Dartherer
I really don't get the hype.
Maidexpl
Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast
Taha Avalos
The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.
kevinxirau
As I was feeling nostalgic about past entertainment, one film suddenly came to mind and it was called "Firebreather". It's an animated adaptation of a comic series that premiered on Cartoon Network in 2010 which combined superhero antics with giant monster fun. Plot: The war between humans and kaiju ended thanks to the union of kind-hearted Margaret and dragon-like king Belloc, resulting in not only a truce but a hybrid child named Duncan. Duncan tries his best to fit into his new school despite his unusual traits, becoming almost an outcast but managing to make some friends as well. His peaceful life, however, gets interrupted when his dad Belloc shows up wanting him to be the heir to the throne, which causes other kaiju to attack the kid for the right to succeed their king. With tensions between the two races already tense, Duncan struggles to retain his humanity while fighting off the giant-sized foes.For a film made for TV, the animation is actually praiseworthy with nice fluid movements with maybe one or two slight errors. Character designs look basic from a distance, but a closer look reveals minute details such as Duncan's scales. The fire effects, an essential part of the character, are especially beautiful to look at. The hero's beast form is awesome and the kaiju sport unique designs that make them stand out from other film giants like Godzilla, not to mention the animation really emphasizes their massive size. The action scenes, supported by appropriate rock music in the background, are fantastic, taking advantage of the difference in scale between characters and are not afraid to get a little brutal once in a while (seriously, quite a few people die). The characters are good for the most part with distinct motivations+backstories and are played by great voice actors; Duncan is a good protagonist being a guy trying to figure out how he fits in the world (which I can relate), his mother Margaret is loving and doesn't take crap from anyone, and father Belloc is tough and strict but ultimately does care for his family. The rest of the cast are fine by comparison. Some characters do have dilemmas that make for some interesting and well-done drama. If I have one noteworthy criticism it's that there are a couple of subplots/details that don't really go anywhere and it does feature a few high school clichés (which take a minority of the film).It would seem that this movie came out too early and faded into obscurity, otherwise with both superhero and kaiju films now in fashion, this movie would most likely get greater recognition and perhaps spawn a larger franchise. I think it would have made a great TV series, but perhaps a remake may reignite Firebreather's spark. Bottom line, this is an entertaining, underrated film and I feel that it deserves more praise.
Rectangular_businessman
"Firebreather" was a decent animation.I have to say that I never read in the comic books in which this was apparently inspired, but I found this to be worth-watching.This animated television movie was directed by Peter Chung, the creator of "Æon Flux", and while "Firebreather" wasn't visually impressive or original as that series, it had a decent level of entertainment value, with an interesting aesthetic and likable characters.Even when this movie had some of the typical clichés that could be expected from a teen superhero story, it was funny to watch anyway. This could have been a very interesting animated series. I would have liked to see what kind of plot and character development "Firebreather" could have.
Paul Magne Haakonsen
Not being one to turn away from animated movies, I sat down to watch "Firebreather" with no particular expectations, as I had no idea what the story was or who did the voice acting.My initial impression of the movie is that the graphics were fairly "sterile", in lack of better words. The animators had skipped on minute details, and there was a sense of work in progress to the background most of the time. Now, that being said, I am not saying that the movie wasn't nicely made, because the graphics did look cool, I just personally could have used more details in the backgrounds and scenery.The story is about Duncan, who stands out in a crown because of his orange-tinted skin and scale-like texture on his skin, trying to fit into the new school and community where he just moved with his mother. Upon being bullied at school, Duncan discovers that he is able to breath forth fire, and that sets things into escalation, and Duncan finds out the truth about who his father really is.There is a lot of action in "Firebreather", but the story is also nice in the aspect of having to find your place even when standing out in a crowd, plus there was also a side story of love and friendship. However, the main storyline, or at least what they put the most effort into, was the situation between humans and the Kaju. The subplots were skimmed only, not really given the proper attention to flesh them out in a satisfying manner.Personally, I wasn't overly impressed with "Firebreather", as there are far better animated and far better story-driven animations available. But I am sure that "Firebreather" will appeal greatly to boys in the age 6 to 12.
brooklynsweb
Stumbled upon this flick by accident while reading reviews of other animations in a similar genre. I'll make this short and sweet. The pros of the movie is the CG graphics, the cons also include a super simplified and sometime barely evident history of each character and the under-developing of pretty much everything.This is a good Saturday morning time killer or in general a snack for those who want some action vs. elongated dialogs between villains and heroes. Think of this analogy; Watching Firebreather is like playing Need For Speed Underground vs. Gran Turismo.The common denominator I would say is the young superhero and the giant monsters. Fans of teen hero series such as Teen Titans, Young Justice and Batman beyond, as well as appreciators of the classics such as King Kong, Ultra Man, and (dare I say) the Power rangers may also enjoy this animation. Nothing special but overall fun to watch.
