[cartoon] Movie identification question

[soul alive]

I remember a movie playing every so often on Cartoon Network as a child, but beyond plot, I can't recall title or characters or the like. It played when I was pretty young, at least 10-14 or so years ago. I would really appreciate it if anyone can help.

Plot (as I recall):
A young man, struggling to make money is trying to sell/pawn a board game he has created involving a world of dragons, which he is also writing a book about. *stuff happens* and the young man is transported into the world of his game/book in order to help it in its time of need. He goes on a quest to defeat an evil warlord who is manipulating dragons and using them for wrong. During the quest something happens and he finds himself in the body of a dragon he was traveling with, and to regain his normal body, he must complete the quest.

There were all types of dragons from medieval European dragons to Asian dragons.


I know that probably doesn't help much. But I would really appreciate it if anyone knows anything.

Thanks.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Uh... The PageMaster perhaps?

[bigsleepj]

Flight of Dragons.

Man, I loved that movie when I was young. I wonder if I still would today - I wince at a lot of stuff from my childhood, sometimes.



Edit: It seems to be a Rankin-Bass animation, but it does have the voices of John Ritter and James Earl Jones in the cast. I'm actually now curious to see it again. However that may not be any time soon. It seems to have never had a DVD release (unlike Rankin-Bass' Last Unicorn and seems to be out of print on VHS (though recent copies are available on on-line auctions). That said, there may be a DVD release in November 2006 - but that's a long way off.

[soul alive]

Yes! Thank you bigsleepj.

I dearly loved this movie as a child. Hastings may be getting a visit, to see if they have an old copy floating around.

*sigh of nostalgia* I miss cartoon movies, not a whole lot have been coming out lately in the states.

[bigsleepj]

Oh there are a lot of 'cartoon' movies out there (depends on how you define 'cartoon') but basically it seems that the sort of creative experimentation that produced great to passable movies like Lion King, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Prince of Egypt (that is, US animation) have died down. These movies, whether they 'worked' for the viewer or not, tried to achieve a sense of wonder which is lacking in a lot of movies, not only animation but live-action too. These days, in animation, everybody's just trying to do varations of Shrek (a movie I liked) or slapstick comedy. I don't mind these kind of animation movies (I love Ice Age) but there isn't any real 'wow' factor outside of their technical specs and humour. I mean, Lion King had sprawling landscapes beautifully painted with a compelling story. Sure, it had a lot of humour and action scenes, but really its the afore-mentioned quality that I miss from most western animation (and not all anime even have it). Most of today's Hollywood animated movies seem content dishing out stories that are humourous. I have nothing against funny movies but considering that you can create such beautiful, complex stories with animation, these products are ultimately lacking. At least for me.