CinemaSerf

The feisty princess is in love with the slightly geeky "Ronan" but her father is more concerned that her future husband be capable of defending the kingdom and so favours a more robust suitor for his daughter's hand. Maybe that's the local beefcake "Rogdai" (think "Gaston" from "Beauty and the Beast"). Before any of this has to be decided, however, the nasty sorcerer "Kezabor" sends his pet dragon to kidnap her and desperate to retrieve her, the king promises her to her rescuer. "Ronan", "Rogdai" and the rather maternally henpecked "Fa Chan" now set off on some adventures to find the sorcerer's castle and hopefully save the youngster from a fate worse than death. Nope, there's nothing original here but to be fair it isn't trying to hide that fact. There are nods to established folklore ("Rapunzel" chief amongst them) as we encounter loads of mythical beasties and prove that the most valiant is not necessarily the biggest, bravest or boldest. The Arabian Nights style theme works fine for ninety minutes with some colourfully vivid animation - lots of big eyes and out of proportion bodies, and the plot delivers exactly what you might expect. It's a competently produced story that ought to engage the kids on the television at Christmas, but it's all pretty run-of-the-mill stuff that you will soon forget. Nothing wrong with a bit of turban-charged girl power.