Did anybody else know there was a DragonLance movie?

[NewJeffCT]

I loved the books back when I was in high school, but they recently made an animated movie of the first book of the trilogy... the DVD comes out tomorrow.

http://www.amazon.com/Dragonlance-Dragons-Twilight-Lucy-Lawless/dp/B000Y7U996

Pretty good cast of voices - Lucy Lawless, Michelle Trachtenberg, Michael Rosenbaum (Lex Luthor in the Superman TV show), and Kiefer Sutherland.

Rosenbaum is Tanis and Sutherland is Raistlin.

- from IMDB:

Life-long friends, (Tanis Half-Elven, Sturm Brightblade, Raistlin, Caramon, Flint Fireforge (a dwarf) and Tasslehoff Burrfoot (a kender), went their separate ways. Once they meet again, five years later, in a bar in their hometown, they meet a beautiful yet sorrowful barbarian woman (Goldmoon) with a tall mysterious male companion (Riverwind)and a magical blue healing staff. The staff causes much trouble and attention in the bar. They are pursued by goblins, whom are working with the dark forces of Krynn, their world. They luckily escape and embark on an adventure that will forever change their lives and shape the future of al of the inhabitants of Krynn. They are all drawn deeper into the shadows, forever changing their lives and shaping the fate of their world. They will face off with dragons and dark lords and powerful gods, but will be heroes in the end.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0825245/synopsis

[LanternWaste]

1. Kill. Me. Now.

Kill. Me. Now.

A bad movie to be based on a horrible set of books which were themselves a marketing take-off of a much worse series of game modules.

ok-- I know, I know... it's heresy to negatively critique old school D&D stuff, but really-- the books made me wish I'd never learned to read.

[NewJeffCT]

2. I liked the books when I was in high school

but, I'll admit that when i tried to read them again a decade later, I saw them for what they're worth.

I had thought the novels came before the "modules"? I thought the creators of the books had put their own gaming world & campaign into novel form and the modules/adventures came later?

[Giant Robot]

3. The world was created by Hickman and Weiss

Marketed by TSR into many, many different things, modules, novels, etc. It really was not a one came first then the other situation, as everything hit all at once.

I re-read the series from time to time, and still enjoy it immensely. Is it Tolkien level fantasy? No. Is it a fun yarn about good versus evil? Yes, in my opinion. They are fun food for my imagination, certainly not too deep or subtle, but still entertaining and delivers some neat messages I think.

If you want to look at the website for the movie, there is a trailer there. ALthough....I wouldn't recommend it. It really did not strike me as very good, but I am a sucker for Dragonlance, so I will watch it at some point.

[northzax]

5. tolkien-level?

ha. it's a flat out tolkien rip off.

[Giant Robot]

6. Similar to Tolkien yes

Flat out rip-off? No I don't think so.

My point was that it did not rise to the level of imagery, wonder, mythology and status that Tolkien's works did.

[northzax]

9. oh, come on

a group of seven travelers, representing a cross section of society (most of which hates each other, except for them)

let's do a little comparison, shall we? who is Tanis Half-Elven but Aragon/Strider? Sturm Brightblade but Boromir and or Faramir? Flint but Gimli? Qualinesti but Rivendell? Solace but the Shire? the imagery, reading the Dragonlance books again as an adult, is strikingly similar.

[NewJeffCT]

10. there are differences, however

While most epic fantasy the last 50 years or so is some level of a Tolkien rip-off, there were a few differences:

1 - Tanis was the focal point of the original D/L trilogy, while the hobbits were the focus of LotR.

2 - the characters in the D/L novel were not young innocents like the hobbits - they were moderately experienced adventurers.

3- there really is no dark companion like Raistlin in LotR.

4- Tanis' love interest (Kitiara) was one of the main bad guys. Arwen and even Eowyn were both pure good guys.

[LanternWaste]

4. as I remember it...

"I had thought the novels came before the "modules"?"

I actually don't know-- as I remember it, the mods came out and were quickly followed up by books, comic books, calendars, etc. It did seem (to me, anyways) that it was about that time that TSR became less a "hobby" company and more a "game" company.

Different strokes and all that, I s'pose. I'll berate myself for having enjoyed that crap back in high school-- but for some one else, it's not my call.



I'm trying to remember what I enjoyed when I was in high school so I don't come off as a snob...

Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I cringe admitting to that, but I honestly thought they were good at the time.

Sword of Shanarra. Same as above.

I've tried both again since then and wondered to myself, "What the hell was I thinking?!"

But, I did (and still do) like Dune, and it was that period of my life and that group of friends (which I still have) which introduced me to Lord of the Rings-- both of which I still maintain are masterpieces in their own right, regardless of genre.

And, to reveal my true (and current) lack of literary appreciation, I'm *still* a sucker for a fat Stephen King novel. :blush:

[NewJeffCT]

7. I liked most of those books, too

I've rarely read a fantasy/sci-fi book I didn't like at the time I read them.

[GirlinContempt]

22. Hey, you think that's bad? I used to

like Peirs Anthony.

For about a year.
I think it was even before high school.

But, still. PEIRS ANTHONY?! I can never live down that shame.

[NewJeffCT]

24. join the club

i must have read a dozen Xanth novels and at least a few others.

[GirlinContempt]

25. I shudder just thinking about it

[NewJeffCT]

26. well, you at least can fall back on

the fact that you're young & attractive... what can I fall back on?

[AllegroRondo]

8. The modules definitely came first

I recall reading an interview with Weiss and Hickman in the old Dragon magazine, where they said they got a lot of ideas for how to write the characters from the playtesting sessions for the modules. Raistlin especially.

[Aristus]

11. I played D&D for a few years when I was a kid. Once, my Dad bought me an omnibus edition

of all the Dragonlance books, thinking "Hey, he'll like this; it's sword and sorcery stuff". I never had the heart to tell him what rubbish the books were. I got rid of the tome years ago, just to avoid the shame of having it on my bookshelf.

[NewJeffCT]

12. I don't think I've ever gotten rid of a book out of shame

I think I even have a George Will paperback somewhere...

Though, if somebody gave me the collective wit & wisdom of Sean Hannity, I'd have a hard time holding onto it - even though it might be no bigger than your typical business card.

[Mythsaje]

13. I'll have to check it out.

Gotta love all the opinions from the amateur critics around here. It's a decent series. Hardly spectacular, but those are few and far between.

Calling it trash is a reach.

I do find it interesting that I've never read anything else by the authors I could stand. Maybe that says something in and of itself.

[Xyn1407]

14. New Dragonlance Trailers

Hey I found some new trailers for this movie. I think it is going to rock. I mean I know it is not Beowulf or anything but the movie is supposed to be just like the book according to an article I read on War Cry. It was an interview with the authors of the book.

Check out these clips.
http://www.iklipz.com/MovieDetail.aspx?MovieID=7dc94303-8778-455e-8e8a-e0f317b3de3d">Clip 1
http://www.iklipz.com/MovieDetail.aspx?MovieID=80a56b8a-bcf9-4f84-8fa1-ab5e9b9e13c9">Clip 2

[NewJeffCT]

15. welcome to DU

thanks for the links.

[DarkTirade]

16. From what I've seen it looks like it's going to suck quite a bit.

Although if I was proven wrong I certainly wouldn't complain.

[Mojambo]

17. I enjoyed them immensely as a highschooler

And actually found some joy in reading the graphic novels based on the books just recently. It was quite nostalgic.

[TheMightyFavog]

18. Kender? (twitch, twitch)

I had a guy who wanted to play one in my d20 Modern Urban Arcana (think D&D with cars, magic, and guns) campaign. Everyone else in the party cheered when he got knocked out by a trank dart.

[NewJeffCT]

19. I'm sure they did cheer

Tass was cute at first, but it gets to be a bit annoying... and, it's even worse when somebody tries to play a kender "in game"

About 10 years ago, a guy from online tried to join the gaming group I was in at the time - normally, when meeting a new group of players, I try to not get too outrageous with my choice of a character so I can try to fit into the group. Not this guy, however: His idea for his first character was a kender paladin-thief based on Batman. I'm not joking. This was 2E days as well, when paladins were exclusively human.

[TheMightyFavog]

20. I didn't tell you the best part...

One of the concepts of Urban Arcana is that people, monsters, and artifacts from the D&D worlds end up washing up on the shores of our world.

The aforementioned Kender was one of these people. When we started, he had only been in this world for about three days.

This led to some amusing situations such as:

The local mall objecting to the concept of "handling".

Getting himself permanently banned from every Chuck E. Cheese in the state of Minnesota.

An incident where one of the other characters, (whose player was inspired by a recent episode of House) talked him into beer bonging an entire four-pack of Red Bull.

The Kender successfully earning his pilot's license. (The regulars at the Official d20 Modern Board commented: "I'm installing SAM sites around my house, just in case.", "Airborne Kender alert!! Run for your lives!!, and "It is time for all of us to retire to underground bunkers and never see the light of day again.")

[NewJeffCT]

21. i'm not surprised

And, after the DM nixed the Batman-kender idea, the guy's next proposal for a player was a former prostitute with "really big breasts" who used her feminine assets to lure the guards into helping her break out of jail, where she then began her life as an adventurer.

He was finally talked down to playing a human (male) paladin, but the guy continued on with the Batman idea, as the character's last name was "Bwayne" - like, B. Wayne, short for Bruce Wayne.

Needless to say, this guy's "career" as a gamer in our group was very short-lived.

and, in the "it's a small world" category, about 2 years later, our group was contacted by a married couple of gamers that had relocated to the area. They had complained about not being able to find gamers in the area and mentioned this one strange fellow that had a Batman obsession and wanted to play a kender paladin-thief... needless to say, it was the same guy that still couldn't find a gaming group to take him. (He had a rather unique first name - so, when I emailed them back, "was this guy's name I-----?" I got the affirmative reply.)

[Sentath]

23. Ugh

Generally I refuse to acknowledge the existence of kinder. Even if the DM lets one in the party.