Dragons can make for adorable sidekicks, like Mushu from Mulan, or even love interests, like Dragon from the Shrek franchise. Dragons are often used to symbolize strength or wisdom, but they can also be used to symbolize chaos and destruction.
Dragon
Shrek
Shrek is a delightfully subversive satire of fairy tales, and part of that satirical subversion is turning the dragon into a romantic lead. Much like in most fairy tales, the heroes of Shrek are sent on a treacherous journey to save a princess from the tower where she’s being guarded by a deadly, fire-breathing dragon.
But when Shrek and Donkey get there, they find that the dragon — who’s just named Dragon — is actually pretty nice once you get to know her. Rather than incinerating Shrek and Donkey, Dragon helps them defeat Lord Farquaad. Donkey and Dragon ultimately fell in love and had a litter of their own donkey-dragon hybrid babies, dubbed “dronkeys.”
Saphira
Eragon
The existence of Eragon is a testament to creativity and ingenuity. Author Christopher Paolini began working on the novel as a teenager, and after self-publishing it, it became a popular series. It’s highly derivative of other stories — it’s basically Star Wars transplanted into a Lord of the Rings world — but that’s to be expected from a 15-year-old first-time novelist.
The book and its film adaptation follow a plucky farm boy named Eragon, who discovers a strange stone in the mountains that turns out to be a dragon egg. The dragon that hatches from the egg, Saphira, becomes the subject of a kingdom-wide hunt, so Eragon and his new pet have to go on the run. It’s a rollicking, if by-the-numbers fantasy adventure.
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf
H.R. Pufnstuf was the first live-action show to star life-size puppets, and it became so iconic that McDonald’s ripped it off for its “McDonaldland” ad campaign. The series was full of colorful characters: Wilhelmina W. Witchiepoo, the local wicked witch; Cling and Clang, two small police officers; Freddy the talking flute — the list goes on.
But the most memorable character in the ensemble is the title character, H.R. Pufnstuf himself, a kind, compassionate dragon who holds the office of Mayor of Living Island. He might be the least threatening dragon ever put on television, and he was brought to life by performer Roberto Gamonet and voice artist Lennie Weinrib.
Draco
Dragonheart
In the same year that he basically played Old Man Bond in The Rock, Sean Connery provided the voice of Draco the Dragon in the heartwarming fantasy adventure Dragonheart. Dragonheart received mixed reviews from critics for its clichéd and confusing script, but the lighthearted premise, poignant character development, and stunning visual effects were all widely praised.
Connery gives a really touching performance as Draco, the last surviving dragon. Connery’s voice is instantly recognizable, and brings the right jaded, grizzled quality to this wise, world-weary character. The VFX artists at ILM modeled Draco’s facial expressions and mannerisms after Connery’s most iconic on-screen roles, so he really embodies the character.
Elliott
Pete’s Dragon
Nearly half a century later, Pete’s Dragon remains one of Disney’s most underrated movies. It tells the story of a young orphan who runs away from the abusive family that bought him as a slave and finds a kindred spirit in a lonely green dragon that can turn himself invisible. The friendship between Pete and Elliott is deeply endearing, in both versions of the movie.
Pete’s Dragon is one of the very few Disney classics to actually be improved by its remake. Most of the Mouse House’s live-action reimaginings are just soulless corporate products, but the recent revamp of Pete’s Dragon — much like the live-action version of The Jungle Book — recaptures what’s great about the original while tightening up the story.
Smaug
The Hobbit Trilogy
Throughout The Hobbit trilogy, we followed Bilbo Baggins and the Company of Dwarves to the Lonely Mountain, where Smaug the nefarious dragon has taken up residence. At the end of the first movie, Smaug is reawakened, and the second movie is basically a monster movie as Smaug comes down from the mountain to terrorize the villagers.
Benedict Cumberbatch had a ton of fun playing Smaug. He didn’t just do the voice; he did the motion capture, too, and there’s a lot of footage of Cumberbatch wriggling around a soundstage, having the time of his life. That fun translated to the screen, and turned what could’ve been a one-note villain into one of the most well-rounded characters in the trilogy.
Mushu
Mulan
It’s standard practice for Disney animated movies to give their hero a scene-stealing animal sidekick, whether it’s Flounder in The Little Mermaid or Heihei in Moana. In Mulan, as the title character disguises herself as a man so she can join the army and fight for her country, she’s joined by a wisecracking little dragon called Mushu.
Before Eddie Murphy stole every scene as the sidekick in Shrek, he stole every scene as the sidekick in Mulan. Murphy is a voice actor worth his weight in gold; his voice is unmistakable, his comic timing is razor-sharp, and he nails the physicality of a really great voice performance. It was a crime to exclude Mushu from the live-action remake.
Haku
Spirited Away
Hayao Miyazaki has never made a bad movie, but Spirited Away is arguably his masterpiece. It’s one of the most visually striking animated films ever made, and it tells a deeply touching coming-of-age story through fantastical allegories.
About midway through the movie, while Sen is searching for a boy named Haku, she’s surprised to find that Haku has metamorphosed into a dragon. A lot of the dragons on this list are depicted as monsters, but Haku couldn’t be further from a monster.
Drogon
Game Of Thrones
Daenerys Targaryen gave birth to three dragons in Game of Thrones, but Drogon stands out as the best of the bunch. Rhaegal is green and Viserion is yellow, but Drogon is black, which not only lends him a much cooler look, but also hints at his dark nature and his roguish attitude.
Drogon is the biggest of Daenerys’ dragons, and he’s her favorite by far — she even named him in honor of her late husband, Khal Drogo. The entire series revolves around the power struggle over the Iron Throne, but after Daenerys’ death, a grief-stricken Drogon made that struggle moot by smelting the Iron Throne into a pile of metallic sludge.
Toothless
How To Train Your Dragon
Perhaps the most iconic dragon character in movie and TV history, and easily the most lovable, is Hiccup’s dragon companion Toothless in How to Train Your Dragon. Similar to Lenny, the great white vegetarian from Shark Tale, Toothless belongs to a species that’s traditionally seen as ruthless, bloodthirsty monsters, but he’s completely harmless.
Initially, Hiccup is supposed to track down the Night Fury and kill it to prove himself. But when he finds Toothless, he can’t bring himself to kill him. Instead, he sets Toothless free and they become the best of friends. The bond between Hiccup and Toothless is the emotional throughline in the entire How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, and it’s even been successfully translated into live-action.