"How To Train Your Dragon"
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson.
Directed by: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders.
Rating: PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language.
Running time: 1 hour, 38 minutes.
Time to get fired up.
In an industry lately devoid of charm and originality, Dreamworks Animation pulls through with the hugely entertaining 3-D animated flick “How to Train Your Dragon.”
It’s the most fun you’ve had in the movie theater for far, far too long.
From offbeat names, hilarious dialogue, beautiful scenery and a dynamic and exciting plot, “Dragon” will leave you wanting to harness your own oversized reptile and fly off to adventure.
Forget overdrawn title sequences and pompous entry credits — “Dragon” tosses you straight into the fray of a viking town under attack by a swarm of the winged beings with unexpected humor and excitement.
It’s in the middle of this chaos that we meet Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), our young protagonist. In a town full of oversized, brash, battle-hardened vikings (not the least of whom is Hiccup’s father, Chieftan Stoick the Vast, voiced by Gerard Butler), our small, thin, sarcastic hero doesn’t quite fit the mold. The other vikings, including Stoick, doubt Hiccup’s ability to grow into a dragon-killing warrior. And with his untraditional weaponry skills, Hiccup doesn’t help himself out too much.
But when Hiccup brings down the stealthy and dangerous Night Fury, a feat no other viking has accomplished, his life changes in ways that he (and the audience) never expected.
You’ll learn all this in the first minute or two, but I hate to give away more. “Dragon” is a film best entered into with a clear mind and no expectations. It’s a movie to be enjoyed moment-by-moment (for each moment holds a treasure) instead of waiting in anticipation for that one plot point, or that one scene from the trailer.
A wonderful supplement to the already superb storyline and eye-catching graphics is the impeccable voice cast. Notable performances include Christopher Mintz-Plasse (“Superbad,” “Role Models”) as the nerdy Fishlegs, whose dragon knowledge is reflected in certain role-playing game terms; Jonah Hill (“Superbad”) as the rude Snotlout; and Craig Ferguson as Gobber, the hilariously crass trainer of dragon-killer recruits.
One of the first movies truly worthy of watching in 2010, “Dragon” is a heartwarming film that will leave you soaring long after you leave the theater. You’ll find yourself rooting for Hiccup through the very end.
It’s fun, it’s enchanting, and it was made with such obvious care that I may need to retract my previous doubts about the plummeting, money-driven industry.
The few downsides include that “Dragon” is based on a book, and so is not quite as original an idea as it may appear, and that the actors’ distinctly Scottish and American accents coupled with a soundtrack of Celtic overtones ignore the predominantly Nordic ancestry of Vikings (though the script does include lines devoted to the Norse gods).
But these meager flaws don’t even begin to hamper the beauty of “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Although parts of “Dragon” may frighten very small children, I would recommend this movie as a must-see film for adults and kids alike.
4.5 of 5 stars
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