Cloud Ten Pictures' exciting new documentary, DRAGONS OR DINOSAURS? comes to DVD May 18 2010.

Recently while reading a book to my children before bed I came across something that made me stop and ask my 7 and 10 year old some simple questions. The story is part of the Jack and Annie, Magic Treehouse Series.

In each of the episodes the kids are magically transported by this treehouse to different times in history. Once there they explore the time and era and complete a mission of some sort. At the end of each of the stories the author (Mary Pope Osborne) would explain to the reader the various research she did to make that episode come alive. In this particular episode (“Summer of the Sea Serpent”) Jack and Annie encounter a huge sea serpent.

In her research she explains:

Stories of giant sea serpents appear in tales from all over the world, from ancient Greee and Europe to India and Asia. Long ago, when the ocean was a realm of mysteries and marvels, many sailors and fishermen reported seeing long-necked, snaky monsters swimming in the deep. It’s likely that they mistook giant squid, sea turtles, or whales for these sea monsters.” (p. 110)

At this point I stopped and asked my daughters to describe a squid, a turtle and a whale. They did. I asked them if any of them had long necks or could be mistaken for a snake. They laughed and said no. I asked them if a sailor would know what a squid, turtle or whale were. They said of course because they’re sailors and would be very familiar with them. I then asked them why the author would then assert that the sailors mistook “long-necked, snaky monsters” for these creatures. They didn’t know. My kids love this series but they said that it didn’t make any sense. And I agree with them.

The answer as to why the author would make this statement is because of the belief that long-necked snaky monsters didn’t exist. But I’d make a million dollar bet that she would agree that dinosaurs existed. And I’d also bet that she’d agree that many ancient descriptions of “serpents”, “monsters” and “dragons” sound a great deal like how we would generally describe a dinosaur-type creature.

This is one of the many reasons that I’m so excited about our newest documentary DRAGONS OR DINOSAURS? It challenges pre-conceived ideas and takes a different look at the fascinating topic of Dragons.

Blog by Cloud Ten Pictures’ Executive Producer/Director, André van Heerden