Zog

source: Zog

This is a short film that adapts a children's book. It features dragons, and eventually, a princess and a knight. It feels sped up due to it accurately portraying a 30~ page child's book. It takes some very small steps in giving Zog a smidge more depth than it's source. The other unnamed dragons have design flourishes that have add a bit of character, which is why it feels like a shame... It's visually a beautiful and colorful world that feels like a waste because it is a child's book, meaning it's one-and-done. It's got a message for girls, somewhat of a message for boys, but at least it's positive. Not bad considering this was a TV special film. I give it an extra point because I found Zog adorable.

Cute little kids short film I watched randomly after seeing a movie. Literally How to Train Your Dragon with dragons being taught how to be dragons at school. Throws some Human characters in the mix and provide a straightforward lesson on growing as a person and helping others. Moves at a good pace, the Animation and voice work is okay. Some little easy gags here and there. Perfectly harmless little bit of fun. The dragons kind of remind me a bit of the ones in the Spyro video game series. Might be a bit simplistic for adults, but children will have a good time with Zog. 5.5/10

A beautiful message, great watch, and re-watch .... my daughter just wants to see it again and again and she is just 4. Recommended for a full family watch over a cup of tea.

Zog (1) (2018) - From the start there were obvious similarities to 'How To Train Your Dragon' (2010), certainly at the first meeting between Zog (Rocco Wright and later Hugh Skinner) and Pearl (Patsy Ferran) as well as the connection that was made and built upon. And of course the style of animation appeared to have come from the same creators and studio that had previously released 'Room On The Broom' (2012) and 'Stick Man' (2015) among others. Which for me was a positive, because I loved the hybrid CGI/"Claymation" cartoon effect and I have always thought that it was done well. It is a staple to watch at least one of these releases every Christmas now, although I think my favourite is 'The Gruffalo's Child' (2011)0, which had that wintery cosy vibe to it. I might like the others more if they were re-set in a colder climate to go with the time of year that they are shown. My absolute favourite film is 'The Snowman' (1982), so I suppose I am looking for something to replicate that nostalgic warmth and festive feeling that it provided and still does at least two or three times every Christmas. With 'Zog' however I did feel that the moral was a bit on the nose, although I suppose that there was no point in complicating it for the kiddies? I thought that it might be a bit much for really young children to grasp the point of the story, but I'm sure that they would at least appreciate the colours and characters. As an "Adult" though I thought that it could have had a bit more to it and I didn't think that it was worth paying the big bucks for names such as Kit Harrington (Gadabout), Tracey Ullman (Madam Dragon) or even Rob Brydon (Various) for the few lines that they had to deliver, that would have been just as successfully spoken by any other voice actor. I did appreciate Lenny Henry as the Narrator though, because his diction was clear and easy to understand, which hasn't always been the case. It was a nice enough cartoon, but having since watched its sequel, I wonder whether it might not have been better made as two parts in one and slightly longer, maybe 45 minutes instead of two 30 minute instalments? 505.08/1000.

Zog is a klutzy dragon learning from teacher Madam Dragon (Tracey Ullman). He's the biggest dragon in the class, but the worst student. He is desperate to earn a gold star, but he never does. Young princess Pearl sneaks out of her mansion and finds an injured Zog. They become fast friends. The class is tasked with capturing princesses, but Zog is not good this either. This is a fun little children's animated short. With all the rhythming, it's obviously adapted from a children's book. It's sweet and charming. It's a good story, but it does take a weird left turn at the end. It's an interesting and unlikely turn.

He loves the book and met zog at Waterstones and the film did not disappoint as he giggled his way through it

An absolutely wonderful piece of TV to watch with your children. Funny and creative. Animation is great. Voices too. Hope they do more than two. Love them both.

"Zog" is a British 25-minute animated short film from 2018, a holiday release from just a few years ago, and BBC always has at least one of these per year, mostly animated. For some reason, I thought early on that this was some little How to Train Your Dragon spinoff, but no it is not and the dragons look different compared to the successful franchise I just mentioned, but the thing that stroke me different the most was the narration here. Because this one made it very obvious what it was because it is so similar to some other projects by director Max Lang in terms of nursery rhymes and the ways in which they are presented. He is a 2-time Oscar nominee and this was not the first time he worked on a film based on a book by Julia Donaldson. This one here did not make the Oscar short list though if it was even available. I don't know maybe for next year. The animation is fine I think. So is the story. I felt there is nothing that really stands out about this movie, but there is also nothing that sucks. It has some funny moments like when our hero finally thinks he gets the star he always wanted, another dragon comes along and has the ultimate groar. Or how the princess dummy's doll falls off after he "saves" her. A nice reference too about dragons capturing princesses from the creature's perspective here and not from the one of the knight who comes to save her. Anyway, said knight is included too, but not as a major character. He also does not exactly look the handsome hero type. Then again, the princess is not as helpless as it seems as we find out at the very end in a nice little twist. I don't really like films with forced happy ending, but here it felt right and entertaining and also pretty credible. The cast list isn't too shabby either with Lenny Henry, Kit Harrington and Tracey Ullman and we should not forget this is a small screen release, even if there was never any doubt with the makers' history this would turn into a success. It has some charm to it for sure and well Henry's narration makes it probably a better watch for kids than grown-ups and I am saying this as somebody who really likes animated films and thinks there's so many great ones out there for adults too. This one here is not a failure for adults either, not at all. I am just saying maybe kids are more likely to enjoy it and it's probably not a film that will suck grown-ups enthusiastically into the world of animation. Still, there is no hesitation for me in giving this a thumbs-up. Nice attention to detail for all kinds of production values and I suggest you go check it out. Lang and Donaldson deliver again.

Absolutely brilliant short film. Well done everyone!