How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Genre

Animation | Adventure

Directors

Chris Sanders | Dean DeBlois

Country

USA

Voice Cast

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, T J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, David Tennant, Robin Atkin Downes, Philip McGrade, Kieron Elliott, Ashley Jensen

Storyline

Long ago up North on the Island of Berk, young Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) wants to join his town's fight against the dragons that continually raid their town. However, his macho father and village leader (Gerard Butler), Stoick the Vast, will not allow his small, clumsy, but inventive son to do so. Regardless, Hiccup ventures out into battle and downs a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention, but can't bring himself to kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon, whom he dubs Toothless, begin a friendship that would open up both their worlds as the observant boy learns that his people have misjudged the species.

Opinion

Impressed. This is how this film let me. I still can't believe DreamWorks Animation has managed to craft something this beautiful, visually and non speaking, that comes very close to the high standards set by Pixar.

Charming, funny, and moving, How to Train Your Dragon is a wonderful film about friendship, prejudices, courage and love.

The writing is amazing. I didn't read the book, so I don't know if huge changes have been made, but if I were the writer I would have been more than happy, because it's really impossible to wish for a better cinematic transposition. The story is witty, the dialogue is great, the characters are well developed, and the themes are developed in such a spectacular way everybody can enjoy it, both children and adults.

The animation is spectacular. Each character is so well made that almost seems realistic, and the gesture and the face expressions are extremely complex. Toothless, the black dragon, is definitely the one portrayed at its best.

Kudos to the people who worked at the photography section. It is sublime, and makes the scenery look even more realistic - if that's even possible -, and some sequences seem to be action sequences and not animations. Very well done.

Lastly, the voice cast really did a great job. Jay Baruchel did a wonderful job as Hiccup, giving a believable and three-dimensional as the visual portrait.

Now I really want a pet like Toothless.

This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. My village. In a word, sturdy. It's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We've got hunting, fishing, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. Most places have mice or mosquitoes. We have... dragons. - Hiccup