''Dragonworld'' is a 1994 American

direct-to-video Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, TV series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was p ...

family fantasy film directed by Ted Nicolaou. It is the third film to be released by Moonbeam Entertainment, the family video division of

Full Moon Entertainment Full Moon Features is an American Film, motion picture production and distribution company headed by B movie, B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series ''Puppet Master (franchise), Puppet Master'', ''Trancers (fran ...

Plot

Set in modern times, a young five-year-old boy named Johnny McGowan travels to

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

to live at his grandfather's castle after he loses both his parents in a traffic collision. At the magical wish tree on his grandfather's estate, he conjures up a friend, which is an infant

dragon A dragon is a reptilian legendary creature that appears in the folklore of many cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as ...

whom he nicknames "Yowler". They grow up together as 15 years go by. In that time, his grandfather passes away and Yowler has grown to full size. One day after the years go by, documentary filmmaker Bob Armstrong, his daughter Beth, and his pilot Brownie McGee stumble upon Yowler. Eager for fame and money, Bob convinces John to "rent" Yowler to local corrupt businessperson, Lester McIntyre. John, who is coerced in part by the offer to have the mounting taxes on the castle paid off, allows Lester to take Yowler in. He does so also partly because of his growing interest in Beth. Yowler is miserable and harassed in the new amusement park built for him, and when it becomes clear that McIntyre has duped them in order to exploit the dragon, John and his new friends take action.

Cast

* Sam Mackenzie as Johnny McGowan ** Courtland Mead as Young Johnny McGowan * Richard Trask as Yowler the Dragon *

Janet Henfrey Janet Ethne Anne Henfrey (born 16 August 1935) is a British stage and television actress. She is best known for playing Mrs. Bale on '' As Time Goes By'', and for her role as the schoolteacher in the Dennis Potter television play '' Stand Up, N ...

as Miss Twittingham *

Brittney Powell Brittney Powell (born March 4, 1972) is a German-American actress. She has starred in '' Safety Geeks: SVI'' and has represented the show at Comic-Con in San Diego, California during 2009 and modeled for the Safety Geeks' 2010, 2011, and 2012 Saf ...

as Beth Armstrong *

John Calvin John Calvin (; frm, Jehan Cauvin; french: link=no, Jean Calvin ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French theologian, pastor and reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system ...

as Bob Armstrong *

John Woodvine John Woodvine (born 21 July 1929) is an English actor who has appeared in more than 70 theatre productions, as well as a similar number of television and film roles. Early life Woodvine was born in Tyne Dock, South Shields, Tyne & Wear, Englan ...

as Lester MacIntyre * Jim Dunk as Brownie McGee *

Lila Kaye Lila Kaye (7 November 1929 – 10 January 2012) was an English actress. She spent a number of years working in the United States, on Broadway and in television, before returning to England. Born in Middlesbrough, North Riding of Yorkshire, sh ...

as Mrs. Cosgrove *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir (né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career t ...

as Angus McGowan

Soundtrack

Filming locations

Haddon Hall Haddon Hall is an English country house on the River Wye near Bakewell, Derbyshire, a former seat of the Dukes of Rutland. It is the home of Lord Edward Manners (brother of the incumbent Duke) and his family. In form a medieval manor house, it ...

and

Manorbier Castle Manorbier Castle ( cy, Castell Maenorbŷr) is a Norman castle in Manorbier, southwest of Tenby, Wales. It was founded in the late 11th century by the Anglo-Norman de Barry family. The castle was part of a mesne lordship under the control of the ...

were used as locations during filming.

Llangollen Llangollen () is a town and community, situated on the River Dee, in Denbighshire, Wales. Its riverside location forms the edge of the Berwyn range, and the Dee Valley section of the Clwydian Range and Dee Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beau ...

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

was used as the Scottish station where the youngster first meets his grandfather.

Home media

The film was released directly to

videocassette Videotape is magnetic tape used for storing video and usually sound in addition. Information stored can be in the form of either an analog or digital signal. Videotape is used in both video tape recorders (VTRs) and, more commonly, videocassette ...

and

LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...

in 1994 by

Paramount Home Video Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, and originally Paramount Home Video) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global. The division oversees PPC's home entertainme ...

. It was re-issued on VHS in 1996, under the Paramount Family Favorites label. The film has been seen on DVD releases in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. A North American Blu-ray release from

Full Moon Features Full Moon Features is an American motion picture production and distribution company headed by B-movie veteran Charles Band. It is known for the direct-to-video series '' Puppet Master'', ''Trancers'', and ''Subspecies'', as well as the film ''C ...

is scheduled for February 8, 2022.

Sequel

A sequel to the film, '' Dragonworld: The Legend Continues'', was released directly to video in 1999, although filmed in 1996. The film bears little relation to the first film and has received mainly negative reviews from critics.

References

External links

* * *
Detailed info on Dragonworld
(including plot detail)

{{Full Moon Features 1994 films Films about dragons Films using stop-motion animation American fantasy films English-language Scottish films English-language Romanian films Scottish films British fantasy films Romanian fantasy films Films directed by Ted Nicolaou Films scored by Richard Band Films shot in Scotland Films set in Scotland Films about orphans Paramount Pictures direct-to-video films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films 1990s British films