Well it looks like Dreamworks has finally learned something from their rivals Pixar by not only making a film that has a decent to good story but has also made full use of their animation system by making their best written and best animated since the first Shrek; It's a bit a three way mix in about the classic coming of age genre with the boy – dog, son – father and man – woman relationship film with the boy – dog (or in this case dragon) being the showcase of the film. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a viking in training who has big dreams of being a powerful viking like his father (Gerard Butler) but has one problem he is the physically weakest warrior in his village and is picked on by the other vikings in training for it but most harshly by his love interest Astrid (America Ferrara). However Hiccups life takes a turn for the worse when he successfully captures an extremely rare dragon. Doesn't seem so bad at first but when he finds his capture in the forest he is reluctant to kill it due to his gentle nature and chooses to study the dragon and begins to believe that maybe his peoples belief about dragons may be wrong thanks to forming a bond with the Dragon he has named Toothless.
I loved this movie. It was funny, well structured and the flying sequences are gorgeous and epic. But a small problem is that although the flying sequences are epic the film does seem to rely on them a bit more than dialogue but the good thing is that the movie doesn't try to over produce itself with their special effects because if so than the film would considerably flop. At the start of 2010 I saw an independent film called Over Canada that showcased the beauty of the Canadian landmass from coast to coast. Although Over Canada was live action and How to Train your Dragon isn't both films are able to showcase what it wants the audience to see it through the most beautiful manner from eyes of the sky. Because of how they showcase it the audience can have their breath taken away and can then follow the plot and see that the cinematography is helping to tell the story since the effects for How to Train Your Dragon are so good they help expand on the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless while Over Canada was trying to showcase how beautiful Canada is to its people. Although different intentions both films get their point clear through their cinematography and effects.
The acting in the film is good but its not excellent like with some other animated films like Up (2009) or Beauty and the Beast (1991). At first Hiccup seams to be a bit woddan and one dimensional but by id say three eighths of the way through he does start to flesh out more and expand of his actions and reactions with his fellow characters and helps the audience stay primarily focused on him. Gerard Butler and America Ferrara were also good in their roles and most of their good acting comes out of their characters relationships with Hiccup along with their later feelings towards both Hiccup and Toothless. I thought Craig Ferguson was hilarious as Gobber, Hiccups teacher who has that real sense of a Scotsman humor that both kids and adults will find funny and his scenes really made me laugh out loud due to his husky voice and raw sense of humor. I thought that the rest of the characters were played very good but a problem I had with them is that their stereotypes have been done before in both live action and animation but its not necessary the writers fault, these character traits are what audiences will remember and in about twenty years or so it wont matter because those traits will pretty much live on their own, its just passing from one film to another, so id say the supporting cast was very well done. The best acting in my opinion came from the body language and chemistry between Toothless and Hiccup because these dragons are portrayed as if they were real animals. By using their body language I think people can get a feeling that these animals are real and the bond between boy and dragon is just as heart warming as boy and dog. I am also very glad the dragons couldn't talk like cartoons because it would defeat their purpose as real animals and really be cartoon characters and I don't think the audience would take them seriously. This really is Dreamworks Animations best film they have ever made, it doesn't have stale or weak jokes, the plot works well, the chemistry is excellent, the acting could be a bit better and the cinematography and effects are epic. I just wish I had seen it in 3D from what other critics have said. But evan if you haven't seen it in 3D its still a great film and I think it will be one of the animation milestones on the 2010's.
My Rating 4/4 Shamrocks
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