The Hungry Dragon

The Hungry Dragon is a cartoon adaption of the book I'm Hungry by Jorge Martín. It is an American-Canadian program produced by Nelvana and Nickelodeon. The cartoon shares some similarities with the elements of the book, such as the baby dragon going on a hungry rampage to satisfy her appetite.

Premise
A newly hatched baby dragon gets separated from his mother, she ends up in a small town and goes on a rampage to sate her appetite but trouble comes as she grows and the friends she makes that are protecting her aren't helping with her diet.

Plot
On a mountain in a cave somewhere in the forest, a dragon is taking care of her egg. She hears some rustling and realizes her baby is gonna hatch soon. She flies off to search for food. A mouse comes by with his cheese, he spots the egg rustling and inspects. The rustling egg rolls out of its nest and out the cave. The mouse gets scared off and takes his cheese with him. The egg rolls down the mountain and lands softly on a crate full of fish. The fisherman comes by and sees the egg out of nowhere, he thought to sell it for extra money and takes it with the crate full of fish. At a vendor, the fisherman offers the egg to a farmer, where he thinks the kids would make like it. The farmer takes it back to the farm with his wife and kids waiting. The older son and youngest daughter are given the egg, the farmer explains to take care of it as the farmer never saw something like this and plans on entering it to the contest. The kids didn't seem pleased but the son offers to look after it.

The brother and sister enter the barn, started to argue what to do with the egg and how to take care of it. As they argue, the egg rustles again. The siblings stop to see cracks forming on the egg. A baby dragon comes out and breathes fire, the siblings scream in terror and hide. The sister looks to see the dragon gone. The two looked around to see the baby dragon hiding in hay. Realizing the dragon is scared, the sister thinks they should take care of it but the brother thinks they should tell their parents. The sister offers her hand, the dragon is nervous but leans closer. The dragon slowly comes over to hug the girl and says "I'm hungry." Baffled that she could talk, the siblings wonder what to feed her.

Meanwhile, the mother dragon flies back to the mountain with bags of food but found her egg gone. Worried, she roars. She spots the mouse and picks him up by the tail, asking him where is her child.

The kids sneak in the kitchen. They search for the fridge for something the baby dragon would enjoy. They found ham wrapped in plastic, the daughter takes it while the brother takes a carton of eggs. The siblings hurried back to the barn, they find the baby dragon is about to eat some of the chickens. They stopped her and brought her the food. They ask how are they gonna feed her, the baby dragon breathes fire and roasts the ham. She eats it than roasts the eggs that the cracks and boiled, the dragon eats them hard boiled. The siblings are amazed. The baby dragon licks the sister and brother as a thank you for the food but says she is still hungry.

The father and mother calls out to their children. The kids rush back in the house. The baby dragon is left hungry while looking around the farm of what else to eat. The kids find their parents finding the fridge without the ham or eggs, they claim they don't know what happened. The mother claims she just had them. The father is looking forward to having roast ham. He than asks the kids if they know about the egg, but the kids lied saying the egg seemed rotten and told his father they gotten rid of it for his sake. The brother looks out the window to find the dragon outside and flies up in the air. The brother gestures his sister to seeing it. The wife decides to go to the store to get some again and also something for the festival. She takes the kids with them so her husband can mend the farm.

The baby dragon flies around, she got herself in a small town. She lands in a park where a barbecue is being held. Smelling the aroma of cooked and grilled meat, the baby dragon sneaks around and snatches the food from the unsuspecting people. The people find the food missing and accuses one another of taking it. The dragon eats while she hides under a table but finds herself still hungry. She looks over to see a cake and is amazed by it. She goes over and takes a big bites out of it, but says she wants more. She takes a bottle of soda and chugs it down. She belches fire and it sets a tree ablaze. The people notice the fire and some ran off while the rest try to secure it. The baby dragon started to get a stomach ache from eating so much and walks off.

The wife and kids got back from the store. The kids hurried to the barn to find the dragon is still not here. They head up to their room while pondering where the baby dragon could have gone. They found her in their room rubbing her bloated stomach. The brother and sister hugged the dragon in relief that she is fine. They find the dragon is starting to get sleepy, figuring she must have eaten while she was gone and relaxed they don't have to fed her at this moment. Their father calls them down. They left and the dragon is laying on the floor. However, her stomach rumbles and is hungry again. She looks out the window to see a pen with sheep, chickens, pigs, and cows. She licks her lips.

The kids and parents store the groceries while the baby dragon sneaks out. The baby dragon flies over the fence and into the den. She breathes fire that startles the animals, the baby dragon tries to grab one but couldn't. She than spots a bird flying over. The baby dragon flies up and chases after it. The family gets out to see the animals freaking out while the chickens' den is on fire.

The baby dragon chases the bird over the town, she came close that is the bird managed to fly into a tree. The dragon flew through and lost it. The baby dragon looks around to see to the town she finds herself flying above. She than smells something and flies over to see a fish market. The baby dragon sneaks in the store when one of the people opens the door. The baby dragon looks over the vendor full of fish, she eats one and starts make her way to eat another and than another. The manager checks on the stock only to be shocked to see all the fish is gone. The baby dragon got more round and fat and now has grown a bit taller of eating all the fish, but she finds herself still hungry.

The baby dragon stumbles into a zoo. She wanders around for food and meets some animals. One of them asks what is she doing and the baby dragon says she is hungry. Another one tells her she shouldn't be out in the open but the dragon wants something to eat. The baby dragon than looked over to see a hotdog cart. Approaching it, the vendor runs off when seeing the baby dragon. She eats all the hotdogs and goes off. She than goes and eats vendors of popcorn and cotten candy, the result made her more round and taller. The people see the dragon and start to run. The baby dragon is curious why the people are running away but shrugs it as her stomach demands more food.

Back at the farm, the kids hear from a radio that a giant "red lizard with wings" is at a park, they wonder if he is talking about the baby dragon.

The baby dragon flies over town. She sees vendors gathered up in a street. She lands and the people are scared off. She goes over to eat all the meat, vegetables, and fruits. She uses her fire breath to roast some of them to find them more edible. She grows more round and a bit more taller. She than spots an ice cream container. She eats all the sugary delights but it also results in her having brain freeze, she belches that causes ice to form. The baby dragon turns around some of the people still here, angry at what she has done. The dragon got scared and flew off.

The wife at the farm tells her husband about the dragon wrecking havoc on the town. The husband claims that dragon could have been the one who set fire to the chickens' den. They than notice the kids are gone.

The brother and sister venture into the woods to find the baby dragon. They found her crying under a tree, with a very round stomach and has grown very much. The baby dragon stops crying to see the two children and is happy to see them. She stands up with the two hugging the baby dragon in relief that she is fine. The sister asks what has happened. The baby dragon replied she was very hungry and ate everywhere in the town but now she finds herself lonely. The brother states she isn't lonely and it is his and sister's fault for not telling their parents the truth. He than asks if the baby dragon could still fly. The baby dragon wants to but finds herself sick and her stomach hurting, she sits down. The siblings find out she has a very upsetting stomach with the brother asking how much she ate with the sister whispering she probably ate everything.

A shadow than flew past over them. The three looked up in the sky than it came literally crashing down. The mommy dragon lands glaring at the kids. She tells them what have they done to her baby. The siblings got scared. The baby dragon steps up and stands in front of them, telling her mother that it isn't their fault. The baby dragon explains they took care of her but she got really hungry and ate everything in town, and now she has a stomach ache.

The mother dragon calms down and sees her daughter sitting from her tummy ache. She picks her up and cradles her, telling her she's glad she is fine and fed but too much. The mommy dragon thanks the kids looking after her and stated she is going to fed her daughter herself. She flies away, the baby dragon waves at the kids.

Back at the farm, the brother and sister are watching TV with their parents. The news continue with the story of a dragon flying around with another rampaging through the city. The wife is skeptical about what dragons exist and how come they are still around. The husband declares whatever the cause of what was seen should be glad they don't have to see it again. The brother and sister know different, the sister is curious if they are gonna see the baby dragon again and how is she doing. The brother replies they might see her again someday and knows she is being properly fed.

At the cave in the mountains, the mommy dragon is roasting meat and vegetables. She thinks while her daughter is fed she thinks she is still hungry and has brought enough food from her friends that knew about dragons that gave it to her so she can properly feed her. Baby dragon is lying on the ground rounder and taller more before from her mom feeding her. She groans and belches, she thanks her mom but declines, adding she feels full now.

Differences and Changes from the Book

 * In the book, setting takes place on an island. In the show, the baby and mommy dragon live in a cave up in the mountains where humans are in setting.
 * In the book, the baby dragon hatches in the cave. In the show, the baby dragon's egg rolls off that got found by a fisherman and sold to a farmer.
 * In the book, the mouse gets eaten by the dragon. In the show, the mouse runs off when the egg stumbles and rolls, and later gets confronted by the mommy dragon after her egg missing.
 * In the book, the baby dragon wanders around eating animals to sate her hunger. In the show, the baby dragon rampages through the town and eats food whatever she gets.