{"id":41872,"date":"2018-06-22T00:01:52","date_gmt":"2018-06-22T07:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/?p=41872"},"modified":"2018-06-16T11:53:40","modified_gmt":"2018-06-16T18:53:40","slug":"animation-anecdotes-368","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cartoonresearch.com\/index.php\/animation-anecdotes-368\/","title":{"rendered":"Animation Anecdotes #368"},"content":{"rendered":"\"\"\n

\n

DRAGON’S LAIR: THE LEGEND<\/strong>. With the popularity of Don Bluth\u2019s Dragon\u2019s Lair<\/em> videogame, plans were made for a sequel involving time travel and a possible feature length animated film entitled Dragon\u2019s Lair: The Legend<\/em>. Writer Alan Dean Foster was brought in to work on the story for the feature. <\/p>\n

Bluth told a reporter: “I think we have a really good shot with the movie version. If the Dragon\u2019s Lair<\/em> name appears on a movie marquee, kids won’t be threatened by it. They won’t feel shy about going into the theater. Seeing Snow White<\/em> might embarrass them, but Dragon\u2019s Lair<\/em> is already theirs. <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>“We figure we can fashion a really good Dragon\u2019s Lair<\/em> movie. We’re pulling out all the stops. We’re going to give them everything they want to see. Answer all their questions about our hero, Dirk, and his background. At the same time, we’re not going to aim the subject matter at the nursery level. We’re going to aim up.” <\/p>\n

However, rather than follow the non-stop adventure format used in the game itself, Bluth developed a story of how Dirk and Daphne met as teenagers. He also included a main villain named Mordroc who looked and acted a lot like the Horned King character in Disney\u2019s The Black Cauldron<\/em> (1985). <\/p>\n

A short film was produced to interest investors consisting of thirty or so lavish story sketches narrated by Michael Rye who had narrated the original game. The pitch reel also showed some of the work being done on the sequel to the Dragon\u2019s Lair<\/em> game. <\/p>\n

One executive commented that Bluth should turn that idea into a feature instead. When the game market died, so did the interest in any LAIR project. Dragon\u2019s Lair: The Legend<\/em> is the name of a game released for Nintendo Game Boy in 1991 with little connection to the proposed feature film. A short lived Saturday morning animated television series by Ruby Spears with no involvement from Don Bluth, other than supplying some model sheets from the original game, was shown on ABC in 1984.<\/p>\n