Dragon’s Lair Movie Hits Kickstarter

Video games have come a long way on both storytelling and visual levels. Nowadays, they can be every bit as cinematic as feature films. As a matter of fact, most video games have evolved to the point that they almost feel like interactive movies. One game that notably played a hand in this evolution was 1983’s Dragon’s Lair.

In an era of sprites, pixels, and 8-bit graphics, this arcade game utilized LaserDisc technology to stand out from all the rest with a fully animated story. The story in question followed Dirk the Daring in his quest to rescue Princess Daphne from a dragon in a castle (never heard that one before). The project was helmed by ex-Disney animator Don Bluth, who went on to direct The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time. Granted, the gameplay was pretty basic as the player just had to complete a series of quick time events. Since the game was so unique for the time, though, you can bet it quickly became an arcade favorite.

The many animations of Don Bluth.

Even over thirty years later, Dragon’s Lair still holds a place in the hearts of many old school gamers. It also clearly means a lot to Bluth and co-creator Gary Goldman. Now Bluth and Goldman are coming back together to get a feature-length Dragon’s Lair movie off the ground. They’ve posted the project on Kickstarter with a goal of $550,000 to make teaser presentation to show investors. After that, they hope to attain a $70 million budget to bring the classic arcade game to the big screen.

As of now, the project has attracted over 600 backers that have donated over $50,000. The minimum buy-in for backers is $15. Anybody who donates more than $15 will be eligible for some premium rewards, including a Dirk the Daring lapel pin ($75 or more), a copy of Dragon’s Lair Blu-ray ($125 or more), and an online instructional lesson with Don Bluth ($750 or more). There are still 29 days left to go so you’d better get to pledging. Your quest awaits!