Magic Lizard ( th, กิ้งก่ากายสิทธิ์; ; lit: ''Magic lizard'') is a 1985 Thai

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, a ...

directed and produced by

Sompote Sands Sompote Saengduenchai ( th, สมโพธิ แสงเดือนฉาย; ; 24 May 1941 – 26 August 2021), internationally known as Sompote Sands, was a Thai film director, special effects creator and producer best known for directing ...

. The film's plot follows a large

frilled lizard The frilled lizard (''Chlamydosaurus kingii''), also known as the frill-necked lizard or frilled dragon, is a species of lizard in the family Agamidae. It is native to northern Australia and southern New Guinea. This species is the only member ...

who sets out to retrieve a crystal stolen by aliens.

Summary

Magic Lizard is a large lizard who guards the crystal under the base of the

pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoi ...

of the

Temple of Dawn Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan ( th, วัดอรุณราชวราราม ราชวรมหาวิหาร ) or Wat Arun (, "Temple of Dawn") is a Buddhist temple (''wat'') in Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thail ...

. After

Martians Mars, the fourth planet from the Sun, has appeared as a setting in works of fiction since at least the mid-1600s. It became the most popular celestial object in fiction in the late 1800s as the Moon was evidently lifeless. At the time, the pre ...

stole the crystal, Magic Lizard enlists the aid of the giant guardian as he escapes to various locations throughout Thailand, including

Bridge on the River Kwai ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'' is a 1957 epic war film directed by David Lean and based on the 1952 novel written by Pierre Boulle. Although the film uses the historical setting of the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–1943, the pl ...

and

Phae Mueang Phi Phae Mueang Phi ( th, แพะเมืองผี, ) is a place with original rock formations in the Phi Pan Nam Range, Thailand. It is about eight kilometres northeast of Phrae town in Mueang Phrae District, Phrae Province. Named after the ...

. Over the course of the film, Magic Lizard flees from man-eating crocodile, wild elephants, tiger, a mother and baby

black bear Black bear or Blackbear may refer to: Animals * American black bear (''Ursus americanus''), a North American bear species * Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), an Asian bear species Music * Black Bear (band), a Canadian First Nations grou ...

, run away from a train, giant mosquitoes and skeleton ghost in treasure cave.

Production

''Magic Lizard'' was inspired by Sompote Sands' nephew, who had brought home a

from Australia.

Release and reception

The film was released in Japan by

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

as ''エリマケトカゲ一人旅'' (''Erimaketokage hitoritabi''; lit: "frilled lizard lonely travel"). When it was released in Thailand, it was not expected to garner commercial success due to copyright infringements and the lack of a drafted

copyright law A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educatio ...

. After not being successful in the screening. It is considered to be Sands's last film work. After this, he turned to working solely on

Ultraman ''Ultraman'', also known as the , is the collective name for all media produced by Tsuburaya Productions featuring Ultraman, his many brethren, and the myriad monsters. Debuting with '' Ultra Q'' and then '' Ultraman'' in 1966, the series is ...

. Several years later, this resulted in a copyright lawsuit against

Tsuburaya Productions is a Japanese special effects studio founded in 1963 by special effects wizard Eiji Tsuburaya and was run by his family, until October 2007, when the family sold the company to advertising agency TYO Inc. The studio is best known for producin ...

. In February 2022, the film screened at the 11th Madrid International Cutre Film Festival, also known as CutreCon, in Spain. Discussing the film ahead of the festival, CutreCon director Carlos Palencia stated, "I cannot recommend this film enough, because it seems conceived by an extraterrestrial civilization. I didn't understand anything the first time I saw it. ..it seems like a children's movie, but suddenly there is an alien invasion and there begins to be nudity, scenes of incomprehensible violence and other things I can't reveal because I don't want to ruin the movie. ..I have not seen anything else like it, because nothing else like it exists."

References

External links

* 1985 fantasy films 1985 comedy horror films 1980s fantasy adventure films 1980s monster movies Films directed by Sompote Sands 1985 films Thai comedy horror films Films set in Kanchanaburi category:Films set in Phrae Films set in Bangkok Films shot in Thailand Films about lizards Mars in film Films about extraterrestrial life {{comedy-horror-film-stub