I had the privilege of previewing “Ice Dragon – Legend of the Blue Daisies” and I’m sharing my honest review below. It’s a great movie for the whole family! Read on to find out why.
Movie Synopsis from the website: Melody, a gifted young dreamer and her feisty friend Leif, must set aside their differences and use the power of magical Blue Daisies and an ancient Song to save their world from an evil Ice Dragon. When the blue flowers that once bloomed all around her village begin to disappear, Melody and her eccentric grandfather recognize this as a sign of great danger…but no one believes them! Racing against time, Melody must convince Leif and the other villagers before it’s too late. Great songs and engaging characters highlight this inspiring, animated adventure for the whole family.
Watch the trailer:
https://youtu.be/n02I_NFGCuc
Review:
“Ice Dragon” is an allegorical story about light and darkness, God and Satan, and finding faith, creatively told in an adventurous, engaging, and captivating way. I love that it doesn’t preach to the audience, but it’s chock-full of learning points about faith. I can see how children can continuously watch this movie over the years as they grow older and mature in their faith, and they will keep learning from it as their level of understanding deepens!
It is also for this reason that this is a great movie to take children (and their parents) who do not yet know or believe in God. On the surface, it’s an action-adventure musical, but its themes are like seeds of faith that can be planted in their lives.
Also for the reason above and the reasons below, this movie would be a great one to show in a ministry event (like a movie night) or to have a DVD or copy of it in your ministry resource library. I highly recommend holding follow-up discussions about the movie themes and what different elements in the movie represent.
My word of caution is that some churches don’t like the idea of showing dragons and magical elements to children. Of course, be in unity with your church, but also take note that the dragon and magical elements in this movie represent very real things in our faith. This movie is an allegory or a parable, which is why I highly recommend having the follow-up discussion. You can even use the movie and the discussion to have a call to salvation.
This is a great family movie because there are elements for every age. There is a lot of adventure, yes, but there’s also humor, fantasy, mystery, and even romance. There are themes of family, friendship, serving/helping others, standing firm in your faith even in the face of persecution, facing fears, and so much more.
It’s a musical and the songs are catchy and sang beautifully.
https://youtu.be/QGa55YM81UI
The animation is also beautifully done. I adore the strong female lead, Melody. I love her spirit, passion, tenacity, and kindness. I also like that she lives with her grandfather. This non-traditional family unit is more common now, and I’m happy to see it represented in a movie.
Like I said, “Ice Dragon” is a movie for the whole family. We tend to say that about animated movies, right? Then they turn out to only be for kids. This movie is not like that. This movie can also teach adults about things of faith and love through the songs, like “Give It Up,” or through the characters, like the wise Nicholai.
I learned things and that’s what’s so exciting about this movie! If you’ve been a believer for a long time, don’t dismiss the themes in this movie as things you already know because there are moments that can make you see faith in a new perspective, like the quote from Nicholai above. We think we shouldn’t doubt God or our faith (or that doubt or questioning is wrong), but if we don’t doubt, if we don’t ask questions, if we don’t explore, we don’t have our own thoughts. We don’t grow in our faith. We don’t own our faith, which makes it shaky in times of trouble. There are many moments like this, but I won’t spoil it for you. Go see the movie!
“Ice Dragon” is only showing in select theaters on March 24 and March 26. Find your tickets here.
