Zog is a 2018 25-minute animated Short Film directed by Max Lang and Daniel Snaddon. It is part of a series of adaptations of Julia Donaldson's children's books by The BBC, a series that includes The Gruffalo, The Highway Rat, Room on the Broom and The Snail and the Whale.
A keen yet accident prone young dragon named Zog hopes to earn a gold star at Dragon School by learning how to fly, roar, breathe fire, and his biggest challenge: capture a princess, however he has the help of a kind girl who helps to patch up his cuts, burns, and bruises.
The voice cast includes Lenny Henry as the narrator, Hugh Skinner as Zog, Patsy Ferran as Pearl, Kit Harington as Sir Gadabout and Tracey Ullman as Madam Dragon.
Another adaptation in 2020 based on the book's sequel Zog and the Flying Doctors was made, where the three main characters travel across the land with their Dragon Ambulance, helping other mythical creatures and animals.
Tropes:
- Abdicate the Throne: Tired of knights and dragons fighting Pearl relinquishes her title as princess, stating she would rather be of real use to the world, and become a doctor.
- Breath Weapon: Dragons can breath out snow as well as fire, but the former is useless for combat.
- The Bully: The red dragon classmate and Zog come to blows several times, but he backs down when he realizes Zog's incredible strength.
- Cool Teacher: Madame Dragon is patient and motherly towards her students, even when Zog gets into trouble for fighting in class, she still has words of encouragement for him to do better. When Zog decides he should become an ambulance for doctors, she happily embraces the change that her school should teach dragons to be a force for healing, not violence.
- Delightful Dragon: Zog has a friendly, playful, and childlike personality. At the ending he decides if Pearl and Gadaout are to become doctors, it's only fitting he should become their flying ambulance.
- The Ditz: One of Zog's classmates, the pink dragon is often seen doing the silliest of things, like shoving frogs in their mouth, or trying to disguise a pig as a princess to fool Madame Dragon.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Zog and his classmates all vary in appearances, having differing colors, snout shapes and horns.
- Dragons Prefer Princesses: The final lesson Zog and his classmates are taught to become proper dragons is learning to capture a princess.
- Dragons Versus Knights: Zog battles a Knight, Sir Gadaout.
- Everyone Has Standards: Dragons kidnap princesses, not kill them. Zog captures the prop of a princess before the other students can, but the head falls off. The teacher is unimpressed, so Zog fails to earn a gold star.
- Good Behavior Points: Madame Dragon gives out gold stars to pupils who have proven themselves top of the class in flying, breathing fire, roaring, fighting, and kidnapping princesses. Zog is always bested by another of his classmates and becomes desperate to earn a star after several years.
- The Klutz: Due to their size and power, dragons often injure themselves. Zog hurting himself in a crash landing and being tended to by Pearl was how they first met.
- Rebellious Princess: Pearl willingly lets Zog capture her, seeing him as The Kindnapper for taking her away from her Gilded Cage.
- Really Royalty Reveal: Zog never realised the girl was princess Pearl until she reveals it to him and allows him to "capture" her as part of his final lesson to become a dragon.
- Standard Fantasy Setting: Zog is set in a standard Medieval European Fantasy with classic fantasy characters such as Dragons, princesses and knights.
- Standing Between the Enemies: As Zog fights to keep Pearl, and Gadaout fights to free her, the princess runs in to stop them before Zog can incinerate the knight.
- This Is My Human: Sir Gadaout orders Zog to release princess Pearl. The dragon refuses saying she belongs to him, and the two fight for her.
- Won the War, Lost the Peace: Pearl interrupts Zog's and Gadaout's fight for her, saying they haven't done anything special - the world is already full of injured people and dragons. She wants to become a doctor and heal others.
