. She's been playing nice with Ripto so that she could take his staff. Spyro asks where are the other dragons being held. She says that their being moved to the warp deck, where they'll be taken back to the sorceress's kingdom, Archenfall.
The two rush to the warp deck where Barathelos is being tied down to a gurney by a cheetah barely wearing barely fitting armor. Gnasty Gnorc is overseeing the entire process and is preparing to perform the crystalizing ritual. When Spyro breaks open the door, he spooks the cheetah, allowing Barathelos to remove the shackles on his right wrist and left ankle. The trio now begins to fight the Gnorcs only for Gnasty to jump into the frey angered. He raises his hammer and begins charging a spell. Spyro tries to take a free swipe at Gnasty, but just as he reaches the Gnorc, he slams his hammer onto spyro slamming him into the floor. He rushes ahead, dodging Elora's burst of bullets only to be tackled into the wall. Barathelos charges ahead toward Gnasty and manages to shoot him with a fire breath, only for the burst to dissipate on his armor. He follows this up by causing a tremor with his hammer, knocking Barthelos off balance. As Gnasty heads for the kill, Spyro gets back up and shoots an ice breath at Gnasty's foot freezing it in place. He follows that up with by gliding toward Gnasty and shooting a fire breath at his hammer arm. The spell doesn't dissipate and he drops the hammer. Spyro goes for a charge, only to be sealed in a bubble. Who shot the bubble? Ripto, who drags the bubble over to Barathelos, turns him into crystal, and slams Gnasty's hammer on the crystal statue. Barathelos is dead.
Ripto:
“You took something precious from me, I took something from you, and now I'll make sure your race suffer the same fate!”
Gnasty:
“We can't destroy them all, the queen needs them to-”
Ripto:
(smashes Gnasty with his hammer) “SHUT UP! THE DRACONIC DEMONS MUST BE WIPED OUT!”
He readies the spell to finish Spyro, only to be shot several times in the back by Hunter. While he is afraid of dragons, he's not going to stand by and let Ripto perform genocide. He then grabs Spyro and Elora, sets a random coordinate on the warp deck, and jumps into the portal.
When Spyro comes too, he wakes up in a small lab. He gets off the bed and shouts out if anyone is in the room. Hunter walks into the room with Elora and a short mole wearing a lab coat and glasses. He explains that he jumped him to the land of Avalar while shutting down the portal. Like Elora, Ripto came to his world and conscripted his people to fight on the sorceress's behalf. He used this fight as an excuse to desert the army. But Spyro is not convinced, believing that even if they take the dragon realms the wars will not end. Him and Gnasty will just come here and take this world as well. He looks over to the mole and asks.
Spyro:
“Can you get the portal to take us back to the dragon realm?” (The Mole nods and makes a 4 symbol with his hand.)
Meanwhile, back in the dragon realm...
Gnasty and Ripto are kneeling towards a blue lizard like woman, garbed in royal purple robes, and holding both Gnasty's hammer along with Ripto's scepter. Littered along the floor are the shards of what used to be Barathelos.
???: “So you managed to lose half of a library full of scrolls and tomes necessary to keep my plan afloat, let one of the baby dragons escape, and shattered one of the elders that was set to transfer back to the sealed mountain.”
Gnasty: “Well my queen, I had it under control until Ripto burst into the room.”
Ripto: “And I had it under control when you got your feet frozen to the floor, saving you from losing your legs for good!”
???:”It seems as if both of you can't get the job done separately or working in tandem. You will find the dragon and you will bring him before me, dead or alive.”
The crystal shards begin to rise and circle around Gnasty and Ripto with a maelstrom of blue magic surrounding them. The maelstrom continues to swirl closer and closer around them as the fear on their faces become wider and wider.
Back with Spyro...
Two days have passed since Spyro and co jumped to Avalar. He's been spending the entire time sparring with Elora on how to use his breaths strategically and thanks to the training, he can now shoot lightning, earth, and bubbles. Hunter's been helping the gnome set up the portal back while also trying to convince the two to stop on their journey. But the film ends with Spyro undaunted in his mission as he turns towards the portal. A confrontation looming over the horizon of time.
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