The Legendary Rick Perry

For those not already familiar with the TTRPG (Tabletop Role Playing Game) world, there are two current breakout actual play shows. The first one is Critical Role which originated on Felicia Day’s Geek & Sundry in 2015 and the second is Dimension 20, which debuted in 2018 on the College Humor YouTube channel which has since been rebranded as Dropout.

Brendan H. Banks’ short documentary THE LEGENDARY RICK PERRY focuses on an unlikely hero. Rick Perry isn’t sitting behind a DM screen or rolling any dice. Instead, he is the person in charge of bringing the DM’s (dungeon master) dreams into a miniature reality. Along with his crew of talented model makers and artists, Rick Perry creates the physical manifestations of the worlds that the characters play in. Using paint, flocking, wood, and new technologies like 3D printing and LED lighting, they bring settings like the ones used in the popular Fantasy High series to life. While only thirty minutes in length, THE LEGENDARY RICK PERRY gives us a peek into Rick’s family life on his secluded farm in rural Washington and also shows a brief peek into his childhood growing up in Texas where his creative roots took hold.

If fans were hoping to get a deep dive into what makes Rick tick, you might be a little disappointed, as Rick seems to be just as he appears; a quiet, reserved, sometimes humorous, dedicated family man and craftsman. Fans of Dimension 20 might get a few spoilers from the most recent season (and upcoming season) of their favorite actual play show if they look carefully enough through the movie, but otherwise there isn’t really much to see other than the assembly of a new dungeon master screen to be used in the upcoming Fantasy High: Junior Year episodes to t their newer set design.

This is a fun, and hopefully not the only, glimpse into the world of the folks behind the scenes of the shows of Dropout. The channel responsible for consistently funny and entertaining shows like Game Changer, Make Some Noise, Dirty Laundry, and the newest edition Very Important People are ripe for some cool behind the curtain stories.

Short documentaries like this used to be common as DVD extras, but with the physical DVD market phasing out in some areas, and with big box stores no longer stocking physical media, it’s great to see the folks at Dropout, especially director Brendan H. Banks taking up the mantle of the behind the-scenes doc for the fans and future crafters of miniature Dungeons and Dragons figures and terrain.