‘Firedrake the Silver Dragon’ is a European kids’ film directed by Tomer Eshed. It was made by Constantin Film and known in Germany as ‘Drachenreiter‘ (Dragon Rider) and was released in the United States on Netflix.

Firedrake (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) lives in hiding with his fellow dragons and spends his day with a forest brownie named Sorrel (Felicity Jones). One day, they realize that the humans are encroaching on their magical forest and a debate starts on what to do. Firedrake hears the legend of the “Rim of Heaven,” a dragon utopia. He sets off in secret with Sorrel and runs into the human Ben (Freddie Highmore), who pretends to be a dragon rider, though Sorrel is suspicious. They earn the attention of Nettlebrand (Patrick Stewart), a metallic reptile who is fireproof and was created to kill dragons. He pursues the trio with his tiny minion Twigleg (Jimmy Hibbert) and the selfish dwarf Gravelbeard (Alex Norton). As Firedrake and his friends continue to search, they realize the young dragon cannot blow fire, putting them in more danger.

Keeping in mind that this is a film for kids, I will say that the plot felt a bit rushed. As Firedrake and his friends travel about, you do like them as characters and want them to succeed, but everything moved so fast. It is based on a book, so perhaps they were trying to stuff everything they could in the runtime. I honestly do not think a kid will mind, they might just like it for what it is and it is charming as adventures with dragons go.

As an aside, there is exactly one cuss word in the movie, so that is a warning for the parents. They also worked in some digs at Disney and DreamWorks that I thought were funny.

As for the CGI animation, the movie is not bad. The character designs are good, the scenery is decent, and the action sequences flowed very well. Sure, it was nothing that blew my mind, but I did not think it was bad. The music and sound design did a good job of complimenting the film and it fits well with what was happening on the screen.

The film also has a good cast. This made it easy to distinguish between the characters. No one really stood out for their performance, but I felt that everyone was doing a good job with their characters. I did think that Patrick Stewart was having a lot of fun with his villainous character, especially in the sillier scenes. Outside of that, I cannot pinpoint anyone who just blew my mind away with their performance, but everyone did a good job.

Bottom line, Firedrake the Silver Dragon is a slightly rushed, but charming film with an adventure for the family.

PARENTAL CONCERNS: Some fantasy violence, Minor foul language, Scary images

FAVORITE QUOTES: What’s his name again?

Check out the trailer with the original title below:

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below. Tell me if there is a comic book, movie, or novel you would like me to review. While you are at it, check out my reviews of Vivo and My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more posts like this one.

Look for me on social media! Facebook: Author Jacob Airey | Instagram: realjacobairey | Twitter: @realJacobAirey | MeWe: Link | YouTube: StudioJake | Minds: Link | Rumble: StudioJake Media | Gettr: Click Here