L-R, top to bottom: Smaug, Elliot, Draco and King Ghidorah.
Examples of Our Dragons Are Different in live-action films.- Avatar: The great flying creatures are typically referred to as "dragons" by fans who've forgotten their canon names. And they do look much like dragons combined with fish. They are given the names Mountain Banshee for the smaller animals and Great Leonopteryx for the larger of the two. They're used as mounts thanks to a neural link, although there's a particularly big and nasty variant that can only be tamed by a great hero. The native Na'vi call them Ikran and Toruk, the latter of which means "Last Shadow". (Last one you'll ever see) It's much like the Pandora version of an eagle, an aerial apex predator. The only difference is that their wingspan can exceed 30 meters. Unlike their smaller cousins, they have two swallowtail butterfly-like trails on their rear wings, fully developed legs, vicious claws, and an axe-shaped crest on their heads. The Ikran, on the other hand, have no legs and only a small red crest on the lower jaw.
- D-War: The dragons follow traditional Korean depictions of the creatures as wingless flyers that have serpentine bodies and four limbs as seen when Imoogi becomes the Celestial Dragon.
- In Damsel, the dragon is a sentient creature capable of human speech. She also has six limbs (four legs and two wings), horizontal pupils, retractable claws, gold blood and scales, an exceedingly long lifespan lasting centuries, and seems to have an inflatable throat sac she uses to breathe fire.
- Dolittle: Ginko-Who-Soars is portrayed as a more traditional western quadrupedal fire-breathing dragon who is revealed to be the guardian of the Eden tree which the titular veterinarian and his friends are on a quest to find, has a form of bioluminescence which changes color based on her mood (Red = angry, Blue = calm) and seems to be a normal flesh-and-blood animal rather than magical based on the fact that Dolittle was able to diagnose and cure the dragon of an intestinal blockage which would have eventually killed her.
- Dragonheart:
- The series features a very classic dragon in the modern, post-Dungeons and Dragons tradition. Draco is intelligent, well-spoken, huge, fire-breathing (though he breathes it from his nostrils), and has four legs in addition to his wings. He also has specific magical properties that are vital to the plot.
- In the sequel, an Eastern-type dragon is introduced, although he is evil and seems to have the same abilities as the western dragons (he does turn human, but that was forced on him rather than being a power). A young dragon is also introduced with ice breath in addition to fire.
- The third prequel introduces a female dragon who can exclusively breathe ice and can transform into animals.
- Dragon Fighter: Dragons are portrayed (almost refreshingly) as unintelligent, non-kaiju-sized descendants of dinosaurs. The CGI model for the beast looks like an ash-colored megalosaurus with bat wings and a ring of spikes around its neck. The flames apparently allow it to "kill much more quickly". No explanation is offered as to how it resolves the issue of incinerating half the edible meat of its prey.
- Dragonslayer features a dragon called Vermithrax Pejorative, who fulfills many old-school dragon traditions. Vermithrax is a satanic force on the world, feeding on virgins and living in a cave under a lake of fire. She cannot speak and does not seem to be particularly intelligent. Physically she lacks forelimbs and walks on the ground like a giant bat.
- Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves: Like in the source material, chromatic dragons have different abilities based on the colour of their scales. The flashback scenes of a barbarian war feature a black dragon that breathes corrosive acid, while Themberchaud, a red dragon, breathes fire.
- Godzilla:
- King Ghidorah, Godzilla's Arch-Enemy, is loosely based on the Yamata-No-Orochi (A dragon of Japanese folkore), albeit one with only three-heads instead of eight (This is Justified in GMK which explains that Ghidorah isn't fully mature enough to have grown all of his eight heads). Another inspiration is the Greek Hydra (spelled "Hidora" in Japan). As mentioned, Ghido's got three heads, spits lightning-like "gravity beams", and he's been everything from a planet-killing space monster to a genetically engineered amalgam creature created by time travelers, to being the Orochi itself. However, him being an extraterrestrial is usually the most common origin given for him in most media related to the franchise.
- Later Toho films have introduced two "relatives"; Desghidorah, and Keizer Ghidorah. Unlike King Ghidorah, Desghidorah and Keizer Ghidorah are quadrupedal in addition to their wings. Des can breathe fire (the side heads spit fireballs while the center head breathes a continuous stream), and Keizer is the One-Winged Angel form of Monster X.
- The Monsterverse film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) gives its own take on King Ghidorah. He's portrayed as a very ancient monster and is fittingly enough, the most malevolent kaiju to show up in the reboot series as of yet. He's also given a new set of powers, such as him being able to create massive, cataclysmic electrical storms which is because of the flapping of his massive wings and due to his body being more or less a living electrical reactor. His existence also served as the basis for multiple draconic creatures in the myths of the ancient world, from the Russian zmei to the Greek hydra. Ghidorah is also noted as strange In-Universe for possessing abilities that don't quite match up with the other "Titans", and it's eventually posited by scientists studying the myths about "the dragon that fell from the stars" that he's actually an alien much like common origin usually given to Ghidorah, albeit one that wants to terraform Earth to an environment more to his liking.
- Rebirth of Mothra 2: Dagarla is a sea dragon created from an advanced civilization who's purpose was to feed on leftover pollution.
- Atragon: Manda is loosely based upon a typical Eastern dragon.
- While technically a mutated dinosaur that spews radiation instead of fire, Godzilla bears some traits similar to that of Japanese Dragons (e.g. living under the ocean and wreaking havoc if disturbed or enraged). For the record, it should be pointed out that Godzilla has always been a mutated animal according to Word of God, and that he has more in common with The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms than with Japanese mythology.
- King Ghidorah, Godzilla's Arch-Enemy, is loosely based on the Yamata-No-Orochi (A dragon of Japanese folkore), albeit one with only three-heads instead of eight (This is Justified in GMK which explains that Ghidorah isn't fully mature enough to have grown all of his eight heads). Another inspiration is the Greek Hydra (spelled "Hidora" in Japan). As mentioned, Ghido's got three heads, spits lightning-like "gravity beams", and he's been everything from a planet-killing space monster to a genetically engineered amalgam creature created by time travelers, to being the Orochi itself. However, him being an extraterrestrial is usually the most common origin given for him in most media related to the franchise.
- Ilya Muromets features a fight with a three-headed zmey gorynych type dragon.
- The Lord of the Rings:
- The Fell Beasts (the Nazgûls' flying mounts) are depicted as a type of wyvern (one pair of legs, one set of wings, no Breath Weapon). They are depicted with serpentine bodies and a wingspan greater than their own length.
- The Hobbit: In the first film, Smaug is portrayed as a "traditional" dragons with four legs and two wings, but by the second movie's release, his design is closer to the "wyvern" shape with two sets of wing-forelimbs and smaller legs. According to the production staff, he also has certain elements of Eastern dragons mixed in, as evidenced by his long, serpentine body shape and slithering movements. He resembles the dragon Vermithrax in a lot of ways, only being a lot bigger. The featurettes say they were trying to depict a dragon that could actually fly without violating the laws of physics, hence a wingspan "bigger than a 747 jumbo" and a total body length of 131 meters. He's also fully sentient, Faux Affably Evil, plays with his food, terrifyingly intelligent, vain, greedy, and cruel.
- The Never Ending Story: Falkor the Luckdragon is long-bodied, furry, and dog-faced, and can fly despite lacking wings.
- On Drakon: These ones appear human, but transform into dragons when the occasion arises. They also have shared memories of all past dragons and reproduce by burning virgins alive until a child emerges from the ashes. However, Arman and Mira find that they can conceive a child through their genuine love for each other; Mira describes it by explaining that dragons "find their children in the sky", as her love for Arman makes her feel like she can fly alone as she rides up on his back.
- P-51 Dragon Fighter: These are usually female and reproduce by parthenogenesis. The exception is Asuzaka the Destroyer, an especially powerful male who destroys civilizations.
- Pete's Dragon (2016) drops Elliot's original, more reptilian appearance in favor of a look that is much more mammalian and canine due to the more grounded and down-to-Earth nature that this new version of the movie has.
- Reign of Fire: The dragons are pretty standard dragons without forelimbs. The same studio also made Dragonslayer, so Disney must like wyverns as villains. Their dragonbreath is scienced away by asserting that they spit out two reactive chemicals (if you look closely, their breath comes from the corners of their mouths). The film claims that dragons are responsible for all mass extinctions on earth. After their food source dies off, they hibernate until awoken again. The only real distinguishing feature of the dragons in the film is that they only have a single male in the entire world, which is much larger than the females.
- Seventh Son (2015): It seems that the most powerful witches have draconic alternate forms. Mother Malkin can become a wyvern-like creature with a disturbingly human face,
◊ Bony Lizzie can change into a creature that seems to combine the traits of a golden dragon and a reptilian hawk,◊ and Radu the Assassin can morph into a horrifying draconic beast with four arms and giant axe blades coming out of his wrists.◊ Even Strix the Warlock has a forked tongue and reptilian agility. - The Shamers Daughter: The dragons are giant lizards similar to Komodo Dragons. They have no wings and do not breathe fire, but drinking their blood gives you a temporary strength boost.
- Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings: The Great Protector is a giant, mystical Chinese dragon that has water powers and can grant wind powers, who resides at the bottom of a lake.
- Star Wars:
- From the beginning, the franchise has had the Krayt Dragons of Tatooine: giant, nonsentient carnivorous lizards and just about some of the nastiest critters in the entire galaxy far, far away. Obi-wan scared the Sandpeople away from Luke by imitating the Krayt mating call, and the skull and backbone behind C-3PO when he first sees the Jawa sandcrawler was that of a Greater Krayt. Krayt Dragons only appear directly in the Expanded Universe, which further describes Greater Krayts as absolutely colossal, sand-swimming monsters capable of digging up and eating sarlaccs.
- In the Prequel Trilogy, the planet Utapau is home to a wide variety of dragonlike creatures used as mounts. Dactillions, creatures resembling western-style winged dragons with pterodactyl wings and heads, are seen in the background, and Obi-Wan Kenobi rides on an varactyl, an animal resembling an Eastern-style dragon complete with lionlike mane of colorful feathers.
- In Ewoks: The Battle For Endor, Wicket and Cindel run afoul of something called a condor dragon, a winged reptilian bipedal predator that lives in mountainside caves.
- Willow: The Eborsisk is described as a "dragon", but bears almost no resemblance to your average dragon aside from the fact that it can breathe fire. The thing has two heads with bizarre stony growths, a pair of forelimbs and three pairs of vestigial hind legs.
- Wizards of the Demon Sword: The dragons are mundane animals who resemble dinosaurs.
