Dragon’s Lair, that arcade game from back in 1983 where there was over a dozen ways to die, is on its way to the big screen. The project, spearheaded by director Don Bluth and producer Gary Goldman is now on Kickstarter to help bring the movie to life.
Bluth and Goldman, who are the guys behind animated classics like An American Tail, The Land Before Time and The Secret of Nimh hopes to raise $550,000 on Kickstarter to put together a 10 minute animated teaser for Dragon’s Lair. Said short will then be shown to investors to secure funding for the full feature film, which needs a budget of around $70 million. Oof.
However, you might want to consider that even if the campaign hits its goal, there’s no guarantees that Dragon’s Lair: The Movie will become a reality. Because investors are fickle that way.
Dragon’s Lair was originally released in 1983 but has since made its way onto multiple platforms, with sequel Dragon’s Lair 2: Time Warp hitting arcades in 1991 and Dragon’s Lair 3: The Curse of Mordread and its 3D sequel hitting PC soon after.
When asked about the project:
Animated motion pictures cost loads of money and time. If you have followed the latest publicity on animated films or checked out boxofficemojo.com you would know that these films, traditional hand-drawn or computer generated can cost anywhere from $55 million to $240 Million, some even more – just on the production. Promoting an animated film could cost an additional $100 Million to market the film worldwide.
In order to finance the production, promotion and distribution, independent companies like Don Bluth Films must approach major film studios, private investors, or investment banks for loans and/or equity investment to finance their films. Though those entities may fulfill an important role in the process, their involvement also comes with serious strings attached, which can often push and/or pull the story and its design elements, in the wrong direction or even decide to cancel the production all together.
The project will take about 21 weeks to complete, if it gets funded. Rewards include limited edition Dragon’s Lair merch, inclusive of signed artbooks and exclusive video updates on some tiers.
You can check out the Kickstarter pitch below:
