Since his creation in a poem in 1986 the Dream Dragon character has undergone many changes in the way he looks. From the very first character sketch idea drawn on the back of an envelope in 1987, to character concept art, to softening and refining the look, to color and style adjustments for animation. Although his looks have changed slightly over the years, his love and concern for children of the world has never and will never change!
The Story of the Dream Dragon
This is the short story of how the Dream Dragon became the Guardian of Dreamland.
"Dream Makers and Dream Fairies use special dream potions made with the goodness and purity found in the spirit of every child's heart to bring all of these amazing dreams to life."
In a far off part of the sky, tucked in just above those big, white, puffy clouds, right before the limits of the imagination, there is a wonderful and magical place called Dreamland. This is a land that stretches all the way around the world. When a child anywhere on Earth falls asleep, they can visit Dreamland in their dreams. This is a place of happiness and fun, where a child's wildest fantasies become reality. Dream Makers and Dream Fairies use special dream potions made with the goodness and purity found in the spirit of every child's heart to bring all of these amazing dreams to life. The childhood essence of goodness and purity are stored in the mystical & fantastic Dream Crystals, with the biggest and most powerful locked up tight in a special vault in the Castle of Dreamland.
A very wise and happy fellow, the King of Dreamland, rules this mystical place. The King of Dreamland was the very first Dream Maker and his wife, the Queen of Dreamland, was the very first Dream Fairy. Since the beginning of time, their job was to make good dreams for all the boys and girls of the world. Back when the world was young and the number of children was small, the job was not very difficult. However, as the world grew, so did the number of children. They soon found it necessary to enlist the aid of helpers. The first apprentice to the King was a young Dream Maker named Zealous.
"Zealous slowly became one with the Land of Shadows and was
turned into a living shadow; in fact, he was the darkest of all the shadows."
Zealous was very good at making dreams, except that he liked to add scary things because he thought it was funny to scare the children. When the King of Dreamland found out, he was outraged. He ordered Zealous banished from Dreamland. Zealous left and went to the Land of Shadows, a dark, scary place, where all of the fear and the sadness of children gathers. Zealous slowly became one with the Land of Shadows and was turned into a living shadow; in fact, he was the darkest of all the shadows. But because he was connected to the Land of Shadows, he is only able to leave there for an hour, before it draws him back to the Dark Castle. As the darkest shadow he proclaimed himself the King of Nightmares and swore revenge on the King of Dreamland and all of the children of the world.
The King of Nightmares gathered an army of other shadows. He would send his Shadow Warriors into Dreamland to try to turn the good dreams into bad ones. The King of Dreamland and all of the other loyal Dream Makers and Dream Fairies would fight off the Shadow Warriors, but each night they continued to try to attack the good dreams.
Dreamland grew and grew and it was more and more difficult for the King of Dreamland and the others to protect the good dreams from the Shadow Warriors. The King of Dreamland knew he had to find help or all of the children of the world may never have good dreams again. He went to the Dragon Master, the oldest and wisest of all the dragons of the world to see if he and the dragons of the world could help. He offered the dragons of the real world a safer place to live; no longer would young knights trying to make a name for themselves hunt them for sport. All he asked in return was for the dragons to help protect the children's good dreams from the King of Nightmares and the Shadow Warriors. The Dragon Master agreed and all of the dragons of the world prepared to leave Earth and make the different realms of Dreamland their new homes. This agreement is the reason there are no longer dragons in the real world.
"Dragons of the world, welcome! Welcome to your new home, my kingdom, Dreamland."
While preparing for the move, the Dragon Master sent a large crate to the castle of the King of Dreamland. Inside the crate was a very large egg. The King of Dreamland had the egg placed in the courtyard of the castle on the day of the arrival of all of the dragons of the world. As the dragons arrived in Dreamland, the King had them gather in the courtyard. "Dragons of the world, welcome! Welcome to your new home, my kingdom, Dreamland. Each of you has traveled from different parts of the world and I want you to be able to be near to the places you once called home. Therefore, each of you shall protect the realm of Dreamland which is closest to your old home." The dragons all cheered!
But the cheers were interrupted by a loud sound. "CRACK!!!" The egg in the courtyard was hatching! The shell broke apart and out stepped a fabulous dragon. The King of Dreamland greeted the new arrival. "Welcome my friend! As you have been born on this special day, I will choose you to protect my castle and this realm of Dreamland! You are THE Dream Dragon, the very first true Dream Dragon!" Everyone in the castle rejoiced. The king then proclaimed, "Let it be known that Dreamland is protected by the mighty Dream Dragons!" With that, the dragons all cheered and flew away to protect the different realms of Dreamland.
"He heaved forth his chest, flared out his wings and blew a long stream of fire."
All of Dreamland was happy with the arrival of the Dream Dragons, but there was someone who did not know about them yet. The King of Nightmares. As usual, he sent his Shadow Warriors to attack the good dreams, but this time things were very different. Instead of being met by the aging Dream Makers and Dream Fairies, they were met by the mighty Dream Dragon. As they approached the gates to the castle, the Dream Dragon walked out to intercept them. His impressive frame stopped them in their tracks. He heaved forth his chest, flared out his wings and blew a long stream of fire. The brightness from the flames made them weak and the Shadow Warriors froze and were terrified! The Dream Dragon laughed a deep laugh and said, "You shadows should leave, in fact you should run, for this is a place, of goodness and fun. It’s protected by dragons, we will always be near, you shadows should go, for you're not wanted here. So be on your way, and be on it fast, for the first chance I give, is also the last!" With that, the Dream Dragon blew another huge stream of fire. The Shadow Warriors became even more weakened in the brightness of the Dream Dragon's flame. Without so much as another word, the Shadow Warriors turned around and fled back to the Land of Shadows.
The King of Dreamland had witnessed the entire event and he cheered as the Shadow Warriors ran away. "Well done dear dragon, well done!" shouted the king. The Dream Dragon turned to the King of Dreamland and smiled. In his deep, full voice the Dream Dragon replied, "If that is the worst, of the foes that we've got, I'm going to like it here, I'll like it a lot!"
When the Shadow Warriors returned to the Land of Shadows, they told the King of Nightmares what had happened. He was furious! In a fit of rage he yelled, "I vow that I will cast the blackest shadow over all of Dreamland and that the children's dreams shall become nightmares, forever!!"
Many, many years have passed and each night the King of Nightmares continues to try to attack the good dreams of children, but the Dream Dragon, true to his word, is always there. Ready to protect all of the children in his realm as the Guardian of Dreamland.