Dragon Booster is a Canadian-American animated series created by Rob Travalino and Kevin Mowrer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that aired from October 23, 2004 to December 16, 2006. The first series produced by Nerd Corps Entertainment, the series is about young Artha Penn, a stable boy. He is chosen by Beaucephalis (or "Beau" for short), the dragon of legend, to be his rider, turning him into the Dragon Booster, a hero to protect the world from the impending Dragon-Human war and unite humans and dragons for all time.[1]
| Dragon Booster | |
|---|---|
 Title card | |
| Genre | Action Adventure Science fantasy Comedy drama |
| Created by | Rob Travalino Kevin Mowrer |
| Directed by | George Samilski J. Falconer Steve Ball |
| Voices of | Matt Hill Kathleen Barr Garry Chalk Mark Oliver Trevor Devall Lee Tockar Lenore Zann Scott McNeil |
| Theme music composer | Bob Buckley |
| Composer | Bob Buckley |
| Country of origin | Germany Canada United States |
| Original languages | English French German |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 39 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Asaph Fipke |
| Running time | 21 minutes |
| Production companies | Pacific Coast Productions (seasons 1–2) Film Financial & Productions (season 3) ApolloScreen Filmproduktion Nerd Corps Entertainment The Story Hat Alliance Atlantis |
| Original release | |
| Network | Jetix (Europe) CBC (Canada) ABC Family/Jetix (U.S.) |
| Release | October 23, 2004 – December 16, 2006 |
Plot
editThe story takes place on the world of Draconis, where 2000 years ago a huge Dragon-Human War erupted. The golden Dragon of Legend chose a human rider, the Dragon Booster, to bring peace and show that dragons and humans can coexist.
In the present day humans have been commanding dragons, the very thing the original Dragon Booster sought to prevent, and another war is looming. However, Connor Penn breeds back into existence one last gold dragon of legend, Beau. Beau chooses a stable boy, Artha Penn to be the Dragon Booster. Artha seeks to protect the world from the impending Dragon-Human war by defeating villains such as Moordryd Paynn and his father Word.[1]
Episodes
editCharacters
editMain
edit- Artha Penn (voiced by Matt Hill): Artha Tannis Penn is a 16-year-old stable boy, a street racer, and the main protagonist of the series. After being chosen by Beau as his rider, he becomes the Dragon Booster, a hero sworn to protect the world from another Dragon-Human War. He is also the leader of his own racing team known as the Penn Racing Crew, and is the son of Connor and Fira Penn.
- Lance Penn (voiced by Kathleen Barr): Lance Patrick Penn is Artha's little brother, and a member of the Penn Racing Crew. He has a blue Energy-class dragon named Fracshun.
- Parmon Sean (voiced by Lee Tockar): Parmon is Artha's best friend and the technology geek as well as mechanic of the Penn Racing Crew. He also has advanced knowledge of just about everything. He has a Bull-class dragon named Cyranno.
- Kitt Wonn (voiced by Lenore Zann): The sole female member of the Penn Racing Crew, and a skilled racer. Artha is shown to have feelings for her, and likewise she is shown to have a crush on the Dragon Booster. She has a red Fire-class dragon named Wyldfyr.
- Connor Penn (voiced by Garry Chalk): Connor Penn was the owner of Penn Stables, father of Artha Penn and enemy of Word Paynn. For most of the series, Connor disguises himself as the character
- Mortis, a mentor of the Penn Racing Crew. He did this to allow Artha to develop on his own without relying on his father, as well as to watch over his two sons with no interference.
- Beau: Beaucephalis is the Dragon of Legend and distantly related to the first Dragon of Legend who stopped the original Dragon-Human War. He is Artha's dragon partner. His Special Abilities include; Mag Shield, Furox Form, Five Draconium Colors of Balance Mag Manipulation, and Black Draconium Use.
Antagonists
edit- Word Paynn (voiced by Mark Oliver): The father of Moordryd Paynn and the main antagonist of the series. His main goal is to start another Dragon-Human War, confident that he can control the war and whatever benefits it can give to him. He owns Paynn Inc, a company that manufactures cutting edge racing and battling gear. Throughout the first half of the series, his plans tend to revolve around stealing the dragon of legend, Beau. He is later revealed to be Drakkus, a warrior with ancient armor from 3000 years ago and rides a pure black dragon, named Abandonn.
- Moordryd Paynn (voiced by Trevor Devall): The 16-year-old leader of the Dragon Eye Crew and the son of Word Paynn. Moordryd starts as one of the main antagonists of the series and the primary enemy of Artha Penn. But as the series progresses, he is shown to have heroic qualities within him and develops into a more complex anti-hero. Later, under the guidance of Armeggadon, Moordryd finds a Black Draconium gauntlet and becomes the Shadow Booster, possessing power to rival that of even the Dragon Booster. He rides a black dragon, named Decepshun.
- Armeggaddon (voiced by Gerad Plunkett): 3000 years ago, he was an enemy of the original Dragon Booster and helped start the original Dragon-Human War. He was imprisoned in the Shadow Track by the original Shadow Booster, until Artha and Moordryd broke the spell. Armeggaddon mentors Moordryd, who becomes the Shadow Booster.
- Cain (voiced by Scott McNeil): Moordryd Paynn's key lieutenant as well as his closest friend.
Recurring characters
edit- Phistus: The leader of the Grip of the Dragon crew, as well as the Down City Council of Twelve. He is also the all-time Dragon City jousting champion. He rides a green Bull-class dragon, named Brutaris.
- Pyrrah: A street racer and the leader of the Dragon Flares Crew. She is Sparkk's elder sister and rides a red Magma-class dragon, named Phorrj.
- Khatah: The leader of the Inner Order Crew. He and his crew are former world champions of the Horn of Libris Tournament, before they were defeated, with a bit of cheating by Moordryd and Cain. He rides a blue Energy-class dragon, named Shock-Ra.
- Captain Faier: The new head of Dragon City Security headquartered at Precinct. He rides a blue Energy-class dragon, named Cuffs.
- Stewardd: The short, reclusive leader of the Dragon Keepers crew
- Propheci: The true leader of the Prophets Crew, an orange Control-class dragon. His human rider was Reepyr, who along with his fellow riders submitted to the control of their dragons. Propheci wants the Dragon Booster destroyed to prevent humans from controlling dragons.
- Chute: The Academy's top cadet student and the leader of the Dragon Winds Crew. She rides a white dragon, named Turbulence.
- Sentrus: The Academy scout who shows interest in Artha Penn and Moordryd Paynn
Cancellation
editThe end of the final episode of the third season alluded to a planned name change to Dragon Booster: Academy for the next season. However, in an interview with Matt Hill (the voice of Artha Penn) on June 10, 2006, at the Otakuthon convention held in Concordia University, it was made apparent that Dragon Booster failed to pull together a large enough fan base and production has permanently ceased on the series. He stated, "We did not get the following 13 episodes." When asked why the series lost its bid for more episodes, Hill responded, "They were not selling enough action figures".[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 163. ISBN 978-1538103739.
- ^ Hill, Matt (June 10, 2006). "Interview with Matt Hill" (Interview). Concordia University.