How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
By thisguyoverhere | March 26, 2010
Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Directed by: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Written by: William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Genre: Adventure, Fantasy
For young viking Hiccup, his name is not the only odd thing about him. In a village that is in constant battle with dragons, and in a society built on brawn, Hiccup’s scrawny and humane nature makes him an outsider. Determined to prove himself to his tribe, he attempts to kill the elusive Night Fury dragon, which no human has ever seen. He succeeds in capturing it, but his respect for living creatures keeps him from killing it. Hiccup also recognizes the dragon struggles from a damaged tail fin, and once Hiccup builds an artificial replacement, the dragon warms to him. This newfound relationship with the dragon, which he names Toothless, convinces Hiccup that killing the dragons isn’t necessary as long they are treated with love and care.
Dreamworks Animation adds another success to their growing roster of films with How to Train Your Dragon, a charming adventure story with refreshingly chaste undertones. It opts for the classic adage, known as The Golden Rule, “Do unto others as thou shalt like done unto thee,” or thou… or whatever the appropriate archaic pronoun may be. This is a welcome change of pace from the tendency in recent animated films to craftily insert some sort of subversive commentary on politics, environment, or society – there are no blatant attempts at acknowledging that Hiccup is motherless; the dragon’s sulfuric breath isn’t eroding the atmosphere; and there is no villain abusing his or her power at the expense of others. How to Train Your Dragon is just a plain and simple fantasy adventure, and ya know what? It is successful as such.
Toothless and Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
The character design ranges from excellent to moderate, (some of the dragons and supporting characters come off a little dated), but the effort seems to be put in where it counts. Both Hiccup and Toothless show a superb amount of emotions. Clearly the animators studied a wide range of animals to imbue specific attributes into Toothless, which takes the best features of cats, bats, dogs, and birds to create a creature that that most kids will wish they could own, (I know I do…)
How to Train Your Dragon is best when it comes to big action sequences. Hiccup not only fashions a tail for Toothless, but learns to ride him as well. It recalls certain moments from Avatar, and matches them in excitement. This is the type of film constructed for the big screen, and might be one of the few that benefits from 3-D. As the film builds toward its rousing conclusion, it finds its strongest stride leaving the audience with the right balance of exhilaration and emotion to want to take the ride all over again. How to Train Your Dragon is certainly one of best films to come out of the Family genre all year.
USA. 98 minutes. Rated PG.
