Fanvid: Diamond Road (Dungeons & Dragons)

[thisbluespirit]

A Dungeons & Dragons cartoon vid I've been working on (and off) for a while. My tribute to the very best 1980s cartoon series. (You know, in the highly biased opinion of someone who fell for it hard at six. And again at fourteen...) When I started this in July or August, I had been about to make something completely different, but was suddenly struck by how much this song fitted so much about the series.

With many thanks to justice_turtle for his invaluable help towards the end. (♥)


Diamond Road

"It's gonna take a little while to make it to the other side..." Show tribute to "Diamond Road" by Sheryl Crow.

Link to YouTube. You can also watch it here on Vimeo (password = diamond).

Lyrics:
Walk with me the diamond road
Tell me every story told
Give me something of your soul
That I can hold onto

I want to wake up to the sound of waves
Crashing on a brand new day
Keep the memory of your face
But wipe the pain away

When you're lonely
When your heart aches
It's gonna take a little time
Yeah it's gonna take a little time
When the night falls
When you're stumbling
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side

So don't miss the diamonds along the way
Every road has led us here today

Little bird, what's troubling you
You know what you have to do
What is yours you'll never lose
And what's ahead may shine

Beneath the promise of blue skies
With broken wings we'll learn to fly
Pull yourself out of the tide
And begin the dream again

When you're lonely
When your heart aches
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side
When the night falls
When you're stumbling
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side

So don't miss the diamonds along the way
Every road has led us here today

Won't you shine on
Morning light
Burn the darkness away

Walk with me the Diamond Road
Tell me everything is gold
Give me something of your soul
So you don't fade away

When you're lonely
When your heart aches
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side
When the night falls
When you're stumbling
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side

When you're lonely
When your heart aches
It's gonna take a little time
To make it to the other side
When the night falls
When you're stumbling
It's gonna take a little time
Everything will be just fine

Don't miss the diamonds along the way
Every road has led us here today
Life is what happens while you're making plans
All that you need is right here in your hands

Comments

[seriesfive]

I've never seen the series, but the video was really fun to watch.
(I only wish most of your videos weren't blocked for copyright reasons.)

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you! I'm so glad you thought so.

And I do have more of them on Vimeo; I did once make a list here, but I hid it for ages and ages, so nobody knows.

[swordznsorcery.livejournal.com]

You made me listen to Sheryl Crow! Also you didn't blow up Sheila and Uni. ;)

That aside, I really enjoyed this. Nice editing together, and a good overview of some of what the show was about (and how much fun it was). You've left me wanting to watch it again, which is faintly frustrating to me, but definitely means full marks to you. Good work illustrating the more serious elements of the show, too. It had quite a bit more depth than most cartoons, didn't it.

Why has nobody made a live action version of D&D? It would be so much better than "The Hunger Games". As long as they blow up Sheila and Uni. Obviously.

PS: I still want Hank's bow.

[thisbluespirit]

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed despite all the, er, handicaps.

And, yes, it did, as it went along, develop that extra depth - as I've said before, I don't think I'd have risked rewatching any of the other cartoons from my childhood, but this one has enough emphasis on characterisation (and probably because I really did adore it - we played it in the playground, even!). Also, what was up with Dungeon Master trying to make up for his obviously terrible parenting skills by kidnapping teenagers? I dunno.

I got v excited when they made a D&D film years ago - I assumed that was what it was going to be. I suppose it was never quite as well known as the ones they did. And it isn't really gimmicky - you might actually miss the voice artists here. (Not that film studios would bother about that; I would, though.)

[singeaddams.livejournal.com]

Oh, I lived that cartoon as a kid and it still holds up today. Great vid!

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, thank you! :-) And, yes, it was a great 80s cartoon! ♥

[eve11]

Oh, that was quite lovely. I never watched the cartoon; I might have been just the tiniest bit too young and still of the age where I was afraid of Scooby Doo and Josie and the Pussycats when it first started airing (I had just turned six in Fall 1983). But you really captured the feeling of imagination and depth in the cartoon with the vid!

[liadt]

"Uni!" Did they ever get back? I enjoyed D&D as a kid. All those cartoon serials that went on forever. Nicely done, and the animation stands up well esp for TV, The dissolving dragon was pretty (soz dragon).

[thisbluespirit]

Heh, no they never got home! There is a final unmade script, though. Michael Reaves who wrote it put it up somewhere, it was called Requiem - but it still doesn't answer that question.

And thanks! :-)

[liadt]

What!? Noooooo! All the best TV shows have unresolved endings*g*.

[thisbluespirit]

I'm so glad to hear that. I hoped it might, but of course, it's hard to tell about something you know - and I didn't think anyone would really want to watch unknown cartoon vids! So thanks. ♥

I'm not sure exactly when it got over here, but I wouldn't have been much older (I turned six in spring of 83) - but obviously not quite as bothered by cartoon scariness! (And, yes, you were wise, if you were scared of Scooby Doo, you really wouldn't have taken to Venger!)