Dragon Hunters (cartoon)

Two young wanderers, former pupils of the orphanage Lian-Chu and Gvizdo, together with their pet Hector travel around the villages and pretend to be dragon hunters, helping rewarding peaceful farmers in various shapes and sizes for reward. Once they rescue the girl Zoe, the niece of the ruler of the western outpost, Lord Arnold. The old lord himself was once a mighty dragon hunter, and his dream was to defeat the most terrible and dangerous of them - the World Eater, but the last meeting with this monster deprived of his sight and the very possibility to fight. All the knights that he has since sent to complete his mission, either died or went crazy. It is known that the World Eater awakens every twenty years and destroys all life that meets him on his way until he is saturated with destruction (this is how the village of little Lian-Chu was burned to the ground twenty years ago, and he was left orphaned). Wishing to help his uncle's plans, and at the same time to realize his dreams of knightly deeds, Zoe leads Lian-Chu, Gvizdo and Hector to the lord's castle, where he, for a generous reward, instructs them to go to the End of the World and kill the Eater of the World while he is still in hibernation . Thoughtful Gwizdo hopes to “inflate” the old man and, having appropriated the deposit for the still-not-killed dragon, to escape, but this plan upsets Zoe, who decided to follow her heroes in the hope of getting to know their craft closer.

Day after day, the team overcomes all sorts of obstacles and is experiencing misadventures on the way to the goal. However, having reached the dragon's lair, the travelers do not have time to cope with it before its awakening. Only after a harsh test of ingenuity and courage Lian-Chu manages to win, and with the death of the Devourer the world is healed. Sight and the ability to walk back to Lord Arnold, but upon seeing Lian-Chu and Gvizdo with his own eyes, he refuses to recognize the heroes in them and drives them out of the castle. Secretly from him, Zoe also leaves the castle and joins the wanderers in their further travels.

• Lian-Chu - an impressive kind of strong man with a sensitive soul of a child. All that he had once dreamed of was becoming a shepherd, like his father, raising sheep and enjoying nature, doing knitting of various items. But a crucial role in his choice of profession was played by indelible memories of the tragedy of childhood - the destruction of his village by a powerful monster. The following days on a farm in an orphanage, where Lian-Chu made friends with Gwizdo, gave them a dream to acquire their own farm as soon as they could earn enough money. To do this, they chose a risky, but in their potential very profitable craft - the hunt for dragons. But even during the battle, Lian-Chu does not part with knitting needles - the only reminder of his mother - which, to put it mildly, does not in the best way support his authority in the eyes of the peasants. However, rather quickly he begins to enjoy authority with little Zoe, who has managed to discern in him the future hope of mankind. And these seemingly naive hopes of the girl are more than once confirmed by his loyal friendship and selfless deeds.
• Gvizho is a roguish, frail guy responsible for entering into contracts that negotiate the conditions for hunting dragons for a fee. A childhood friend of Lian-Chu and at the same time for many years his only family. Literate, which is rare in wild provincial territories. Because of its myopia during the writing and reading uses canned glasses. Hike to the End of the World turns out to be a real nightmare for him, and the decision of a friend to clearly follow the road, which Arnold marked them, seems to him to be rash and short-sighted. Zoe's enthusiasm initially gets on his nerves, but after a series of tests his opinion about the girl is changing for the better. Despite her indecisiveness, Guizdo gets to the monster's lair along with the rest, where in a dangerous and difficult moment she finds the strength to inspire the desperate Zoe and already with her supports Lian-Chu during the battle. After the death of the Eater, he stands up for the girl in front of the Lord, for which he suffers humiliation with his head held high, almost putting aside his dreams of wealth in the background.
• Gector is the “third person in the team,” but in reality is a small fluffy dragon tied to people. For quite some time now it is an integral part of the detachment, working in it as a baggage porter. He quickly learned human speech and actively uses it in public view, although in theory he does not have to give out his unusual origin, masquerading as a hunting dog. He doesn’t think at all about the consequences when he makes jokes about his comrades and everyone else, regardless of their status, strength or size of claws and fangs. He is enthusiastic about the appearance of Zoe in the team.
• The zoos are a cheerful and determined orphan girl. I decided to personally find the heroes capable of destroying the World Eater, over which her crippled uncle - Lord Arnold - had fought for at least twenty long years. When she manages to conceive, she hopes to fulfill her dream of taking part in a real dragon hunt, one of those that she read about in books and heard from other knights who in recent years have only occasionally visited a giant castle. With a voluntary departure for a trip to the End of the World, she will have to endure many fears that she had never suspected before, but at the same time, in the face of dangers, resourcefulness and fortitude of spirit, which are not typical of ordinary children of her age.
• Lord Arnold is an old man of a stubborn and gruff disposition, in the past he was a desperate and courageous mercenary who acquired a whole kingdom, but with the first defeat that cost him his sight and ability to walk, having lost almost all his loyal subjects. Equipped a trophy room in the basement of his castle, awe inspiring unprepared visitor at the very entrance. With the death of his younger brother during a cholera epidemic, he took care of his only child, who, however, did not go beyond providing the girl with adequate shelter. At the request of Zoya to teach her how to hunt, she refuses, based on chauvinistic considerations, and with the approach of danger she plans to transfer her to a monastery. Obviously, the disease did not deprive him of his fighting grip - even without leaving the wheelchair, he continues to carry weapons with him.
• Gildas is Lord Arnold's personal doctor, who takes care of his daily routine, providing him with a healing medicine every day at the appointed time and patiently, maintaining order in his deserted palace year after year. He also took upon himself the obligation to control the behavior of the restless Zoe, which is fraught with his barely concealed irritation. He is suspicious of young wanderers who came to the palace of Arnold to try their luck, and gives them an advance almost with full confidence that they will not cope with the task assigned.
• Sir Anatole Lensfleur is the gray-haired knight of Lord Arnold, who meets the heroes while traveling through the Great Wall. The unsuccessful march on the Land of Light made this former incarnation of knightly nobility and grace a distraught and reckless wanderer, who had lost the goal for which he decided to wear armor, despite his advanced years.

• Mamullarus - a caterpillar dragon, appearing at the beginning of the film, attacks its opponents with the help of an elastic sticky slurry, which it spews with its mouth and releases it from the holes in the body; he eats cabbage in the fields of a farmer who has hired hunters to kill Mamulusarus, but after Lian-Chu kills the cabbage monster, the farmer drives the hunters off without paying them.
• Electro-dragons or Dzhimboby - nimble electric dragons that attacked Zoe in the forest before she manages to get acquainted with the hunters; killed lian-chu.
• The crimson cloud is a dragon of the crimson color, capable of dividing its body into separate active parts, as it consists of a set of crimson bats, gathering in the necessary order; crushed by the debris of the building, in which Lian-Chu and Gvizdo lure the separated parts of his body from different sides.
• Reindeer dragones - heavy pack dragons attacking heroes before they manage to reach the Land of Light; killed lian-chu.
• The skeleton dragon is also the World Eater , killed by Lian-Chu.

Today, "Dragon Hunters" is a well-known brand in many countries around the world. In 2004 in France was released on screens (release in the United States was held in 2006 ^[3] ) the same-name series . On this basis, a comic book series was launched, the first volume published by Delcourt in 2006. Also released the same computer games - in 2006 based on the series and 2008 based on the movie.

The cartoon was evaluated ambiguously, but, in general, received positive reviews from critics. Some made claims to the deliberate linearity of the plot and to the combination of the underlined cartoon character of the characters with realistic landscapes, but others saw this as a good picture. At the time of release, the cartoon was one of the few examples of the effective use of human characters in the main roles of a 3D animated picture .

According to the creators themselves, directors Guillaume Ivernel ( fr. Guillaume Ivernel ) and Arthur Kwak ( fr. Arthur Qwak ), the story of “Hunters” began in 1994 , with the idea of ​​Arthur about creating a series about a world where there would be magic dragons and, accordingly , hunters on them. At that time, no one planned to create a feature film or even an international show. The events described in the film occur about 10 years before the events from the animated series ^[4] .

The company “ Luxor ” was engaged in the sale and rental in Russia ^[5] . Remarkably, on the screen in Russia "Dragon Hunters" appeared a couple of days earlier than in France ^[6] :

• Dragon Hunters (animated series)

• Tom and Jerry meets the Lord of Rings . (eng.)
• Dragon hunters on Wikia