Plot Summary
After her parents are kidnapped, Ayden and her new orphan friends will have to retrieve the magical orb that keeps Father Christmas alive and will have to save the Christmas Dragon from being killed. Will they be able to prevail against the evil creatures and people that are chasing then? Will everyone be able to find out what the true meaning of Christmas is?
Production Quality (1.5 points)
It’s very hard to make a fantasy movie on a low budget, so it should probably be avoided. Nonetheless, while The Christmas Dragon has some good production elements, it also has some glaringly bad ones. As usual, video quality, camera work, and audio quality are all what they should be. Yet there are many obviously cheap special effects used throughout, including a lot of poorly animated overlays. Unfortunately, the fantasy props used are among the worst; it also does not help that the sets and locations are fairly limited. One consolation is that the editing in this film is fine, which keeps this production from being below average. In the end, fantasy productions require a lot of funding, so a low budget will always be exposed by this type of film.
Plot and Storyline Quality (0 points)
First off, it’s very hard to discern how The Christmas Dragon is really a Christmas film, but at least John Lyde and his team are trying to do something different. However, it still seems like he and his team are better than this silliness. With no clear Christian message or purpose to guide it, this storyline meanders along as a vague allegory that simply copies concepts (very poorly) from popular fantasy stories. The characters are too one-dimensional and not dynamic at all. They seem to be pawns in the plot, and their dialogue is stunted by action sequences. Allegory and fantasy plots need a driving purpose that keep them from going off the rails, and some creativity is not discouraged either. Unfortunately, this movie lacks these parameters.
Acting Quality (1 point)
Besides having the most terrible makeup jobs ever, these cast members are forced to don obviously homemade costuming (and sometimes stupid masks) that attempts and fails to make them look like mythical creatures. Elsewhere, emotions are either too dramatic or too matter-of-fact. There is too much yelling and forced drama, as well as poor action acting. While some roles are poorly cast, there are some good moments here that keep this section from being any worse. In the end, the potential here was not fully reached.
Conclusion
A word to the wise: do not make a fantasy movie with this sort of budget and don’t make one just to rip off other ideas and to smash Christmas into it for no good reason. John Lyde and his team usually produce quality content, but this movie is an exception because they overextended themselves with a complex production. Fantasy plots need to be well-planned from the beginning, and if they are, they can be very dynamic. Perhaps John Lyde and his crew will continue to improve in the future.
Final Rating: 2.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 