Dragon's Lair - Animation Attack by the Lizard King.

Bluth, Don--1937 -

©1983

Animation (Cinematography).

Video Games.

Dragon's Lair, originally released in 1983, was a video game created for laserdisc. It featured Dirk the Daring on a quest to rescue Princess Daphne from the evil dragon Singe, who had locked her in a wizard's castle. The game was developed by Rick Dyer of Advanced Microcomputer Systems. He had created storyboards to map out the game play, but realized quality animation was needed to complete the project and brought the plans to Don Bluth and his new studio. The budget was so small that the studio animators used their own voices instead of voice actors and each other as models. Princess Daphne was based on Playboy Magazine photos and Marilyn Monroe’s face. The game was an immediate success, but the laserdisc format was not long-lived due to the high cost of production.

In this level Dirk is trying to get his sword back from an enchanted pot of gold while escaping the wrath of a Lizard King. If the player was not fast enough Dirk was hit with the king's scepter.

Animation drawings of Dirk, presented as an MOV animated clip and also as a PDF of individual drawings. This will help the viewer understand how the action appeared in the scene and allows examination frame by frame of how the animation was executed. This animated clip approximates the animator’s original intent and is meant for purposes of demonstration, only.

Sequence 258, Scene B1, drawings D-1 through D-47

Scholars wishing to cite this item should include item title, the Don Bluth Collection of Animation, Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, the Savannah College of Art and Design, and the item's url.

Original materials house in box DL 16-58

Images

Drawings, Animation

10 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches

Pencil on paper

The Don Bluth Collection of Animation, Jen Library Archives and Special Collections, the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.