DreamWorks' "How to Train Your Dragon" may be the first animated film from the studio that you can legitimately whisper the seemingly unthinkable words: "That might be as good as Pixar." Oooh, whisper those words very softly and only to someone who is open to the possibility of any animated picture being as good as something from the folks who brought us "Finding Nemo," "Up," and the "Toy Story" flicks.
The best thing that can be said about "How to Train Your Dragon" is that it was made with the same philosophy as many of Pixar's best movies. Don't pander to any segment of the audience. Just tell your story and trust that people - young and old - will want to watch it. "Dragon" is a thrilling action spectacle that doesn't go for the easy joke or try and stuff modern, pop-culture references into an old-world adventure film. It's also one of those rare animated movies that imparts lessons, but doesn't feel overly preachy. There's also not a wasted scene in it.
Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup, a young Viking teen who discovers he is unable to slay dragons like the rest of his knuckle-dragging countrymen. Instead, he befriends one of the most mythic of all the beasts, "The Night Fury," nicknames him "Toothless," and begins to learn more about the fire-breathing creatures than any human ever has.
Meanwhile, his warrior-father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), has enrolled him at the village's Viking school, headed by Gobber (Craig Ferguson), where the entire course load consists of how to kill dragons. His classmates include: Astrid (America Ferrera), an aggressive, young warrior chick who Hiccup has eyes for; Snotlout (Jonah Hill), the brutish showoff of the group; Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), the brain who knows all of the various dragon species' stats; and twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut (T.J. Miller and Kristin Wiig, respectively).
Through his friendship with Toothless, Hiccup discovers ways to soothe and tame the various dragons the class is told to fight. He becomes a sort of "dragon whisperer" admired by the class and the villagers, alike. All the while, a threat to both the dragons and mankind lies in wait, and it's eventually up to Hiccup to bring the two species together.
At its heart, this is a "boy and his dog" kind of story, with a little "E.T." thrown in for good measure. The film is a complete vision thanks to co-directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders of "Lilo and Stitch" fame. If there is one drawback, it's not actually the film itself, but the film's marketing. There is an almost "Jurassic Park"-like intensity to the dragon attack scenes in this film, and small children and older kids who scare easily or who are prone to bad dreams based on intense movie and TV content need to stay away. This is not the jokey, light film that the commercials are telling people it is "from the makers of 'Shrek.'" It's a pretty intense adventure flick . . . and in 3-D.
The voice casting is also a bit uneven. The adult Vikings voiced by the likes of Butler and Ferguson are excellent. Their thick Scottish accents really sell these old warrior characters. However, the teen characters are all voiced by adult actors with American accents -- and not very memorably. I guess, it's to make the film more sellable to U.S. audiences. It would have been rather daring to cast some kids from the U.K. in the main roles, and I don't think the film would have lost any appeal.
But that doesn't mar the overall experience, which is quite positive. I especially liked how the animators were able to mimic hand-held camera movements during the various battle sequences. There is a shaky-cam, "You are there" quality to the action that is quite effective and quite cool. John Powell's majestic score is also terrific. Overall, this is a very entertaining film that should appeal to those 7 to 70, but NOT under! The film rates a most enthusiastic 7.5 out of 10. (T. Durgin)
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