Hey, kids, do you like violence?
The creator of GAME OF THRONES, George R.R. Martin, is having his 1980 children’s book THE ICE DRAGON made into an animated family film by Warner Bros. Animation.
Though by his admission the story is not set in the realm of Westeros, it does share many attributes of his trademark land. Dragons are plentiful, winter is oppressive and defining, and conflict is omnipresent. The heroine is a young girl named Adara, who is born during the coldest winter of anyone’s recollection, leaving her imperceptible to cold and unfeeling. She befriends the illusive Ice Dragon due to her special skill set in her infancy, and by the time she is seven she is able to weaponize it to defend her home against the attacking Fire Dragons and their rival human riders.
Warner Bros. Animation has a great track record with the Looney Tunes and DC Animated Universe, so I’m sure they’ll affect a nice run for this film, but let’s be honest: this will be viewed by most as just more fodder as Martin’s fans wait for his interminable epic A Song of Fire and Ice to end. Already fans of the HBO show have had their payoff deferred, and this family fare offering seems to be more of the same bait-and-switch while they wait-and-twitch.
Still, the film will have a built-in audience, and as news of voice casting becomes readily available, we’re sure the studio and production team (which includes Martin, himself) will have some hefty players to stoke the flames of expectation.
Or the ice, as the case may be.
-McEric-
