History OurDragonsAreDifferent / WesternAnimation

* ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'': Dojo is an Eastern Dragon in a Western show. He spends most of his time in a very small form, but can shift into a wide variety of shapes, and serves as the team's transport. "[[{{Understatement}} Wide variety]]" includes "he once transformed into a working subway train".

* ''WesternAnimation/BartokTheMagnificent'': The villainous Ludmilla's unwitting transformation into a fat, pink, three-horned, wingless dragon during her VillainSong ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9i6ROv1JKfg&feature=related see here]]) after drinking Bartok's potion, which turns the drinker into whatever they truly are, deep inside. Being EXTREMELY vain and caring about her own beauty and lust for power turned her into a dragon based on her personality. Somewhat related to Maleficent's transformation in ''Disney/SleepingBeauty'', except more comedic and less threatening (she was defeated by a freakin bat for crying out loud! At least it took a bunch of magical fairies and an enchanted sword to bring Maleficent down).

** One episode had the Genie build a mechanical dragon to test Aladdin's bravery. Unfortunately, Genie accidentally destroys the remote used to control the dragon, and as a result the mechanical dragon starts to malfunction and goes on a rampage.
** Another episode revolved around two twins, one good and one evil, that could magically fuse together to form a Chinese dragon. Whoever initiated the fusion would gain control of the new body, and so the evil twin constantly sought the good twin to form the evil dragon body and wreak havoc. By the end of the episode, Aladdin and his friends teach the good twin to stand up for himself, causing him to overpower the evil twin and form a good dragon for the first time.
* In ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDragonJakeLong'', Dragons are a special type of human... or are real dragons who can turn into humans... or... you know what, [[MST3KMantra forget it]].

* Adding to its egregiously long list of MixAndMatchCritters, dragons on the Asian-influenced ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' are a hybrid of Western and Eastern dragon types. They are like eastern ones except they have wings, are associated with fire and are kept by humans as a means of transportation, and appear quite intelligent. [[spoiler:It later turns out that they are thought to be extinct, since people started hunting them to get the title "dragon", and are actually the source of firebending.]]

* The comparatively better-known ''WesternAnimation/DaveTheBarbarian'' similarly had a small dragon who looked like a winged pig. It also had more conventional dragons. Faffy himself was routinely referred to as a "flying potato" and noted to be pretty pathetic by dragon standards.

** Storm dragons are gray to blue in coloring, possess numerous horns and thick manes of white hair and breath lightning. Their eggs are blue with colorful specks, pulse with light and can only hatch during thunderstorms.

* One rather odd episode of ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'' was about Garfield and his owner Jon Arbuckle ordering food at a Chinese restaurant when the waitress noticed that Garfield was actually eating too much food. She then cautions Jon by telling him an ancient Chinese folktale about an evil dragon who threatened a nearby village to completely relinquish their food otherwise he will set their village on fire. A big tiger-striped cat challenges the dragon to an eating contest in order to get the villagers' food back and wins. The dragon gets very furious and starts chasing away the cat, and while everyone's food has finally been rescued by the cat, both the dragon and the cat were never seen again. After she is finished, the waitress tells Jon that if the orange-and-black cat's descendant (in this case, Garfield himself) eats too much, then the dragon from the folktale will have his revenge. The episode ends with Garfield and Jon leaving the restaurant, while the dragon looks on while disguised as a paper dragon.
* In the ''WesternAnimation/GravedaleHigh'' episode "Goodbye Gravedale", one of the substitute teachers chosen for Max Schneider's class after the students drove him away because of a misunderstanding was a dragon named Miss Burns, who proved to be a SadistTeacher by forcing the students to take 12 tests on the same day. In the end, she is eliminated when the class tricks her into using her fire breath on the sprinkler system, causing it to go out.
* The animated feature ''[[WesternAnimation/HellboyAnimated Hellboy: Sword of Storms]]'' apparently set out to make its dragons as different as possible, stretching the definition of "dragon" a bit further than it could go in the process. Everything from human-sized, human-shaped ogres with lightning powers to unimaginably huge, squashy undersea demons are identified as dragons. This might not have been so jarring if the audience saw anything onscreen that anyone off the street would call a dragon.

* On ''WesternAnimation/IvorTheEngine'', which was mostly a slice-of-life story with no obvious fantasy outside of Ivor's implied sentience, Jones the Steamer finds a strange rock by a volcano outside of Llaniog. When it's left in Ivor's firebox, it hatches into a dragon; "Not one of your lumping great fairy-tale dragons, but a small, trim, heraldic Welsh dragon." His name is Idris, and he comes out of the volcano to sing with the town choir on occasion.
* The main antagonist of ''WesternAnimation/JackieChanAdventures'', Shendu, is a dragon, a demon one at that. He has traits from both the Western and Eastern aspects of dragons, which is probably not a surprise given that it is a Western show that has an emphasis on Eastern traditions. Even stranger is how his statue in the early episodes is a traditional Chinese design, long and swirling, but his actual form is the mixed form above. However, he is a shapeshifter. That might explain the difference between his spiritual and physical form.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/{{Rupert}}'' stories Tiger Lilly keeps a small, eastern dragon as a pet.

* Malchior from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' is a very traditional western kind of dragon, though he plays a less than [[SealedEvilInACan traditional]] [[MailerDaemon role]] for a dragon.
* There are quite a few ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' who transform into dragons, despite real dragons generally ([[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dragon but not always]]) being nowhere to be seen. Aside from all being Western-style dragons, they're as different as the individuals that turn into them. Of particular note is ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', in which ''human'' myths about dragons were inspired by the remnants of a number of Predacon clones that were dispatched to Earth thousands of years ago. ''Prime'' Predacons all have draconic alt-modes.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Wakfu}}'', who shares the universe with the MMORPG ''Dofus'', takes a different way. The god Osamodas, creator of all living things, once had three mythical dragons, who shaped themselves into the world of Dofus. Therefore, there were other dragons, about a dozen, who were strong powerful creatures of magic and had the power to create the eponymous Dofus, magical dragon eggs. Nobody knows how many have survived to the cataclysm which leads to Wakfu, but we can see at least one in the series: Grougaloragran, dragon of fire, shapeshifted as an old man, who brings TheHero to his adoptive parent.
** It gets worse: [[spoiler: those dragons can also lay Eliatrope Dofus, a single egg which contains a baby dragon and a baby human, the latter gaining teleportation-related powers. And yes, Yugo, TheHero, hatched from one of those eggs.]]

* From ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'', Dojo, is a Eastern Dragon in a Western Animation. He spends most of his time in a very small form, but can shift into a wide variety of shapes, and serves as the team's transport. "[[{{Understatement}} Wide variety]]" includes "he once transformed into a working subway train".

* As the name suggests, ''WesternAnimation/DragonHunters'' takes this trope and runs with it. Gwizdo and Lian-chu, the titular hunters, go after a number of different kinds of dragons over the course of the series, and no two alike. With all the variety, "dragon" basically seems interchangeable with "monster" in this setting.
* The short-lived series ''Literature/TheDragonSlayers'' broke the definition of dragon. It did have a few traditional dragons. It also had big giant warty hoglike things, floating blobby tentacled things, and one of the main characters was a "dragon" who was basically [[WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpy Ren]] with a couple of horns for garnish.
* And then there's ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales''... flying dragons with pouches in which they store things and small feathery wings. One two-headed dragon is a type of conjoined twin.

** Spike's incarnation in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is an ExtremeOmnivore that especially likes to eat gems, and has magic fire breath that he uses to send messages like a living fax machine.

** Spike aside, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a standard Western dragon in the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7DragonShy Dragonshy]]", and another one in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well that Ends Well]]" who has the added features of retractable claws and tail spikes. Both dragons hoard gemstones and riches in their caves, which actually makes sense here given that, as Spike proves, this version of dragons' preferred diet is gemivorous.

* ''WesternAnimation/PJMasks:'' The episode “The Dragon Gong” featured an Eastern dragon who could be summoned by ringing the titular gong, and was forced to obey whoever rung it. A later special reveals that she can turn into a human.

*** Additionally, dragons seem to age quite slowly but live a very long time. Spike's personality fits a kid of 8-10 years old, and the canon timeline supports him having lived about that long, but he's still tiny enough to ride on Twilight's back, and chubby as a toddler; the ponies all refer to him as a 'baby' dragon. Meanwhile, the dragons we meet in "Dragonshy" and "Owl's Well That Ends Well" are gigantic enough to swallow a pony in one bite (in Fluttershy's words), and apparently, sleeping for one hundred years only qualifies as a ''nap''.

** Besides the canon dragon species, ''[=FiM=]'' has had a number of creatures that also fit this trope. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Part 2 of the pilot]] features Steven Magnet, a sea serpent with an overall design reminiscent of both Western draconic sea monsters (overall snakelike body shape, no limbs save his arms) and Eastern dragons (hair and a mustache, an overall benevolent personality and the ability to render an entire river impassable, in his case a side effect of being upset). "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]" also has a hydra, a towering, reptilian ArmlessBiped with four heads on top of long necks that lives in a swamp and tries to eat the main characters. The oddest of these is the tatzlwurm, which while based on a type of Alpine dragon more resembles a sandworm. Notably, both hydras and tatzlwurms are noted to be [[AlwaysABiggerFish predators of young dragons]].

* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsRidersOfBerk'', the SequelSeries to ''WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon'', features dragons shown in the film as well as new ones. (though some of the new dragons were mentioned or shown in the book of dragons in the film) The dragons all fly and breathe fire, but there is still a ''huge'' variety. The Deadly Nadder shoots spikes out of its tail, the Monstrous Nightmare can set itself on fire, and so on.

** In universe, the dragons vary from nation to nation, mainly by facial differences (length of head, horns, etc). Jake, being a mixed-race character, in dragon form shows markings of both traditional Western and Eastern dragons, whose dominance depends on the season. In season 1, he had a more Western body type (big and buff) with a longer Eastern type head; in season 2, he strangely reverted to a more long and skinny Eastern style body, with head and face now little more than his human self, just dragonized. There's also rules of magic, (silly) dragon diseases, and the rule that dragons are the protectors of the magical world.
*** They're also weak against [[KryptoniteFactor Sphinx hair]].

* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'', Big Time Beagle was [[ScaledUp briefly turned into a dragon]] by accident thanks to Magica de Spell in the episode "Send in the Clones." As the opening theme is a TitleMontage, it can be seen during this part of the opening song:
-->WesternAnimation/DuckTales! (Whoo-hoo!)\\
Tales of derring-do,\\
Bad and good luck-tales!
* The only dragon in ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' is Cybill Shepherd.

** Besides the canon dragon species, ''[=FiM=]'' has had a number of creatures that also fit this trope. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Part 2 of the pilot]] features Steven Magnet, a sea serpent with an overall design reminiscent of both Western draconic sea monsters (overall snakelike body shape, no limbs save his arms) and Eastern dragons (hair and a mustache, an overall benevolent personality and the ability to render an entire river impassable, in his case a side effect of being upset). "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]" also has a hydra, a towering, reptilian ArmlessBiped with four heads on top of long necks that lives in a swamp and tries to eat the main characters. The oddest of these is the tatzlwurm, which while based on a type of Alpine dragon more resembles a sandworm.

* ''WesternAnimation/SonicSatAM'' had a frankly bizarre interpretation of dragons. Basically, take bits of every animal that lives in Australia (including a ''pouch''), stick them together, add giant creepy lips and a nose ring, and there's Dulcy the dragon. She's clumsy, but then again, she's young. We see her as a child briefly in "Blast to the Past Part 2", so she's in her early teens in present day at best. The older female dragon the Freedom Fighters meet and save in "Dulcy" is far more mature. Also, some - but not all - dragons can control the elements, and are called "Protectors". The only dragons shown have been female, so whether it's a GenderRestrictedAbility is unknown.

* There are quite a few ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' who transform into dragons, despite real dragons generally ([[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Dragon but not always]]) being nowhere to be seen. Aside from all being Western-style dragons, they're as different as the individuals that turn into them.
** Of particular note is ''WesternAnimation/TransformersPrime'', in which ''human'' myths about dragons were inspired by the remnants of a number of Predacon clones that were dispatched to Earth thousands of years ago. ''Prime'' Predacons all have draconic alt-modes.

*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E5GauntletOfFire Gauntlet of Fire]]" expands on dragon society, revealing they have a monarchy of sorts led by a Dragon Lord, who rules with absolute authority (disobeying the Dragon Lord doesn't even seem to occur to dragons) but with term limits--at a certain point, the Lord has to step down and allow a new dragon to take their place in a contest that seems to change with each occasion, going by Torch's comment that he designed the episode's challenge himself. The current Lord at the start of the episode, Torch, is also ''huge'', much bigger than the dragons in "Dragonshy" and "Owl's Well" or Spike's own {{Kaiju}} form. We also get the confirmed existence of female dragons.

** Besides the canon dragon species, ''[=FiM=]'' has had a number of creatures that also fit this trope. [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Part 2 of the pilot]] features Steven Magnet, a sea serpent with an overall design reminiscent of both Western draconic sea monsters (overall snakelike body shape, no limbs save his arms) and Eastern dragons (hair and a mustache, an overall benevolent personality and the ability to render an entire river impassable, in his case a side effect of being upset). "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E15FeelingPinkieKeen Feeling Pinkie Keen]]" also has a hydra, a towering, reptilian ArmlessBiped with four heads on top of long necks that lives in a swamp and tries to eat the main characters.

*** The episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E10SecretOfMyExcess Secret of My Excess]]" shows that draconic maturity is related to greed and hoarding, the more they hoard the bigger they get [[spoiler: and giving it up makes them shrink.]]

* And then there's ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales''... flying dragons with pouches in which they store things. One two-headed dragon is a type of conjoined twin.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales'', Big Time Beagle was [[ScaledUp briefly turned into a dragon]] by accident thanks to Magica de Spell in the episode "Send in the Clones." As the opening theme is a TitleMontage, it can be seen during this part of the opening song:

* The eponymous dragon in ''WesternAnimation/PotatoesAndDragons'' can't fly, and its body and head are just kind of a green lump with stegosaur-like spikes. It also has an irrational hatred of crowns for some bizarre reason.

* A Dragon teacher is one of Professor Schneider's substitutes in the series finale of ''WesternAnimation/GravedaleHigh'', and as all the others is terribly annoying.

* From ''WesternAnimation/DragonFlyz'': Airlandis's dragons are wyverns. The villains' dragons WingedTetrapod have the standard pair of wings and four legs instead of two.
* ''WesternAnimation/DragonBooster'' has quadrupedal dragons that are used as modes of transportation. The main focus (Beau)can change colors to avoid attention.

* And then there's ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales''... Flying dragons with pouches in which they store things. One two-headed dragon is a type of conjoined twin.

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePony'': Spike actually learns this as an Aesop in "Spike's Search". Additionally, the dragon (though he is curiously never referred to as such) in "Through The Door" is literally just a PunchClockVillain (they really like that trope) and is very {{Emo}} about having to be the bad guy all the time.
** Spike's new incarnation in ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' is an ExtremeOmnivore that especially likes to eat gems, and has magic fire breath that he uses to send messages like a living fax machine.
** Spike aside, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a standard Western dragon in the episode "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7DragonShy Dragonshy]]", and another one in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well that Ends Well]]" who has the added features of retractable claws and tail spikes. The sea serpent in part 2 of the pilot has an overall design very similar to Eastern dragons. Both dragons hoard gemstones and riches in their caves, which actually makes sense here given that, as Spike proves, this version of dragons' preferred diet is gemivorous.

** The second season introduces Discord, a "Draconequus" that has the head and body of an Eastern dragon but [[MixAndMatchCritters the horns and limbs of other creatures]]. He's the resident AnthropomorphicPersonification of Disharmony and Chaos capable of bending reality to his very whims for a good laugh [[JerkassGods at the expense of others]].
** In G3 Spike mentions waking up from a 1000 year nap, but he still looks like a baby. That really makes you wonder how dragons age..
** In the pilot for the G1 series, Tirek has some dragon-like animals named Stratadons which looked like no other dragons in the series.

** Spike aside, ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has a standard Western dragon in the episode "[[MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E7DragonShy Dragonshy]]", and another one in "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E24OwlsWellThatEndsWell Owl's Well that Ends Well]]" who has the added features of retractable claws and tail spikes. The sea serpent in part 2 of the pilot has an overall design very similar to Eastern dragons. Both dragons hoard gemstones and riches in their caves, which actually makes sense here given that, as Spike proves, this version of dragons' preferred diet is gemivorous.

* ''WesternAnimation/Ben10AlienForce'' has alien dragons!

*** "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS6E5GauntletOfFire Gauntlet of Fire]]" expands on dragon society, revealing they have a monarchy of sorts led by a Dragon Lord, who rules with absolute authority (disobeying the Dragon Lord doesn't even seem to occur to dragons) but with term limits--at a certain point, the Lord has to step down and allow a new dragon to take their place in a contest that seems to change with each occasion, going by Torch's comment that he designed the episode's challenge himself. The current Lord, Torch, is also ''huge'', much bigger than the dragons in "Dragonshy" and "Owl's Well" or Spike's own {{Kaiju}} form. We also get the confirmed existence of female dragons.

* And in episode "The Magnificent Seven Gummies" the Gummi Bears travel to China to fight an Eastern Dragon.

** And another dragon, this time a baby apparently from another race than the others (as has legs and wings and is much bigger), appears in another episode. The baby seems harmless save for his fire-related hiccup. The mother is more menacing but seems to be motivated only by MamaBear instinct as the baby was mishandled by Duke Igthorn.