Well I’m a little torn on this next bit of news. Ever since Peter Jackson struck gold with the Lord of the Rings trilogy a few years back, both critically and commercially, I’ve been hoping that another classic fantasy saga would finally hit the big screen. That saga is the Dragonlance series of novels, created by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. When I was younger I read the first 2 trilogies that they wrote, and found myself completely absorbed by them. Sure they are derivative of Tolkien, but what fantasy novel isn’t? A Dragonlance feature film was rumoured to be in the works a number of times over the years, but nothing ever materialized. Well now it looks like a Dragonlance movie is finally happening… but here’s the thing: it’s going to be animated! Immediately I worry that it’s going to be cartoony and kid-oriented, or a disaster on par with hopelessly flawed Lord of the Rings animated movie that Ralph Bakshi did back in 1978. Still, maybe it can work. It’s being directed by Will Meugniot (The Real Ghostbusters, Spider-Man Unlimited), and written by George Strayton (Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) based on the first Dragonlance book Dragons of Autumn Twilight. The voice cast includes Michael Rosenbaum as Tanis Half-Elven, Jason Marsden as Tasslehoff Burrfoot, and none other than Xena herself, Lucy Lawless as Goldmoon. Animation will be handled by Toonz Animation. They’re currently aiming for a fall 2007 release, stay tuned to the Dragonlance Movie Site for all the latest updates.