TV: Chasing Dragons

I am no art historian, though I enjoy the occasional friendly debate about why we categorize our creations. I will say that for all attempts to define it, perhaps art is just that which transcends linguistic communication.

Of course by that definition, someone poking you with a sharp stick is a kind of art.

So while not certain, it may be art that I find myself amused each day during my coffee by a cartoon here called Chasseurs de Dragons (Dragon Hunters) and of course I don't understand any of the French dialog. It could be that the opening music by The Cure pulled me in while channel surfing, but the excellent animation and comedic action keeps me watching. You can view the musical intro by The Cure on YouTube here.

The show is a heroic fantasy/comedy about two dragon hunters and their odd looking blue (rabbit? dog?) pet-thing traveling about having adventures and hunting dragons, and from what I can gather almost getting paid for their services.

Note: further reading revealed the blue thing is actually a tamed dragon of some type.

Unlike the reruns of Little House on the Prairie, this show has me wishing I understood more French.

Apparently the show had a short run in English on the Cartoon Network, but then was canceled after poor time slotting. I wonder how many good series have been thusly doomed? (Firefly comes to mind of course). Regardless, I guess they have made a feature film now as well, and so I wouldn't be surprised as translations trickle about to see an eventual recurrence in the US market.

HINTS:

• Don't be lulled into watching The Little House on the Prairie in French, even if it involves goat ear-pulling.
  
• You can check out the film trailer for Chasseurs de Dragons on the official site here: http://www.chasseursdedragons-lefilm.fr/