How To Train Your Dragon Movie Review
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: SOARS ABOVE THE REST
How to Train Your Dragon will make you smile. Underdog Hiccup is somebody to root for from the get go. It is fun for children AND adults. There is a good message without being preachy. And the animation is so good that you sometimes forget you are watching a cartoon.
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is the village screw-up. His dad Stoick (Gerard Butler) runs the village. They are a community of Vikings. Their enemy is the dragon. During an attack of the dragons, Hiccup manages to hit one. But nobody believes him. When Hiccup finds the dragon, he comes to the realization that he can't kill it. And right after this his father decides to put him in dragon slaying training. So as Hiccup goes through training, he develops a bond with this dragon and realizes that everyone's perception of dragons is wrong. It is not until Hiccup becomes the star of his training that he is forced to make his village (including his dad) change the way they think.
The story is endearing, begging to be hugged. The village people and the dragons are adorable. The details that are given to each type of dragon shows that imagination is not lacking in their creators. The ending is not a surprise but it leaves you feeling good to the nth degree. Jay Baruchel makes his character's sarcasm a likable quality. And he is able to make the audience feel his awkwardness when he is thrust into the spotlight. Gerard Butler is perfect as his dad. We know this man is burly and brawny just from his thick Scottish accent. He is masculinity in a nutshell. Hiccup's classmates are a bunch of misfits who all have their own unique personalities. The bickering siblings, the overgrown “Mongo”, the loud boy who is filled with false bravado, and of course the girl who is the object of Hiccup's affections. The film would be missing something without each of them. Animation is going in a direction that will only continue to impress moviegoers. It is becoming more and more realistic, making it easy to forget that it is a cartoon and not a live action. Rippling water and the pads of fingers are just a couple of examples.
How to Train Your Dragon is a blast. It has heart, a hero to root for, and delivers on every level. Cartoons are becoming so much more and are not just for kids anymore. How to Train Your Dragon proves that.
Report Card:
Story-B
Acting-A
Visuals-A
Originality/Innovation-A
Enjoyability Grade–A
Overall Grade-A-
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