• Dragon’s Lair was originally an 80s arcade game by legendary animator Don Bluth.
• Netflix has stepped in to produce a live-action movie rather than the promised classical animation.
• Considering the animation legacy behind this property, a live-action movie is a terrible idea

Dragon’s Lair is a game from legendary animator Don Bluth. Back when it was first released in arcades there was nothing quite like it. Now you can get it on pretty much any platform you can think of. Now they’re making a movie out of it.

Not an animated movie. That might actually make some sense. Instead, they’re apparently going to take this comedic take on classic fantasy and turn into a live-action movie. What a stunningly bad idea that is.

Dragon’s Lair is Better Off Animated by Bluth

Don Bluth has a pretty impressive track record with animated movies. From The Land Before Time to An American Tail, he’s produced some true masterpieces. And yet, for some reason, this new Dragon’s Lair movie will feature real people rather than his stunning animation.

It’s just such a baffling situation to be in. A movie based on an animated video game created by one of the best animation directors of all time is going live-action. Why is this even happening? Even with the writing team behind The Lego Movie behind it, I don’t personally have much confidence.

Back in 2016 when Dragon’s Lair: The Movie was originally funded on IndieGoGo  it was clearly for an animated movie. Now Netflix has their hands on it it’s suddenly all live-action. Clearly, they’re not comfortable working with animation just yet.

Not Even Ryan Reynolds Will Save This One

As well as becoming live-action, Dragon’s Lair is also supposedly starring Ryan Reynolds as the lead. Reynolds has been on a hot streak lately. He starred in both Deadpool and Detective Pikachu. He might even give a pretty damn good performance too.

Again you have to ask the question of why this couldn’t have been animated. Clearly Reynolds can handle voice acting. He could easily have just voiced the main character, rather than physically playing him. Even a CGI movie would have ben better than this.

The biggest problem with a live-action Dragon’s Lair is just how far removed from the original it is. Bluth’s animation is a key part of the personality and charm of Dragon’s Lair. Without it, we’re liable to end up with another ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ movie fiasco .