“Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real” – an early Discovery natural history “mockumentary” – re-airs on Discovery Family Channel

Several years before Discovery networks came under fire for their “mockumentaries” about mermaids, megalodon sharks and man-eating anacondas — specials that were not explicitly clear at the outset that they were, in fact, fantasies — Animal Planet aired a similar type of program with 2005’s Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real, probably the first of Discovery Communications’ foray into less-factual animal programming. That two-hour program will be re-airing Jan. 25 at 9pm ET on the new Discovery Family Channel, and you can see how it differs from its modern counterparts; namely, it doesn’t try to deceive viewers into thinking it’s actually a true story.

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I remember writing about Dragons (you can read the review below) and finding it entertaining. I didn’t have the same frustration with it as I’ve had with Discovery’s recent mermaids and megalodon programs, since it was clear from the outset that this look at “dragons” was, as the title indicates, a “fantasy.” It featured a fictional team of scientists exploring whether dragons actually existed, and, through the format of a “natural” history program (complete with narration by Patrick Stewart), examined folklore of dragons throughout the world, and how those stories may have developed had those creatures actually existed. The show is also fairly clear in using phrases like “what if?” or “if dragons existed” to keep it clear to even those tuning in mid-program that this all just a fun exercise of the imagination.

I found Dragons a unique program (though I think some folks at the time were disappointed that Animal Planet started focusing on mythical creatures). It probably still holds up, at least in terms of its concept (the CGI dragons may look dated, especially in the wake of such cinematic wonders as Smaug of The Hobbit films). It’s a fanciful exploration of mythology using a modern-day format that appeared to not so much try to dupe viewers with a bogus “based on true events” premise, as to entertain and illuminate them, a far cry from where other mockumentaries on the Discovery networks have veered off into (and which the network recently admitted it wants to get away from). Having said all that, however, I still wouldn’t put it past some folks to misread the special and come away thinking that dragons are real, and not fantasy, and in this case that would be primarily on them, and not Discovery.

My original writeup of Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real, from March 2005:

“Dragons are on fire, so to speak.

Amid our recent pop-culture obsession with all things fantasy (see the success of Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, the best-selling book Dragonology and more), these scaly beings have once again sprung from the darkest recesses of our collective imagination. Since dragons are the only creatures recorded in the legends of every world culture throughout history, it makes sense that they would once again appear in our modern-day fonts of myth, namely movies, books and television.

Chronicling the role these beasts have played in human culture, Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real uses the format that has made previous specials like Walking With Dinosaurs and The Future Is Wild so successful.

As computer animation allows the mythical creatures to take flight, science is also examined to determine whether the monsters could have been real. Or, more accurately, what sorts of creatures actually existed to inspire these fantastic tales?

Treating these animals with the respect they would real creatures, Animal Planet creatively presents this as another natural history show, explaining how dragons would have evolved into a number of different species through the ages, as well as how dragons would find a mate, raise young and struggle to fight human encroachment. Even the classy, comforting voice of narrator Patrick Stewart is present to complete the illusion that we are watching a nature film.

But it’s more of a “supernatural history” show, we suppose. The folklore and history is fascinating, the animation amazing, and Dragons lives up to its billing as the biggest special in Animal Planet history — even though it chronicles an animal that may have never even existed. Animal Planet is using this special to launch its Whoa! Sunday block of programming, and that just may be your reaction once you see these imagined beasts take flight.”

Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real re-airs Jan. 25 at 9pm ET on Discovery Family Channel.