Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): Fly little bird. There’s no way out, not for any of us. 

Shohreh Aghdashloo: I am Shohreh Aghdashloo, the voice of the dragon in “Damsel,” and this is “Creating Character.”

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: It was really difficult to think about the voice of the dragon and find a voice that literally shows the intensity and the power of this creature, and Shohreh has that voice.

Millie Bobby Brown: When I watched the first cut of the movie, to hear Shohreh’s voice come through, to see the dragon, even though she looked like a little cartoon then on the first cut, you just see how beautiful the movie is.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): Why are you here? 

Shohreh Aghdashloo: I decided to use a diaphragm voice for her because, as you know, there are different kinds of voices. It depends on the character. Head voice, chest voice, and diaphragm. 

Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): Where are you hiding? 

Shohreh Aghdashloo: Dragon is all diaphragm because she’s been wounded badly and deeply, and that’s why the voice does not come from the head. It comes from the mansion full of pain.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: You think about all those movies that you have dragons, and the benchmark is so high. So that’s why the designer of the dragon, Patrick Tatopoulos, and myself... we discussed a lot about this, how we can make this dragon special.

Patrick Tatopoulos: When we knew that she was a female, I felt she should be very catlike, so there was a sensuality to her. She was not just a big crazy lizard in a cave, but she slithered in a cave. She could be really aggressive, quick, but she could also be very soft. All that language was exciting for me, and I wanted to play with that first.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: Patrick and I, we thought about a very slick design, moves really fast and easy in this kingdom of the caves. A creature that literally surprised you and takes you in a… Pain and killing was something that we have to apply in the design of the creature. This dragon is unique not only for the design, not only for the animation. It’s because we are making a dragon movie with a real intense and human backstory.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): You will know my daughter’s pain.

Juan Carlos Fresnadillo: It feels like we used a lot of sound effects on her voice, but we didn’t. It’s her voice. Her voice is completely broken and profound like you’re hearing in the movie. It’s so well-connected with this creature, and the way that she literally reflects that pain and that grief that she’s suffering, I think Shohreh did such an amazing job.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): Your sister will come for you.

Millie Bobby Brown: Well, it was different. It was a green screen, it was a pole, and then it was a man holding the pole, and he did the voice. He was amazing and very, very helpful.

Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): I will find your little sister.

Millie Bobby Brown (as Elodie): Leave her alone. 

Millie Bobby Brown: I got to envision this thing. It moved with me. It came close to my face. Thank God I had that pole and that man following me around so that I truly felt like I was a part of something bigger. 

Shohreh Aghdashloo (as the dragon): That won’t kill me, but it will make me angry.

Millie Bobby Brown (as Elodie): Good. I’m angry too.

Shohreh Aghdashloo: When I read the lines, when I read the script, obviously I fell in love with the script. And it felt really easy. But soon as I went into the sound studio to do this, I was moving around going back and forward and I was told, “No, no, no, Shohreh. Dragons only move forward, not backward.”

I wish human beings were like that. They could just move forward and get better. I’m very proud of what I have done and, obviously, of what hundreds of people have done to put this film together and to make a fantasy plus reality make belief. This is the hardest job on the face of the earth.

Millie Bobby Brown (as Elodie): This is the end of your story.

Shohreh Aghdashloo: Tudum!