Dragon Hunters
Encyclopedia
Dragon Hunters is a cartoon
series created by Arthur Qwak
and produced by the French company Futurikon. It follows the adventures of two hunters for hire through a medieval world of floating land masses that is terrorized by a widely varying menace of monsters known collectively as dragons. A 3-D feature film and a videogame based on the film have also been released. Its original French title is Chasseurs de Dragons.
. English voice: Harry Standjofski
(series), Forest Whitaker
(movie)
Gwizdo is the brains of the group, and negotiates their contracts with the helpless people terrorized by dragons. He has a gap in his teeth. He speaks with a New York or New Jersey accent. He and Lian-Chu have known each other since childhood, and were raised together in an orphanage called Mother Hubbard's Farm. He is a coward and swindler at heart, but shows his good side occasionally. He also flies their airship, the St. George
, and wears a pilot's cap and goggles. English voice: Rick Jones
(series), Rob Paulsen
(movie)
Hector is their pet dragon who does not possess the evil nature or the great size of the ones they hunt and acts like a dog. With his fur and ears he seems to be based on a variation of asian dragon (similar to Falkor the Luck Dragon in The Neverending Story). His hobbies are eating and picking on other animals such as chickens or sheep. While Gwizdo is the pilot of the St. George, Hector is required to pedal for the propellor, a task he is not fond of. He speaks with a mixture of grunts and pidgin
English. English voice: Rick Jones (series), Dave Wittenberg
(movie)
Zaza is Jennyline's youngest daughter. She resides at the Snoring Dragon Inn as an assistant. She idolizes Lian-Chu and has dreams of becoming a dragon hunter when she grows up, of which Jennyline disapproves. She spends most of her time at the inn, but occasionally joins the hunters on quests, often through her own means. English voice: Annie Bovaird
Zoria is Jennyline's oldest daughter, and is an accomplished dragon hunter in her own right. Like Zaza, she was inspired by Gwizdo and Lian Chu at a young age, and trained with them to learn the moves and arts of the business. She is not a resident of the inn and makes few appearances, but is well-known by the main characters. A victim of sexism
, she has donned a male disguise in some parts to get more bounties. In Season 2, she is revealed to be Zoe from the movie.
Noble Kayo is an elderly doctor whom the hunters sometimes turn to for advice regarding strange conditions, such as poison and paralysis. While intelligent, he is almost completely blind and a bit absent-minded, which makes having a straightforward conversation with him very difficult.
George and Gilbert Forrestal are a two-brother hunter duo, who know Gwizdo and Lian Chu from growing up alongside them in the orphanage. They look down on Gwizdo and refer to him as a pipsqueak, and often bring up embarrassing childhood events of his. They see no room for competition, and often try to get the hunters' bounties themselves.
Zoe is from the movie. She is the grand niece of Lord Arnold. When things become too hectic, she takes everything into her own hands and hires Gwizdo and Lian-Chu to slay the "World Gobbler." Persuaded that she has found the heroes of her dreams, she drags them into the maddest of adventures.
English voice: Mary Matilyn Mouser
for a few weeks around January 2006, but, after having its time slot moved, vanished from the line-up. Unlike the other cartoons around its Saturday morning time slot, several episodes of Dragon Hunters were rated TV-PG. It reappeared on Cartoon Network in September 2006, but disappeared again in October 2006. Up until June 2007, it was available for viewing on Cartoon Network Video. As of 2011, it was airing in the U.S. on Starz Kids & Family. 50 of the 52 episodes can be watched in english on Netflix through their partnership with Starz though the episodes are out of order.
A second season of 26 additional episodes began airing in France in August 2007. International releases have occurred in over 60 countries. The show has received a fanbase in Arabic speaking countries, after the show's repeated airing on MBC 3
.
has released five DVDs (containing episodes 1 - 17) in the U.S. and Canada.
Dragon Hunters Vol. 1: "It's A Dragon's Life"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 2: "Dead Dragon Walking"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 3: "There's No Place Like Home!"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 4: "Don't Look Now"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 5: "Unwelcome Guests"
The Die Drachenjäger collectors' game featured forty collectible figurines that resembled the monsters, dragons, and the heads of the main characters, Gwizdo, Lian Chu, Zaza, Hector, and Jenneline. The game plays identically to Dracco Heads.
The game was released in Belgium.
in France.
A four-minute teaser was shown in Annecy Animation Festival and the Film Market of Cannes in 2007.
It premiered on March 19, 2008 in Russia
(http://pifdb.ru/review/11947.html), and on March 26 in Belgium
and France
, and premiered 2010 in Mexico
. It premiered on April 5, 2008 in the United States
as part of the Sarasota Film Festival. Rob Paulsen
confirmed at a convention interview that he and Forest Whitaker
will respectively be voicing Gwizdo and Lian Chu.
Cartoon
A cartoon is a form of two-dimensional illustrated visual art. While the specific definition has changed over time, modern usage refers to a typically non-realistic or semi-realistic drawing or painting intended for satire, caricature, or humor, or to the artistic style of such works...
series created by Arthur Qwak
Arthur Qwak
Arthur Qwak is a French animator and comic-book writer.-Filmography:*Orson et Olivia *Malo Korrigan...
and produced by the French company Futurikon. It follows the adventures of two hunters for hire through a medieval world of floating land masses that is terrorized by a widely varying menace of monsters known collectively as dragons. A 3-D feature film and a videogame based on the film have also been released. Its original French title is Chasseurs de Dragons.
Main characters
Lian-Chu is a sword wielding, muscle-bound warrior who actually deals out the dragon slaying. In contrast to Gwizdo, he is more kindhearted and honorable. He is also an avid knitterKnitting
Knitting is a method by which thread or yarn may be turned into cloth or other fine crafts. Knitted fabric consists of consecutive rows of loops, called stitches. As each row progresses, a new loop is pulled through an existing loop. The active stitches are held on a needle until another loop can...
. English voice: Harry Standjofski
Harry Standjofski
Harry Standjofski is a Canadian-born actor and voice actor as well as a theater director and playwright. He has appeared in films such as Guy X, The Aviator, Protection, and Hidden Agenda and has voiced characters in video games such as Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Splinter...
(series), Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
(movie)
Gwizdo is the brains of the group, and negotiates their contracts with the helpless people terrorized by dragons. He has a gap in his teeth. He speaks with a New York or New Jersey accent. He and Lian-Chu have known each other since childhood, and were raised together in an orphanage called Mother Hubbard's Farm. He is a coward and swindler at heart, but shows his good side occasionally. He also flies their airship, the St. George
Saint George and the Dragon
The episode of Saint George and the Dragon appended to the hagiography of Saint George was Eastern in origin, brought back with the Crusaders and retold with the courtly appurtenances belonging to the genre of Romance...
, and wears a pilot's cap and goggles. English voice: Rick Jones
Rick Jones (voice actor)
Rick Jones is an animation writer, director, content developer, and voice actor. Since 1983, he’s worked with Fox, Disney, Universal, Hanna-Barbera, Alphanim, Cinar and Nelvana...
(series), Rob Paulsen
Rob Paulsen
Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
(movie)
Hector is their pet dragon who does not possess the evil nature or the great size of the ones they hunt and acts like a dog. With his fur and ears he seems to be based on a variation of asian dragon (similar to Falkor the Luck Dragon in The Neverending Story). His hobbies are eating and picking on other animals such as chickens or sheep. While Gwizdo is the pilot of the St. George, Hector is required to pedal for the propellor, a task he is not fond of. He speaks with a mixture of grunts and pidgin
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
English. English voice: Rick Jones (series), Dave Wittenberg
Dave Wittenberg
David Richard Paul "Dave" Wittenberg is a prolific South African-born American video game and anime voice actor with nearly one hundred titles to his credit. While Wittenberg was born in a hospital in South Africa, he was primarily raised in Boston...
(movie)
Other characters
Jennyline runs the Snoring Dragon Inn, where Gwizdo and Lian-Chu live. Gwizdo and Lian-Chu owe her an ever-growing debt for room and board. She is a heavyset woman who is short-tempered and strict. She has had three past marriages, which have resulted in Zaza, Zoria and possibly other children. Her name is given as Jennyline on the DVDs and Janelynn on the official website. The German variation of her name is Jeanneline. English voice: Sonja BallSonja Ball
Sonja Ball is a Canadian voice actress.She is well known for her work as the voice of Arthur's Mother Jane Read in the PBS children's TV series Arthur, Huckle Cat on The Busy World of Richard Scarry, Polly Ester in the English version of Samurai Pizza Cats, Nicole in the Madeline TV specials, and...
Zaza is Jennyline's youngest daughter. She resides at the Snoring Dragon Inn as an assistant. She idolizes Lian-Chu and has dreams of becoming a dragon hunter when she grows up, of which Jennyline disapproves. She spends most of her time at the inn, but occasionally joins the hunters on quests, often through her own means. English voice: Annie Bovaird
Annie Bovaird
Lindsay Anne Bovaird is a Canadian actress who voiced Caillou in the animated TV Series. She began in the role in Caillou's Holiday Movie due to Jaclyn Linetsky's death in a car crash. She also voiced Elsa in Creepschool, Zaza in Dragon Hunters, Denim Farqueson in The Tournament and was in other...
Zoria is Jennyline's oldest daughter, and is an accomplished dragon hunter in her own right. Like Zaza, she was inspired by Gwizdo and Lian Chu at a young age, and trained with them to learn the moves and arts of the business. She is not a resident of the inn and makes few appearances, but is well-known by the main characters. A victim of sexism
Sexism
Sexism, also known as gender discrimination or sex discrimination, is the application of the belief or attitude that there are characteristics implicit to one's gender that indirectly affect one's abilities in unrelated areas...
, she has donned a male disguise in some parts to get more bounties. In Season 2, she is revealed to be Zoe from the movie.
Noble Kayo is an elderly doctor whom the hunters sometimes turn to for advice regarding strange conditions, such as poison and paralysis. While intelligent, he is almost completely blind and a bit absent-minded, which makes having a straightforward conversation with him very difficult.
George and Gilbert Forrestal are a two-brother hunter duo, who know Gwizdo and Lian Chu from growing up alongside them in the orphanage. They look down on Gwizdo and refer to him as a pipsqueak, and often bring up embarrassing childhood events of his. They see no room for competition, and often try to get the hunters' bounties themselves.
Zoe is from the movie. She is the grand niece of Lord Arnold. When things become too hectic, she takes everything into her own hands and hires Gwizdo and Lian-Chu to slay the "World Gobbler." Persuaded that she has found the heroes of her dreams, she drags them into the maddest of adventures.
English voice: Mary Matilyn Mouser
Mary Matilyn Mouser
Mary Matilyn Mouser is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Lacey Fleming on the ABC series Body of Proof.-Life and career:...
Television
The program was featured in the United States on Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network
Cartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
for a few weeks around January 2006, but, after having its time slot moved, vanished from the line-up. Unlike the other cartoons around its Saturday morning time slot, several episodes of Dragon Hunters were rated TV-PG. It reappeared on Cartoon Network in September 2006, but disappeared again in October 2006. Up until June 2007, it was available for viewing on Cartoon Network Video. As of 2011, it was airing in the U.S. on Starz Kids & Family. 50 of the 52 episodes can be watched in english on Netflix through their partnership with Starz though the episodes are out of order.
A second season of 26 additional episodes began airing in France in August 2007. International releases have occurred in over 60 countries. The show has received a fanbase in Arabic speaking countries, after the show's repeated airing on MBC 3
MBC 3
MBC 3 is a free-to-air children channel that hosts by Dania al-Shafii and Hassan al-Mula and belongs to the Middle East Broadcasting Center . It was launched on 8 December 2004...
.
Season One
- 1. The Strange Taste of Cocomak
- 2. Dead Dragon Walking
- 3. Gland of the Mimikar
- 4. The Isle of Mist
- 5. The Kiwajel Thrust
- 6. Can I See Your License Please?
- 7. The Family Fortune
- 8. Prince Charming
- 9. Baby-Love, Oh Baby-Love!
- 10. Who's Lost Their Head Now?
- 11. The Name Is Dragon
- 12. It's a Dragon's Life
- 13. Desperately Seeking Zoria
- 14. The Return of Roger
- 15. Little Rumble On the Prairie
- 16. A Fist Full of Veggies
- 17. The Deep North Dragon
- 18. Billy Toughnut
- 19. There's No Place Like Home!
- 20. The Conjunction of the Three Moons
- 21. Don't Look Now
- 22. Unwelcome Guests
- 23. For a Few Veggies More
- 24. The Orphan Farm
- 25. Child's Play
- 26. The Collywoble Water
Season Two
- 27. Dragontagious
- 28. The Borbacks' Cemetery
- 29. The Shipwrecker
- 30. Treasure Rock
- 31. Dragon in the Hearth
- 32. The Cure
- 33. The High Life
- 34. Farewell, Lian Chu
- 35. Porkfester's Pigfarm Island
- 36. The Stuff of Dreams
- 37. Baby in the Family
- 38. She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not... She Loves Me!
- 39. The Sweetypie Clause
- 40. Agheegoo
- 41. Combat Spores
- 42. The Convoy
- 43. The Legend of the Rain Dragon
- 44. The Book
- 45. Drago Menta
- 46. The Grand Tournament
- 47. The Body Beautiful
- 48. City Bound
- 49. The Master of the Dragon
- 50. Hell Around Town
- 51. Ghost Hunters
- 52. The Red Dragon
DVD
GeneonGeneon
is a Japanese music, anime and home entertainment production and distribution enterprise headquartered in Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Geneon has been involved in the production and distribution of several anime in Japan...
has released five DVDs (containing episodes 1 - 17) in the U.S. and Canada.
Dragon Hunters Vol. 1: "It's A Dragon's Life"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 2: "Dead Dragon Walking"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 3: "There's No Place Like Home!"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 4: "Don't Look Now"
Dragon Hunters Vol. 5: "Unwelcome Guests"
Collectors Game
The Die Drachenjäger (Dragon Hunters) collectors' game was created and distributed by Dracco Company Ltd. This was a new addition to the Dracco Company's merchandise.The Die Drachenjäger collectors' game featured forty collectible figurines that resembled the monsters, dragons, and the heads of the main characters, Gwizdo, Lian Chu, Zaza, Hector, and Jenneline. The game plays identically to Dracco Heads.
The game was released in Belgium.
Comics
The comic series "Chasseurs de Dragons" is published by DelcourtDelcourt (publisher)
Delcourt is a French publishing house that specializes in comics and manga.It was founded in 1986 through the fusion of the magazines Charlie Mensuel and Pilote...
in France.
Movie
Directed by Guillaume Ivernel (also Art Director) and Arthur Qwak, producer by Philippe Delarue (Futurikon), a full-length computer-animated 3D movie was made by Mac Guff Ligne Paris, Futurikon and Trixter Film GmbH. The film is presented in a different timeline, with Gwizdo, Lian Chu and Hector as roving travelers, and Zoe replacing the roles of Jennyline and Zaza.A four-minute teaser was shown in Annecy Animation Festival and the Film Market of Cannes in 2007.
It premiered on March 19, 2008 in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
(http://pifdb.ru/review/11947.html), and on March 26 in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and premiered 2010 in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. It premiered on April 5, 2008 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as part of the Sarasota Film Festival. Rob Paulsen
Rob Paulsen
Robert Fredrick "Rob" Paulsen III , sometimes credited as Rob Paulson, is an American voice actor, best known as the voice behind Raphael from the 1987 cartoon of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Yakko Warner and Dr...
confirmed at a convention interview that he and Forest Whitaker
Forest Whitaker
Forest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
will respectively be voicing Gwizdo and Lian Chu.
Covers
- The show's theme, "The Dragon Hunters Song", is performed by the English rock band The CureThe CureThe Cure are an English rock band formed in Crawley, West Sussex in 1976. The band has experienced several line-up changes, with frontman, vocalist, guitarist and principal songwriter Robert Smith being the only constant member...
. This track was available as a single and a track on the German compilation CD Toggo Music 11 in 2005, both now out of print.