WoW Moviewatch: The White Drake
by Michael Gray 
Jun 9th 2009 at 12:00PM
Warning: There are spoilers in this review.
Story-based machinima have been a little few and far between lately, so I was incredibly excited when I first spotted The White Drake by Erunno. According to the author, he actually started the film as a method for testing the power of his new computer. Since the movie was an experiment, he opted to not use any voice acting. I think that decision worked out incredibly well for him, as the movie's silent, somber mood is only enhanced by the lack of dialogue.
The animation is very clean and crisp. I enjoy the layered look to the imagery, since it helps reinforce the stark contrast of the characters against their environment. The story itself is tight and simple, providing a concise narrative payload. To sum up, something is amiss in the Argent Crusade, and an assassin must sneak into the camp to set things right. He executes his mission, and then makes good his escape. As the movie closes, Chromie, the coolest dragon in lore, makes an appearance to congratulate the assassin.
This is another great piece by Erunno. If this was just a test of his computer, I look forward to what he might do in the future when he really puts some effort into it.
[Via WarcraftMovies.com]
If you have any suggestions for WoW Moviewatch, you can mail them to us at machinima AT wowinsider DOT com.
Previously on Moviewatch
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Machinima, WoW Moviewatch
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Swiftpaws Jun 9th 2009 12:19PM
Any movie with Chromie is a good movie!
Rin Jun 9th 2009 12:21PM
Wow. Very well done. Would watch again.
Eternauta Jun 9th 2009 12:34PM
^ this.
Catiya of Feathermoon Jun 9th 2009 12:30PM
Maybe I'm just dense, but I found the story really, really hard to follow, having not read the description. That being said, the animation itself is very nice and well done :]
elstor Jun 9th 2009 12:35PM
The assassin, aka the White Drake, snuck into the camp to kill a supposed "Hero" who was actually an Infinite dragon in disguise. The leader of the Argent Crusade (forget his name) smiles because he realizes what the assassin did.
Lavon Jun 9th 2009 1:25PM
My interpretation of the story:
Tirion and his Argent Crusade took down Sindragosa.
For some reason the Black Flight (was it black? i think so. the guys that are messing up all that stuff in caverns of time)wasn't so happy with that so:
A member of the Black Flight disguised himself as a human, traveled back in time and did some hero stuff so Tirion would come and congratulate him. Perfect opportunity for an assassination.
Chromie realized that without Tirion, the Argent crusade wouldn't be able to take down Sindragosa. Knowing that Tirion would never allow her to kill one of their "heroes", she did the only logical thing and send an assasin to clean up the mess.
Long story short: White Drake kills assassin, saves Tirion, Tirion is able to kill Sindragosa.
Ametrine Jun 9th 2009 2:35PM
Almost nailed it - the Infinite Flight, not the Black Flight, are the timetraveling troublemakers. But everything else fits.
Alex Jun 9th 2009 2:03PM
AMG Chromie
zolikk Jun 9th 2009 1:56PM
Nice vid all in all. Maybe the silence was a bit too queer in some moments, but not unbearably.
And all things related to Half-Life are welcome (song at the end). :D
Wulfkin Jun 9th 2009 2:13PM
Simple but effective.
Vraiel Jun 9th 2009 2:16PM
Couldn't the white drake just umm, been a white drake and gobbled him up?
I understand what he tried to do. Just, well, my go through all the trouble of disguising and infiltrating when you he could have just flown in and chopped a head off.
Angus Jun 9th 2009 3:18PM
Because the dragonkin could fight back. Sometimes stealth and surpries are better than brute force. In this case flying in would have alerted the infinite dragon agent, and the agent might have been able to kill several important people or his target before finally dying.
Note that most assassination attempts don't start with large explosions announcing the intent. ;)
Endario Jun 9th 2009 3:22PM
Don't you think the Infinite Agent would have looked at the White Drake sitting there waiting for him and thought, "One of these things is not like the other..."?
George Jun 9th 2009 4:59PM
Pretty well done imo, although some parts (the Night Elf turning into the white drake and flying away at the end looked a bit stiff), and if there was going to be no voice acting, maybe those moments with Chromie and the black dragon talking up close weren't such a good idea.
Also, the black dragon (draenei) should have been a bronze dragon as they would be the only dragons allowed to go back and change the past and black dragons the Earthwardens (or atleast they were) and oppose most forms of life other than their own, and would certainly never be involved with saving the leader of the Argent Crusade.
Other the dragonflight issue nice story, LOVED the bit at the end withall the argent soldiers cheering after defeating the scourge, brings back memories of that kewl quest.
Lemons Jun 9th 2009 5:43PM
Great vid, but unfortunately no amount of eye patches can ever make any male night elf face model look good. They're just...so terrible.
elfennau Jun 9th 2009 6:58PM
Chromie makes anything epic win.
Snuzzle Jun 11th 2009 9:19PM
Had to watch it twice to understand what was going on, but I really loved this little film. Very nice. I interpreted it thus:
The white drake was being tested by the black (thus why she giggled like that when he was victorious) or else she was playing a game with him. It strikes me as something that the black flight would do -- "I'll tell you there's a spy, but I won't tell you who. That's your problem."
I didn't read what the story is really supposed to be. Like a song, sometimes your own interpretation is best. Nice film any way :)