The logical follow up to last week’s cyclops review, here’s the dragon from the same film that bested the cyclops in combat! Readers of that review could’ve probably guessed the dragon would be next, based on the comparison picture included in that review that will also be featured here.
The dragon from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad served as a watch dog within the lair of the evil sorcerer and film’s antagonist, Sokurah. At the film’s climax it is released from its binds by Sinbad to fight the cyclops, but after defeating the cyclops Sokurah then commands it to pursue Sinbad. Sokurah repeats the command “follow” which was misinterpreted by a YouTuber as “Taro”. This has led to the widespread belief that Taro is the dragon’s name, but the dragon has no name in the movie. It is called Magog in the 1958 comic version of The 7th Voyage of Sinbad.
The dragon has a rather unique look unlike any other dragon put to screen. For starters, although it breaths fire it has no wings, Harryhausen said that including wings would require too many changes to the story and that “having him ground based didn’t diminish his power but did give him enough vulnerability to allow Sinbad to slay him”. Harryhausen’s dragon was influenced by Gustave Doré and “Far East legends” and has “a touch of dinosaur”. Parts of the Rhedosaurus from Harryhausen’s The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms were cannibalized for the dragon. The dragon has always reminded me a bit of the Philippine sailfin lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus).
Like the cyclops, this figure was sculpted by Yukimune Atari for the X-Plus Ray Harryhausen Film Library series. It was released in 2002 and is made of soft vinyl. It is number four in the Film Library series. The figure stands 5.75” (14.605 cm) tall at its highest point and measures a whopping 22.5” (57.15 cm) in length, when measured along its various curves.
Although not really an action figures the model is articulated in a few places. The neck can rotate at the base of the collar the dragon is wearing, the arms and legs can rotate around at the shoulders and hips, and the hands and feet can rotate too. The tail can rotate at about the halfway point along its length. The jaw looks like it should close but it cannot, unless it is just stuck on my copy. I’m not going to force it.
The head has a combination of reptilian and mammalian features, like many dragons do, with a wolfish nose and pointed ears. Small teeth are deftly sculpted within the open mouth and include canine teeth larger than the rest. Small hornlets are sculpted along the brows and spiral shaped horns adorn the back of the head. A fleshy dewlap can be seen on the lower jaw and neck and a row of spines runs down the nape.
The reptilian body is low to the ground with sprawled three fingered and toed limbs and is detailed with an abundance of warty protuberances. Wrinkles and skin folds can be seen along the limb joints and lower torso and the underside is entirely covered with wrinkles. A low sail can be seen along the back and it organically emerges from the spine. Another sail runs down the tail and the tail has an armored appearance with large overlapping plates. The tail has an arrow shaped tip at the end.
The figure is painted dark green with some of the warts highlighted in a bright green that’s also used as a wash elsewhere on the toy. The sail and tip of the tail are red, and the claws are tan. The teeth are white and the inside of the mouth, forked tongue, and gums are bright red. The eyes are yellow with black pupils. The collar around the neck is black. It’s a close enough match to what we see in the film, but the collar should be gold colored, and the horns should be tan.
The dragon from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad is one of my favorite cinematic dragons. It has a distinctive look that matches well with Harryhausen’s style and makes it standout from the plethora of dragon depictions that are out there. There’s no other dragon quite like it. This figure is a beautiful rendition of that dragon and the only figurine of it that I’m aware of, although statues and kits of it exist too. Although out of production this figure can still be had for a reasonable price on eBay, where it appears to retail for $50-100, depending on condition. A must have for Harryhausen fans or movie dragon collectors.
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Love this figure. I had purchased the larger boxed one around 2002 and only later learned of this one. I prefer the sculpt here more.