Our favorite dragons from films and television

There are enough dragons to fill a home!

House of the Dragon, HBO’s Game of Thrones spinoff series, premieres this weekend. What better occasion to honor one of the great mythological monsters of fiction?

The Polygon crew has pooled our minds (and wings) to bring you our favorite dragons from films and television shows other than Westeros. There are frightening dragons, comical dragons, and everything in between.

Who are your favorite fictional dragons? We confined our choices to movies and television, but you don’t have to! Tell us in the comments.

MALEFICENT

From the film Sleeping Beauty

Maleficent was my favorite Disney villain as a child, long before her emergence in the Kingdom Hearts video game series or Angelina Jolie’s portrayal in Robert Stromberg’s 2014 dark fantasy film. This is mostly due to lead animator Marc Davis’ immaculate concept design and Eleanor Audley’s grandiose vocal performance, which together turned an otherwise one-note nemesis into a scene-stealing villain for the ages.Needless to say, I can’t tell you how many times I rewound my VHS DVD of Sleeping Beauty during Prince Phillip’s epic battle with Maleficent, who has now been changed into a terrible fire-breathing dragon. Is it a little strange that a part of me wanted her to win in the end? Perhaps, but I have no regrets. —Egan, Toussaint

TOOTHLESS

From the film How to Train Your Dragon

Toothless is the king of dragons because he is the ideal mix of cat and dog, from his twitchy and frenetic energy to his playfulness and tenacity. He’s silly and enjoys nice head scratchies, but he also fights to protect Hiccup, his human companion who created a mobility device to let him fly after suffering a crippling injury. And that’s just from the first film! The entire trilogy is fantastic, and Toothless is an outstanding hero – a friend to both humans and dragons. I’d give my life for that nice boy. You are the one who is sobbing, not me. Nicolette Clark

HAKU

From the film Spirited Away

Initially, Haku from Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 masterpiece is merely a lad, serious and capable, with a severe pageboy hairstyle. Then he’s a dragon, serpentine and wolflike, beautiful and terrifyingly wild. He corkscrews through the sky, not as if flying, but as if he were the wind itself – one of the most exhilarating depictions of flight from a director who had a career-long fixation with it. Even still, this isn’t Haku’s whole, elemental personality. Haku is, in reality, a river, a natural force, and it is his spirit — and, more importantly, his dirty body — that our young heroine Sen must save.

Miyazaki makes his point about the environment, yet Spirited Away is never about a single interpretation or point of view. This wonderful film resides between realms, and no character exemplifies this more than Haku. —Welsh, Oli

FALKOR

From the film The NeverEnding Story

Even if you only have a hazy memory of this 1984 fantasy film, two images will stick with you: the theme song, created by Giorgio Moroder and performed by Limahl, and the picture of a child riding a gigantic, fluffy, white, stoned-looking dragon-dog-thing over the sky.

That’s Falkor the luckdragon, who helps both Atreyu, the hero of Fantasia, and Bastian, the little child reading a book about Atreyu’s exploits. His weird, shaggy, dopey appearance was created by filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen, to to the chagrin of special effects designer Brian Johnson. However, Petersen’s vision has come true. This is a bizarre and melancholy picture, and Falkor is its iconic image, treasured by a generation of children. —OW

THE SEXY DRAGON FROM SHREK

From the film Shrek

Dragon, Shrek’s gorgeous dragon, is a pop culture icon. Because Shrek has become a cultural phenomenon and a never-ending supply of memes, the huge plot revelation that the dragon was a lonely, gorgeous lady dragon in need of some love has gotten a little lost. But it was groundbreaking at the time, and it was also revolutionary that Dragon and Donkey produced a slew of mutant offspring.

Dragon is a true badass, and the only thing she lacks is that she should have been in more films. Last year, I dressed up as Dragon for Halloween, and I hope I did her right.

Also, did you know that Elizabeth is the name of the dragon in Shrek? I certainly didn’t. Technically, this may simply be a little, but Donkey faints and cries, “I’m coming, Elizabeth!” Radulovic, Petrana

SISU

From the film Raya and the Last Dragon

We’re so used to dragons signifying power, danger, or strength in TV and film that it’s refreshing to see the tradition upended in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, a story centered on a dragon who is initially much less than she appears to be. The dragon Sisu – the final dragon in the legendary kingdom of Kumandra — is voiced by Awkwafina and is a typical Awkwafina character, conversational and lively but not very masterful or confident.Raya, the story’s hero, must accompany Sisu on a journey to reclaim her dragon family’s power, which initially places them on an equal footing in which the human warrior is the confident, capable, experienced one and the dragon companion is the hapless, goofy tagalong — a dynamic that gradually reverses as Sisu rediscovers her heritage and history. Sisu’s effervescent enthusiasm and joie de vivre, both rare attributes for a film dragon, add to the mismatched-buddy dynamic. —TR

SOL REGEM

From the film The Dragon Prince

The infant dragon Zym, who’s gone from early McGuffin to steadily evolving character over the course of the show’s four seasons, is the clear intended fan favorite in Netflix’s fantastic fantasy series The Dragon Prince. But, while Zym is lovely and allows for a lot of narrative, the Sun Dragon Sol Regem is a far more dominant figure, despite being a minor character in the series. Sol Regem, an ancient dragon blinded by a cunning human wizard, becomes a prominent opponent in the third season of the program, and an essential representation of the old-guard mindset that prevents the youthful heroes from attaining their idealistic concepts of peace between countries and species.He’s a tough foe, the equivalent of a natural catastrophe with a grudge and an agenda, and the episode in which the heroes fight him is filled with magnificent visual and verbal combat. —TR

ELLIOT

From the film Pete’s Dragon

The 2016 adaptation of David Lowery’s 1977 hybrid live-action/animated musical poses an essential question: What is a dragon if not a dog with wings? —Mr. Peter Volk

THE DRAGONS OF POKÉMON

From the film Pokémon

Dragon is a Pokémon type. Charizard isn’t one of them (though Mega Charizard X is), but he’s definitely a dragon! Take a look at those wings!

This one is for the Dragon-type Pokémon (hello, Dratini, Dragonair, and Dragonite), as well as others that are plainly dragons but do not classify as Dragon-type (Charizard and Gyarados, for instance). —PV

DRAGONSTORM

From the film Transformers: The Last Knight

People who rejected the Transformers films before the fifth installment, understandably, missed one of the weirdest Hollywood blockbusters in recent memory. The Last Knight begins with a heart-stopping medieval battle scenario, culminating in the first appearance of Dragonstorm, a three-headed dragon robot. Yes, you read that right. —PV

RATHALOS

From the film Monster Hunter

Paul W.S. Anderson’s version of the video game franchise is a good old-fashioned big screen popcorn extravaganza, with the huge dragon Rathalos as one of the primary attractions. Look look how he roars! —PV

JAKE LONG

From the film American Dragon: Jake Long

It was fascinating to me as a child that Jake Long came from a multiracial household, with a Chinese mother and a white father. Jake changes into a dragon and is in charge of rescuing magical beings in New York City (and occasionally saving regular people from magical beings). The visual style shifted from season 1 to season 2, transforming Jake from a robust dragon to a sinuous slim dragon, yet he still has my entire darn heart.The show’s world-building is fantastic, and there is a whole order of dragon-shifting humans, with dragons allotted for each region. This show has a lot of great dragons, but Jake Long is the coolest – just listen to that theme music! What’s not to like about him being voiced by Dante Basco as Prince Zuko? Radulovic, Petrana

MUSHU

From the film Mulan

Mushu, the scene-stealing comedy powerhouse in Disney’s finest film, would complete no dragon list (do not try to fight me on this). Mushu is amazing for a variety of reasons, including the fact that he, like Mulan, is an underdog eager to establish his value. But it’s Eddie Murphy’s excellent performance that elevates this lizard — uh, dragon — to brilliance, with a blend of sympathetic earnestness and comedic delivery. And if you disagree with me, you are dishonoring your entire family, yourself, and your cow. —NC

SHENRON

From the film Dragon Ball

It wouldn’t be a dragon list without Shenron. Consider your desire granted, Dragon Ball lovers (and have a blast in Fortnite). —PV

MOMONOSUKE

From the film One Piece

I despised Momonosuke when he first appeared in the Punk Hazard storyline. He was a cowardly young boy who just cried. To be fair, he went experienced some horrible experiences, but he was a spoiled brat who was constantly in need of protecting. Yuck. However, after the Wano arc… sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Minor spoilers, but his mastery of his Artificial Mythical fruit, which allows him to transform into a dragon, and his character growth make him among the finest dragons of all time. (It should be noted that Kaido is not on this list.) My friends and I despise Kaido.) Juliette Lee

TOHRU

From the film Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

Tohru is the kind of dragon girlfriend I wish I had. Not only is she a formidable dragon who should not be trifled with, but her devotion to Kobayashi is unparalleled (though some might say it gets obsessive, which I get). She’s also a housemaid, so she handles all the cooking and cleaning, which is something I can totally get behind. —JL

Can I just say how much I like how the Barbie fairy-tale films portray the girls strong and competent, with drives and ambitions other than finding a prince? In this rendition of the story, Mother Gothel (played by none other than Anjelica Huston!) maintains two dragons: the fearsome Hugo (David Kaye) and his brave daughter Penelope (the one and only Cree Summer). Hugo is the ideal giant dragon henchman, but Penelope would rather play with Rapunzel than protect anything. The two clash, especially because Penelope is terrible at fundamental dragon tasks like flying, but Hugo ultimately comes to love his daughter’s commitment to her friend and how she stands up for what is right. I just think they’re cool. —PR