History YMMV / DragonSlayer

* {{Narm}}: Hodge. "You know, somebody shot me. But I can still talk."

* OldShame: For whatever reason, Peter [=MacNicol=] does not list the film (his debut, no less) on his CV.

* MisaimedFandom: Skeptics and atheists like using Tyrian's "They never do tests" speech, which out of context does make him sound like a noble rational soul crusading against superstition.

* VindicatedByCable: Not a box-office hit on its release (mostly due to it being Disney's darkest and edgiest film ever, though being released two weeks after ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' certainly didn't help), the film still became popular with fantasy buffs for its impressive sfx, deconstructive tropes, and effective acting.

** Tyrian's "They never do tests" speech makes him sound like a jerk, but as Valerian just got done saying, all the other true wizards are dead. Tyrian's probably encountered a few charlatans in his day, so his skepticism about Ulrich is actually pretty justified. Though the legitimacy of Tyrian's skepticism falls flat when one remembers that Tyrian acknowledges the existence of Vermithrax while knowing that dragons are supernatural creatures. He also knew that Galen used magic to cause the landslide that buried Vermithrax's cave, but doesn't change his view on magic or wizards accordingly afterwards.

* UnfortunateImplications: Some have accused Dragonslayer of having anti-Christian overtones, as the movie portrays Christianity and Christian characters quite negatively, compounded by the fact that paganism (a belief system the Bible condemns) and the pagan main characters (Galen and Ulrich) are portrayed very positively.

** Tyrian's "They never do tests" speech makes him sound like a jerk, but as Valerian just got done saying, all the other true wizards are dead. Tyrian's probably encountered a few charlatans in his day, so his skepticism about Ulrich is actually pretty justified. Though the legitimacy of Tyrian's skepticism falls flat when one remembers that Tyrian acknowledges the existence of Vermithrax while knowing that dragons are supernatural creatures. He also knew that Galen used magic to cause the landslide that buried Vermithrax's cave but doesn't change his view on magic or wizards accordingly.

** Tyrian's "They never do tests" speech makes him sound like a jerk, but as Valerian just got done saying, all the other true wizards are dead. Tyrian's probably encountered a few charlatans in his day, so his skepticism about Ulrich is actually pretty justified.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: King Casiodorus. The thing is, the lottery ''worked''. Casiodorus tells the story of how his brother Gaiseric, a brave warrior king, went out to try and slay the dragon. Vermithrax killed Gaiseric and all his men, then laid waste to whole towns in retaliation. The point is underscored when [[spoiler:Galen's first bungled effort at dragonslaying provokes a slaughter]]. Casiodorus's solution of pacifying the dragon with a handful of sacrifices was far better. Even though Casiodorus is later shown to be a hypocrite who [[spoiler:accepts bribes to keep rich ladies out of the lottery, and then jettisons the whole scheme when his own daughter offers herself up]], no one ever presents a compelling answer to his argument: Better a few should die that many may live.
** However, Casiodorus doesn't have one vital piece of information: [[spoiler:the dragon has just had babies. A few virgins a year to one dragon until it dies of old age might be a logical (if heartless) trade-off, but with three more dragons, and the possibility of more dragons in the future, it appears that Galen is in the right in trying to kill the dragon and its young now.]]

* VindicatedByCable: Not a box-office hit on its release (mostly due to it being Disney's darkest and edgiest film ever, though being released two weeks after ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'' certainly didn't help), the film still became popular with fantasy buffs for its impressive sfx, deconstructive tropes, and effective acting.
* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Vermithrax is the most realistic stop-motion animated creature ever, thanks to Creator/IndustrialLightAndMagic's new "Go Motion", which added subtle blur to the movement, removing the jerkiness most stop-motion animated visual effects had.

* MacGuffin / SoulJar: The amulet. [[spoiler: Its destruction brings about that of Ulrich's.]]

* MostWonderfulSound: A ''dragon inhaling''...

** However, Casiodorus doesn't have one vital piece of information: [[spoiler:the dragon has just had babies. A few virgins a year to one dragon until it dies of old age might be a logical (if heartless) trade-off, but with three more dragons, and the possibility of more dragons in the future, it appears that Galan is in the right in trying to kill the dragon and its young now.]]

* LawfulNeutral: Tyrian. Almost a poster boy for the Trope.

* MostWonderfulSound / HellIsThatNoise: A ''dragon inhaling''...

* King Casiodorus is almost a [[StrawManHasAPoint Strawman with a point]]. The thing is, the lottery ''worked''. Casiodorus tells the story of how his brother Gaiseric, a brave warrior king, went out to try and slay the dragon. Vermithrax killed Gaiseric and all his men, then laid waste to whole towns in retaliation. The point is underscored when [[spoiler:Galen's first bungled effort at dragonslaying provokes a slaughter]]. Casiodorus's solution of pacifying the dragon with a handful of sacrifices was far better. Even though Casiodorus is later shown to be a hypocrite who [[spoiler:accepts bribes to keep rich ladies out of the lottery, and then jettisons the whole scheme when his own daughter offers herself up]], no one ever presents a compelling answer to his argument: Better a few should die that many may live.

* OldShame: For whatever reason, Peter MacNicol does not list the film (his debut, no less) on his CV.

* VisualEffectsOfAwesome: Vermithrax is the most realistic stop-motion animated creature ever, thanks to IndustrialLightAndMagic's new "Go Motion", which added subtle blur to the movement, removing the jerkiness most stop-motion animated visual effects had.

** However, Casiodoru doesn't have one vital piece of information: [[spoiler:the dragon has just had babies. A few virgins a year to one dragon until it dies of old age might be a logical (if heartless) trade-off, but with three more dragons, and the possibility of more dragons in the future, it appears that Galan is in the right in trying to kill the dragon and its young now.]]

* King Casiodorus is almost a [[StrawManHasAPoint Strawman with a point]]. The thing is, the lottery ''worked''. Casiodorus tells the story of how his brother Gazerick, a brave warrior king, went out to try and slay the dragon. Vermithrax killed Gazerick and all his men, then laid waste to whole towns in retaliation. The point is underscored when [[spoiler:Galen's first bungled effort at dragonslaying provokes a slaughter]]. Casiodorus's solution of pacifying the dragon with a handful of sacrifices was far better. Even though Casiodorus is later shown to be a hypocrite who [[spoiler:accepts bribes to keep rich ladies out of the lottery, then jettisons the whole scheme when his own daughter offers herself up]], no one ever presents a compelling answer to his argument: Better a few should die that many may live.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: The Wizard ''vs''. Dragon battle.

* Tearjerker: Despite being a monstrous killing machine, one can't help but feel sorry for Vermithrax when she finds her hatchlings dead. This goes into NightmareFuel mode when she goes into a [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge murderous rampage]].

* AlasPoorVillain: Even Ulrich feels sorry for Vermithrax.

* VindicatedByCable: Not a box-office hit on its release (mostly due to it being Disney's darkest and edgiest film ever, though being released two weeks after RaidersOfTheLostArk certainly didn't help), the film still became popular with fantasy buffs for its impressive sfx, deconstructive tropes, and effective acting.