D&D: Cartoon vs. Movie

[Serendipity]

The film is a steaming pile of dragon poo. And I'm being charitable.
Second movie? Could care less........
I watched the cartoon obsessively...of course I was also 11. It's superior to everything that was on at the same time, but ultimately, still of the "paint by numbers" school of children's animation.

 

[Truth Seeker]

Such ba-, I mean such courage, to ask this.

But of course, the Cartoon gets my nod.

Simple question: which was better, the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon series, or the Dungeons and Dragons movie? Were they both awesome? or were they both crap?

EDIT: I didn't realize that there was a second D&D movie. So for the purpose of the poll, feel free to assume that "movie" can also mean "movies."

 

[Deuce Traveler]

Ranked from best to worst:

1.) The cartoon series
2.) The second movie
3.) The Dragonlance cartoon
4.) <shudders> ... The first movie

 

[Allister]

Cartoon series by far.

As an aside, the DnD cartoon series _IS_ considered one of the shining lights of the 80s action cartoon era by toon fans like on toonzone.net

Sure, its no B:TAS or Avatar:TLA, but compared to the dreck that was early-mid80s action cartoons?

It is acually watchable in reruns. Can't say the same for most other types of show of that era...

 

[Angel Tarragon]

I'm in the minority. I loved the movie and think it is far better than the animated series.

I saw it in the theater 3 times. I own two copies of the original movie on dvd; one of them still in shrinkwrap.

 

[Mighty Halfling]

I think we can all agree that the first movie was dreadful.
But between the cartoon and the second movie it's a lot closer.
The cartoon has a lot of great characterization in it. You catch views of all sorts of creatures and characters you spot in the 1e sourcebooks. That's pretty neat in its own right.
The second movie wasn't very well acted, but from a "rules of magic" standpoint, and even its use of monsters, it was pretty close to 3e stylings and even the way it works mechanically.
So maybe this is an edition war? 1e vs. 3e.
Or maybe it's a role-playing vs. roll-playing war?

Oh gawd, what have we done by opening this can of worms!

 

[Oni]

Enjoyed most of the episodes of the cartoon I've seen.

A mixture of hate and dispair is about all I've got for the movies.

Cartoon wins.

 

[Greg K]

I'm torn between the cartoon and the second movie.

The cartoon had some good episodes and the magic items inspired items for my own campaign at the time. However, the cartoon also required that I put up with that stupid unicorn, Uni (Looking back, many of the cartoons had annoying characters. I don't know which was more annoying Uni, Snarf, Orko, Spike or Scrappy Doo)

As for the second movie, I found it much more watchable than the first movie- or even most fantasy films from the 80's. However, it was still a far cry from LOTR, Harry Potter , Ladyhawke or the old Sinbad movies with Harry Hausen stop action.

I think that I will go with the second movie just on the basis of the cartoon having that *%@! unicorn.

So,
1. Dungeons and Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God
2. Dungeons and Dragon Cartoon
3. Dungeons and Dragons movie

 

[Knightfall]

I'm in the minority. I loved the movie and think it is far better than the animated series.

I saw it in the theater 3 times. I own two copies of the original movie on dvd; one of them still in shrinkwrap.

I'm in that minority too. I also liked Wrath of the Dragon God. I own both. The first one on VHS and the second one on DVD.

 

[Mighty Halfling]

I recently showed a few episodes of the D&D cartoon to my 4-year-old daughter. She was giddy about a unicorn being in a cartoon. I guess pandering to little kids does work!