15°c Clear
28°c Isolated showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
'You should be able to feel the heat of the dragon's fire'
Ken Gigliotti / Winnipeg Free Press Into the Music�s Greg Tonn says �there�s tons of stuff I�ve never seen before.�
Preview
How to Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular
MTS Centre
Wednesday, Nov. 21 to Sunday, Nov. 25
Tickets start at $39.50 plus fees
On sale at Ticketmaster June 25
lisa tomasetti photo Sarah McCreanor evades the dragon Deadly Nadder.
Apparently, putting lovingly realized 3-D animated dragons on movie screens was not enough.
The hit 2010 movie How to Train Your Dragon is being taken to the next level with a live show featuring 23 full-size dragons, including some models that will actually fly and breathe flame.
"Now you should be able to feel the heat of the dragon's fire," says the show's executive producer, Eric Stevens of Dreamworks Theatrical, a division of the movie studio that specializes in live entertainment.
How to Train Your Dragon grossed more than $500 million worldwide, but the live show is a separate and distinct theatrical event with actors, circus artists and acrobats portraying the film's human Viking warriors, in addition to the more marketable dragon stars, some of whom boast wingspans of 14 meters.
It is no coincidence that the dragons in the show were created by New Zealand's Global Creatures, the company that created the cast of full-size dinosaurs in the arena show Walking with Dinosaurs, which played in Winnipeg in July 2009.
Stevens said that show "definitely created a new paradigm in live entertainment.
"Typically, the family entertainment space is small kids shows, ice shows, circuses and things along those lines," he says. "I think Walking with Dinosaurs and Global Creatures helped demonstrate that if you create something very unique and different, and deliver a great audience experience that people haven't seen before, they'll come out and they'll come out in great numbers."
The "Live Spectacular" iteration of How to Train Your Dragon will be a massive production, Stevens says, requiring "30 18-wheeler trucks pouring into town, taking a day and a half to set it up with 150 people or more to load it in."
Walking with Dinosaurs was almost a documentary experience, Stevens says. "Dinosaurs was about the creatures and T-Rex and brachiosaurus and it was breathtaking.
"But we not only have the creatures, we have a full cast and we're telling a story."
"And really, the story of How to Train Your Dragon struck a chord with people. There was definitely an emotional resonance there," Stevens says, adding that the movie will spawn a TV series next year and a theatrical sequel in 2014.
"So not only is it a spectacle, it's a great story with a lot of heart," he says. "We look at the dragons as cast members with personalities and facial expressions," he says. "They emote."
The show was a hit in Australia and New Zealand, where it has already toured. The North American tour kicks off next week.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 19, 2012 D1
Fact Check
Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.
More Movies
- Back to Top
- Return to Movies
Poll
Most Popular Movies
- Inquiry looks at report Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, wife know unborn baby's gender
- Hockey comedy 'Goon' named 2012's biggest English-language homegrown smash
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- Brad Pitt draws huge crowd at Times Square premiere for 'World War Z'
- Faster than speeding expectations...
- Strings drama shooting in city this week
- Open casting call for part of young boy in Winnipeg-shot film
- Film Review: 'Monsters University' isn't grade-A Pixar, but still easily passes
- Monster for a Day
- Iron Man a nice guy ...if that's who he is
- One hero, hold the cheese
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- Who knew the apocalypse could be so freakin' funny?
- Weisz relished powerful role in Oz
- Inquiry looks at report Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, wife know unborn baby's gender
- Open casting call for part of young boy in Winnipeg-shot film
- Monster for a Day
- Lack of punch does disservice to doc's powerful premise
- Strings drama shooting in city this week
- Top 10 lists
- Actor Michael Douglas says oral sex can cause throat cancer; his agent says 'not his' cancer
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- Locally shot 'Goon' wins Golden Box Office award
- One hero, hold the cheese
- Esther Williams, champion swimmer turned star of aquatic movie extravaganzas, dies at 91
- Wilson, Vaughn settle into a familiar algorithm in Internship
- Strings drama shooting in city this week
- Lack of punch does disservice to doc's powerful premise
- Hangover 3: No nausea, not much of a headache
- Duhamel shooting here, Strings attached
- Duhamel shooting here, Strings attached
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- 'Lore' film shows Second World War through eyes of children of Nazi SS parents
- Long, lingering takes? Solitary weeping? And how!
- Director tells whole truth, nothing but truth
- 'Good Wife' star Baranski recalls falling in love with acting at Stratford, Ont.
- Locally shot 'Goon' wins Golden Box Office award
- Affectionate documentary sings praises of Pomus
- New documentary with Romeo Dallaire examines life of child soldiers
- 'Night of the Living Dead' goes live with tongue-in-cheek look at horror classic
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.