Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera
Viewed: In IMAX 3D
Until 2009 I had very little respect for Dreamworks Animations. OK, Shrek (2001) was pretty decent, but it was nothing compared to Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Monsters Inc, even WALL-E. But 2009 renewed my faith in Dreamworks. I actually really enjoyed Monsters vs Aliens, which may partially be attributed to the many movie in-jokes that made me feel smart, but it actually was pretty well-made in terms of script, voice-acting and animation quality (plus it was 3D! Shiny!).
Things were looking good for my relationship with Dreamworks until Up came along and blew me away. I am currently going steady with Up. So me and Dreamworks were just friendly. And now they've released How To Train Your Dragon.
Being an avid filmgoer, I saw the trailer for HTTYD a month or two before it was released. It looked fairly formulaic and unexciting. Figured I'd skip it. But I was recently offered the opportunity to see a movie at IMAX with some rellies. Having already seen Avatar, this was the next best thing (unless you want to see Kelly Slater in a 3D surfing doco?).
I was very much surprised. Yes, HTTYD is formulaic and somewhat forced and predictable at times, but it's also entertaining, funny, visually inventive, surprisingly moving, offers breathtaking flight sequences and has a few turns in the plot that you mightn't expect.
Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup, a boy living in a Viking village plagued by dragons. He's a klutz with an occasionally grating voice and absolutely sucks at fighting dragons. Eager to prove himself to his father (Gerard Butler, the Viking with a Scottish accent) Hiccup manages to hunt down the most sought after dragon of all- the Night Fury. Unable to actually kill it, Hiccup eventually develops a friendship and connection with the creature (dubbed, "Toothless") that resembles symbiosis. And all the while Hiccup is in training to become a dragon killer, along with Viking hottie, Astrid (America Ferrera). Of course, there are lessons to be learned along the way about trust, honesty, understanding, heroism, Viking headwear etc. etc.
I'd have to recommend this in IMAX 3D- the flying and battle scenes are great. The animators have rendered the humans and dragons in more realistic ways than ever before, and the quality of the design is just as good as anything Pixar's churned out.
Baruchel's great talent for comedy and kind of nerdily cute voice make Hiccup an endearing hero who is matched in expressiveness by his dragon friend (oh, the things those great green eyes can say...). The "training" sessions between Hiccup and Toothless really develop the characters and make their relationship seem genuinely valuable, which is a rare thing in a movie. HTTYD succeeded in making a grump like me actually care about what's happening onscreen to CGI characters. Astrid is rather bland character-wise, but, eh, who cares, she's not that important anyway.
Despite the importance of the film's various messages, they are not pushed too hard (most of the time) allowing the audience to sit back and enjoy, without having
morals shoved down their throats. The morals are familiar (believe in yourself, don't judge a book by its cover) but they are handled gently.
Obligatory complaints: There's a couple of annoying supporting characters this could have done without and a few forced attempts at father/son conflict which seemed lame and unnecessary. Attempts at toilet humour are not appreciated. Fortunately these are only occasional hindrances to an otherwise great movie.
Rating: 8
Verdict: Doesn't have quite the originality and emotional pull of Up, but How To Train Your Dragon holds its own in visual appeal, voice-acting and charm.
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