User reviews

Cute little kids short film I watched randomly after seeing a movie. Literally How to Train Your Dragon with dragons being taught how to be dragons at school. Throws some Human characters in the mix and provide a straightforward lesson on growing as a person and helping others.

Moves at a good pace, the Animation and voice work is okay. Some little easy gags here and there. Perfectly harmless little bit of fun. The dragons kind of remind me a bit of the ones in the Spyro video game series. Might be a bit simplistic for adults, but children will have a good time with Zog.

5.5/10

I was more excited that Zog sees the reunion of Lenny Henry and Tracy Ullman. Two thirds of a Kind!

Julia Donaldson's Zog is about a young dragon that is training how to be a dragon.

The other young dragons learn how to roar, fly or breathe fire quicker and better than Zog.

The accident prone Zog tries his best and hopes to get a medal for his efforts.

When he captures a princess, Zog finds that his true vocation is actually helping others.

A charming animation for Christmas bought from the same team behind The Gruffalo and Stickman. Nicely animated, quirky and kids will enjoy it.

This last Christmas the animation from the BBC was another in a handful of film adapting Donaldson's children's books. This one sees a young dragon learning his trade, and when he keep messing up, there is a young girl around to help him out here and there (a girl who also is struggling to learn her 'trade'). The structure of the lesson allows for an engaging episodic approach to the film, and the events are played out with humor. Not really laugh out loud funny often, but amusing and cheering across it all.

The animation matches the style of the book well, and looks great - Zog himself is a nice character and none of these dragons will cause bad dreams. The plot ends with a positive message which applies to everyone, but in particular leans into the female character for its delivery. It is a very positive message and it was only the cynic in me that rankled a bit at how clunky it was played out - very direct. Of course then I remember I was watching a children's film based on a children's book, so probably it deserves a pass. The voice cast feels overly starry; they do well but some of them feel almost like distractions - they are cast for this film as an 'event', which I suppose is fine as they do work.

Like most of the Donaldson animated films, not the deepest or most impacting film, but enjoyable, accessible, and with a nice easy message.

Zog is a klutzy dragon learning from teacher Madam Dragon (Tracey Ullman). He's the biggest dragon in the class, but the worst student. He is desperate to earn a gold star, but he never does. Young princess Pearl sneaks out of her mansion and finds an injured Zog. They become fast friends. The class is tasked with capturing princesses, but Zog is not good this either.

This is a fun little children's animated short. With all the rhythming, it's obviously adapted from a children's book. It's sweet and charming. It's a good story, but it does take a weird left turn at the end. It's an interesting and unlikely turn.

We've been reading the book for a while and definitely felt like this was a good adaptation of the story. It's always difficut when a short story is made into a longer animation and you often get the feeling that a lot of it is simply filler. This really isn't the case with Zog - there are some very humerous sections which really add to the story. My kids have been watching it non-stop since Christmas, but it is so well done we don't mind (much!).

An absolutely wonderful piece of TV to watch with your children. Funny and creative. Animation is great. Voices too. Hope they do more than two. Love them both.

Absolutely brilliant short film. Well done everyone!

A beautiful message, great watch, and re-watch .... my daughter just wants to see it again and again and she is just 4.

Recommended for a full family watch over a cup of tea.

Zog (1) (2018) -

From the start there were obvious similarities to 'How To Train Your Dragon' (2010), certainly at the first meeting between Zog (Rocco Wright and later Hugh Skinner) and Pearl (Patsy Ferran) as well as the connection that was made and built upon.

And of course the style of animation appeared to have come from the same creators and studio that had previously released 'Room On The Broom' (2012) and 'Stick Man' (2015) among others. Which for me was a positive, because I loved the hybrid CGI/"Claymation" cartoon effect and I have always thought that it was done well. It is a staple to watch at least one of these releases every Christmas now, although I think my favourite is 'The Gruffalo's Child' (2011)0, which had that wintery cosy vibe to it.

I might like the others more if they were re-set in a colder climate to go with the time of year that they are shown. My absolute favourite film is 'The Snowman' (1982), so I suppose I am looking for something to replicate that nostalgic warmth and festive feeling that it provided and still does at least two or three times every Christmas.

With 'Zog' however I did feel that the moral was a bit on the nose, although I suppose that there was no point in complicating it for the kiddies?

I thought that it might be a bit much for really young children to grasp the point of the story, but I'm sure that they would at least appreciate the colours and characters. As an "Adult" though I thought that it could have had a bit more to it and I didn't think that it was worth paying the big bucks for names such as Kit Harrington (Gadabout), Tracey Ullman (Madam Dragon) or even Rob Brydon (Various) for the few lines that they had to deliver, that would have been just as successfully spoken by any other voice actor. I did appreciate Lenny Henry as the Narrator though, because his diction was clear and easy to understand, which hasn't always been the case.

It was a nice enough cartoon, but having since watched its sequel, I wonder whether it might not have been better made as two parts in one and slightly longer, maybe 45 minutes instead of two 30 minute instalments?

505.08/1000.

He loves the book and met zog at Waterstones and the film did not disappoint as he giggled his way through it

This is a short film that adapts a children's book. It features dragons, and eventually, a princess and a knight. It feels sped up due to it accurately portraying a 30~ page child's book. It takes some very small steps in giving Zog a smidge more depth than it's source. The other unnamed dragons have design flourishes that have add a bit of character, which is why it feels like a shame...

It's visually a beautiful and colorful world that feels like a waste because it is a child's book, meaning it's one-and-done.

It's got a message for girls, somewhat of a message for boys, but at least it's positive. Not bad considering this was a TV special film. I give it an extra point because I found Zog adorable.

When I told my kid that they will make a Zog movie, he kept pestering me for half a year when it will come. When it finally did, it was a marvelous short film that used some old stereotypes from kids stories, and turned them into something new and fit for today's world. Most of all, it teaches young girls that they can be whatever they want, and not only princesses In the castle, waiting for a prince.