1. Falkor the Luck Dragon

It’s quite hard to see Falkor as a true dragon because he’s more canine-like in his appearance than the archetypal scaly, long-necked monster. Falkor the Luck Dragon however, easily qualifies as one of our talking dragons because he breathes blue fire and flies. In The Neverending Story, the meeting of Falkor and Altreyu is when Altreyu’s luck changes – unsurprisingly.

2. Draco

Sean Connery may be a brilliant actor but he is not known for his mastery of accents. Whatever part he has played – even when he was cast as Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez in Highlander – he always delivers a Scottish accent. You just know therefore that any talking dragons voiced by Sean Connery are going to be Scottish! As is the lot with Draco in Dragonheart.

3. Smaug

I’ve not seen the movie The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug yet but Peter Jackson’s Smaug is touted as one of the greatest anthropomorphic dragons of all time. Voiced by the most-excellent Benedict Cumberbatch, we were always going to be on a winner there. Cumberbatch captures the chilling intelligence and arrogance of Smaug perfectly with his haughty voice.

4. Elliot

Is there a more cuddlier dragon than Elliot in Pete’s Dragon? Well, to get real, Elliot was a Disney creation, so it was never really going to be scary was he? (although It will be interesting to see how monstrous they make Maleficent’s dragon) . Elliot is green with a big round belly, is usually only visible to Pete and can make himself invisible to Pete too.

5. Saphira

Saphira from Eragon is one of my favorite talking dragons – simply because I love the voice. I think Rachel Weisz does an excellent job of changing the cadence of delivery to suit everything from soothing to menacing. I also think that the moviemakers did a good job of translating the vision of Saphira from the book to the movie screen.

6. Mushu

If Mulan were an adult movie rather than a Disney offering, I think we’d be seeing a lot more of Mushu – and hearing a lot more! Mushu, the Chinese guardian spirit, is voiced by the inimitable Eddie Murphy and he’s as witty and smart-mouthed he can be in a Disney production.

7. Haku

I’m using a bit of poetic license here because strictly speaking, Haku is not a dragon. Haku is a river spirit that has the ability to transform into a flying dragon. Haku when in dragon form is pretty cute with fur instead of scales. Haku is beautifully imagined as you might expect because he is a character in Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki – widely accepted as one of the greatest animations ever.

There are some amazing dragons in the movies – like the one the Potter kids escape from Gringotts on, Beowulf, Ghidorah, Vermithrax Pejorative, and the endlessly cute Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon. When they become talking dragons, they seem to have an added dimension that makes them more interesting. Do you have a favorite talking dragon or a favorite movie featuring dragons?