Warner Archive managed to make a Disc Wanted post that I had all ready to go irrelevant when they announced that they were putting the Rankin/Bass animated fantasy movie The Flight of Dragons on DVD. It became available for purchase yesterday at $14.95. I had never seen this movie until my wife shoved a worn VHS tape in my hand and said "we're watching this" after I told her I'd never heard of it.

One of the buried treasures of the Rankin/Bass animated catalog, Flight of Dragons was released direct to video in 1982 and then aired as a 1986 ABC family
movie of the week. The theme song is sung by no less than Don McLean. Lead wizard Carolinus is voiced by Harry Morgan, his arch-nemesis Ommadon is played by James Earl Jones, and John Ritter is Peter, a nebbish board game creator obsessed with dragons. Peter is transported to the magical world of the past and has to save the day. There's a princess, a bunch of talking dragons, and story that is heavy on the virtues of being good-hearted and sticking up for what's right.

The inimitable Harry Morgan as Carolinus the Wizard

Flight of Dragons never achieves the level of quality in animation (or, sorry to say, storytelling) that Disney was maintaining at the time, but it's easily better than nearly all of the previous decade's CG children's adventure films. Thinking back, I really wish I'd gotten to see it at a point when I really would have appreciated Flight to its fullest. The transfer is from the best available elements and is a bit dim and shows its age. That being said, this looks about as good as the movie will for now, considering the lack of financial incentive for an extremely expensive restoration.