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| For identification purposes, this is not a Bulbasaur. |
In a world of magic, humans have long been exiled from the magical realm
of dragons and elves for their practice of dark magic, which draws power from
other creatures, rather than the ‘primal sources’(1). In fear of an attack, King
Harrow of Katolis allows his adviser, the mage Viren, to assassinate the Dragon
King and his unborn son. Faced with a retributory attack by Moonshadow elf
assassins, Harrow seeks to send his sons Callum and Ezran away, but Ezran
stumbles on the egg of the Dragon Prince in Viren’s workshop, and the two
princes go on the run, along with the Moonshadow elf Rayla, seeking to return
the egg to the dragons and prevent the war that Viren is intent on fomenting.
The Dragon Prince clearly
shares some DNA with its co-creator’s former work, Avatar, both in its animation style and in its tone(2). The
overarching story is serious, the villain of the piece a horror, but there is
much humour in the day to day situations and the relationships between the
characters, including Viren’s principal henchlings, his children Claudia – a committed
dark mage, but viewing it purely as a tool and showing compassion towards other
intelligent beings – and Soren – a jock jerk with a decent heart, but a
desperate need to prove himself to his father.
The first season of The Dragon
Prince is very short – just nine twenty-five-minute episodes – but has a
lot to like in it. The characters are fun – a favourite of all my family is the
princes’ Aunt Amaya, a deaf-mute general and all around badass, who takes no
shit and refuses to be flannelled by Viren, even before he goes full evil – the
story simple, but with a lot of appeal. Also, the elves are lairy Scots whose
magic is part of their physicality, rather than floaty and ethereal beings, and
I appreciate a show that does something a little different with its magical
creatures.
(1) Sun, moon, stars, sky, earth and water, if you’re interested.
(2) Also its elemental motifs and cute animal companions.
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