Review: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Was Surprisingly Stunning

Director: Dean DeBlois

Cast: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah hill, Christopher Mintz Plasse, Kristen Wiig

Synopsis:

A Viking teenager named Hiccup lives on the island of Berk, where fighting dragons is a way of life. The teen's smarts and offbeat sense of humor don't sit too well with his tribe or its chief... who just happens to be Hiccup's father. However, when Hiccup is included in Dragon Training with the other Viking teens, he sees his chance to prove he has what it takes to be a fighter. But when he encounters (and ultimately befriends) an injured dragon, his world is flipped upside down, and what started out as Hiccup's one shot to prove himself turns into an opportunity to set a new course for the future of the entire tribe. 

Review:

Wow, I wasn’t expecting a movie this good at all! I haven’t been the biggest fan of the films that DreamWorks animation has produced over the years. Most of the films that they’ve made relied on pop culture jokes that automatically date the film to propel the movie forward. The one exception to that before they released How to Train Your Dragon was Kung-Fu Panda, which is another DreamWorks animated film that I really liked. 

I wasn’t excited to see How To Train Your Dragon, I had no desire to see it at all. I wasn’t sold on any of the trailers or other marketing materials released for the film, they just didn't grab me. There are two reasons why I went and saw the movie, the first is because the kids wanted to see it. The second is because I heard the movie was absolutely incredible from several different sources. I was still skeptical going in, I thought there was no way in hell that the movie was as good as everyone was saying it was. Well, I was wrong.

How To Train Your Dragon was easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year! To be completely honest, I thought it was better than the last two Pixar films, Wall-E and UP. I also thought is was better than Avatar. Sure, the effects in Avatar were amazing, but this film had an incredible original story with memorable characters that you couldn’t help but love and connect with.

The CGI animation in the film was flawless. I loved the designs of the characters and the Viking world in which the story was set. I ended up seeing the movie in 3D and it looked great, but you don’t have to see this movie in 3D to make it any better. It’s the strong story, action and humor that propels this story forward and makes it worth watching.

There are some great action sequences in the movie, especially the dragon flight scenes, they were absolutely breathtaking. It was so much fun watching the main character Hiccup learn how to fly his new dragon friend, Toothless. Then there are the action packed dragon battle scenes that just rocked my brain. I was on the edge of my seat having the time of my life watching these sequences unfold on the big screen. They were just so big and exciting, and the climax of the story was awesomely epic.

I loved the humor and tone of the story, it was a smart heartfelt film that left you with a good feeling inside. I seriously don’t know how a person could watch this film and not like it. It’s a movie that everyone can enjoy, and I think most people can relate to the characters in the story. Remember when you found your first dragon? Ah, the good ol’ days. I highly recommend you go out and see How To Train Your Dragon if you haven’t already, because I know you’re going to enjoy it.

I hope that DreamWorks Animation starts developing more movies like this that have a great story and script with fun adventurous characters. This movie proves that DreamWorks can give Pixar a run for their money.

If you’ve seen the film please tell us what you thought of it!