By Will Barber – Taylor

Combining action, adventure and visual effects, this is the story of an 11-year-old girl’s epic quest.

Guin has just moved to a new council estate, but because she doesn’t have a bike, she has yet to be accepted into the local gang of children. Instead she spends her time reading about King Arthur and the legends of the Round Table, imagining wonderful worlds of bold knights, heroic deeds and mysterious castles. However, when the gang leader, Arthur is apparently kidnapped by a local resident the children call the Dragon Lady, Guin is the only one brave enough to answer the call.

She embarks on an epic adventure to rescue him and along the way faces her greatest fears both real and imaginary. But can she escape the clutches of the ogre-like caretaker? What has happened to Arthur? And who is the terrifying Dragon Lady?

Guin and The Dragon is one of those rare things – really good early morning television.  The programme, although it is only 15 minutes long, manages to create a captivating and delightful story within its short time span. It takes the Arthurian myths of old and manages to update them into a contemporary and exciting new setting. Adaptions of the Arthurian myths abound plentifully but Guin and The Dragon takes a very different and far more interesting look at them. Taking the myths and updating them places them into a contemporary and diverse setting, this means that the story is much more open to being viewed by a wider audience.

The cinematography in Guin and The Dragon is beautiful with some excellent camera work and astonishing transitional shots. Particularly effective are the transitions from what is actually happening to Guin’s imagination; they are so quick and sharp that you can actually believe you are being taken into her mind.

Overall, Guin and The Dragon is a lovely, heartfelt short about acceptance and fitting in. It takes the Arthurian myths of old and updates them while also containing its own unique core of individuality. Highly recommended.