Gareth (Julian Morris), a squire aspiring to become a knight, discovers a clutch of dragon eggs and their adult dragon guardian while searching for treasure to pay off his debt. The dragon — who Gareth names Drago (voiced by Ben Kingsley) — saves Gareth's life by sharing his heart after the young man is badly wounded protecting the eggs, and the two become bonded. Drago, however, becomes cursed by the evil sorcerer, Brude (Jonjo O Neill), who wants the eggs for himself: in bright light or by fire, Drago becomes ghostly, unable to fight, and on the night of the full moon — just two days away — Brude will be able to bend Drago to his will completely. Gareth and Drago, and their two new companions, the Celtic warrior Rhonu (Tamzin Merchant) and apprentice druid Lorne (Jassa Ahluwalia), must protect the eggs, figure out a way to break the curse, and stop Brude and his army.
This film resumed the Dragonheart franchise after a 15 year hiatus since Dragonheart: A New Beginning. The sequel and second Dragonheart prequel, Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire, was released in June 2017.
Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse contains these tropes:
- Action Girl: Rhonu. When he suggests that she not accompany him and insists that it's for her protection, she ignores him.Rhonu: Do I look like I've lived a life of comfort?
- And This Is for...: When Rhonu kills Brude, she says, "For my mother!"
- Annoying Arrows: Gareth takes an arrow to the gut and still keeps running and fighting for a good minute before even slowing down. Somewhat subverted since, once the fight ends and the adrenaline rush is gone, Gareth would have died had Drago not intervened.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Rhonu and Gareth.Drago: Maybe you haven't inherited anything from me. Either that or Rhonu's distracting you. I do think she likes you.Gareth: You're mad.Drago: Notice how she sneers at you.
- Big Bad: Brude, the evil sorcerer leading the Picts.
- Blood from the Mouth: Sir Horsa when Gareth kills him.
- Breath Weapon: Drago can breathe fire, although he only does it two or three times in the film.
- Bumbling Sidekick: Lorne.
- Chekhov's Skill:
- Drago tries teaching Gareth how to "shadowjump" — use shadows like doors. Gareth is unsuccessful during their training sessions but pulls it off during a fight.
- At the beginning of the movie, Brude uses a spell to swap places with one of the Druid mages, putting the mage in the path of a deadly spell. Lorne uses this spell in the final battle to swap places with Gareth so that Gareth can get free and join the fight.
- The Chosen One: Some characters call Gareth this a couple of times.
- Covered in Mud: Sir Horsa tells Roland to kneel, and then keeps telling him to get lower until his face is in the mud, and tells him that that's the stench of the ordinary people and asks if he wants to go back to that.
- Darker and Edgier: Dragonheart 3 is the most violent of the Dragonheart films, and Drago has the fiercest design of all dragon characters in the franchise.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Rhonu has a relatively prickly nature and takes a while to warm up to Gareth.
- Distracted by the Sexy: When Drago tries teaching Gareth to shadow jump, he comments that maybe Gareth can't concentrate because his mind is too distracted by thinking of Rhonu (and he can tell Gareth likes her because of their connection through the dragonheart).
- A Dog Named "Dog": "Drago" is Italian for "dragon," and Gareth picked the name simply because it's part of the word "dragon."
- Drama-Preserving Handicap: Brude puts a spell on Drago early on that makes him ghost-like when light shines on him, thereby nullifying his Story-Breaker Power for much of the film (this, of course, has the bonus of saving the film money by not having to animate Drago realistically in all of his scenes).
- Dual Wielding: Rhonu uses a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other when not using her bow.
- Elective Broken Language: Gareth tries to communicate with Drago this way before the dragon reveals that he can talk properly.Drago: I shared my heart with the village idiot.
- Establishing Character Moment: The first time we get the idea that Gareth's a good guy is when a shopkeeper can't pay the tax. Gareth keeps Sir Horsa's attention away from the man: he "teaches him a lesson" by breaking a cheap, easily-replaceable vase instead of the ornate dragon one the shopkeeper loved.
- Evil Sorcerer: Brude.
- Facial Markings: Rhonu has markings across her forehead and cheeks.
- Fiery Redhead: Rhonu is a redhead with a bit of a temper.
- Foregone Conclusion: The audience knows that at least a few of the dragon eggs would have to survive for the events of Dragonheart to happen.
- The Great Wall: Hadrian's Wall, built to separate the Southern kingdoms' knights from the wild Celtic clans ruled by a druid circle in the North.
- Groin Attack: Gareth does this to himself in an attempt to make Drago feel the same thing through their Synchronization. It doesn't work on the dragon.
- Heroic Resolve: Gareth realizes that he needs to live by the Old Code.
- I Want Them Alive!: Brude wants Drago kept alive so that he can use him, and because Gareth's death would mean Drago's death, he needs Gareth alive too.
- Literal Change of Heart: Drago shares half his heart with Gareth. At one point, he remarks that Gareth's greed can affect the heart and that the curse has quickened.
- Made of Explodium: The eggs explode when they fall on the ground.
- Mind Control: Brude intends to use this on Drago.
- Mythology Gag: The first film had Draco stating that Bowen could not possibly pronounce his real name when asked what it is. This prequel shows just how difficult to pronounce a dragon's name is when Drago tells Gareth his real name.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Lorne tries to use a spell to free some slaves by breaking the ropes binding them. It works — but also snaps Rhonu's bowstring as she's firing at the guards.
- Our Dragons Are Different: This one came to Earth inside an asteroid and learned human language after sharing his heart.
- Outdoor Bath Peeping: Downplayed. At one point, Gareth comes across Rhonu when she is partially undressed, and she doesn't seem to be offended or particularly embarrassed by this.
- Overly Long Name: Drago's real name is Hissyoxyillammochogannatoss; Gareth asks if he can call him a different name due to its difficulty.
- Prequel: Takes place before the first one.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Drago, when being controlled by Brude.
- Rhymes on a Dime: The spells. For instance: "By sun and moon, switching stance, two as one, Druid’s Dance!"
- The Rival: Kalin is one to Gareth; they both want to be knighted.
- The Stinger: The potter Gareth spoke to at the start of the film sells his dragon mugs, which are now widespread.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Rhonu to Kara (a Fiery Redhead whose parent was killed by the villain) and Lorne to Gilbert (clumsy comic relief).
- Synchronization: Drago and Gareth feel each other's pain and emotions. It's used hilariously in a scene where they hurt themselves (e.g., stomping on their own foot) to bother the other one, culminating in Gareth hitting himself in the groin and Drago laughing because he's armored there and didn't feel it.
- Throw Down the Bomblet: The dragon eggs are explosive if broken. Gareth uses this intentionally once.
- Title Drop: Used once.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Gareth, for a scene or two.
- When It All Began: Lorne mentions that dragons existed over 400 years prior, explaining how humans already know about dragons and their ability to share their hearts with people. The ancient dragons also helped King Arthur bring peace and taught his knights the Old Code.
- You Killed My Father: Brude killed Rhonu's mother and he taunts her about it.
