Young Elmer Elevator seems like a pretty average kid with a pretty normal life. But when Mr. Cat, a feisty feline claiming to be an explorer, tells him about a poor little dragon who's being held captive on a place called Wild Island, despite his fears he embarks on a remarkable search-and-rescue mission for the blue-and-yellow-striped creature with the golden wings. As if the journey itself weren't perilous enough, Elmer's arrival on Wild Island is met with beastly resistance of all shapes and sizes. Lions and tigers and warthogs, oh my! Ruth Stiles Gannett's 1948 classic children's book (a runaway best-seller in Japan) lays the foundation for this vibrant and musically exuberant animated feature.-Joanne Parsont