a good example of a formulaic family picture

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2010)

I know a film meant for children (or a "family" movie so to speak) is working right when even as I can recognize where the whole plot will go, A to B to C to Z, when I think that if I were a child of 7, 8, 13 or whatever, I'd really love it. Perhaps I've moved on from being able to be really invigorated by these stories, where a nerdy outsider connects with another outsider in a society where their bond is sort of verboten. Hell, we probably have already seen this formula done, to one degree or another, in just the stable of Dreamworks animated films in the past years (shades of Kung-fu Panda spring to mind). But the good news is that the filmmakers give the characters some good life and circumstances, and the energy in the action and drama is high.
But what also makes it work is that a) when it needs to be funny, it's very funny (quips I didn't think could work won me over), and b) when it needs to, pun intended, the movie soars. Many will be immediately reminded of another movie filled with "flying things" from some months back, James Cameron's Avatar. While his film implemented cutting-edge 3D technology, I found seeing this film, in just the straight 2D, just as good if not, really, better in some ways. When it comes time to follow along with 'Toothless' the dragon and Hiccup as they piroutte through the sky, I was completely with it since I already was soaked up into this world. This isn't to denigrate Cameron's work inasmuch as to just make a point of comparison: it doesn't look quite as silly, oddly enough, by having dragons with this film as opposed to the whatever-the-hell prehistoric hybrids the Na'vi rode along.
I digress though, the film is easy to see where it will go. The plot turns, the conflicts, the interest from the girl to the hero and the supporting characters, no convention is unturned. But the writing within the conventions are strong; the filmmakers understand how to work within them to bring out creativity in the artwork, in the action, in the connections with the characters, and when it comes time for the vikings to face off against the big baddie-dragon at the end (as we all can expect), it's exhilarating how the pace keeps picking up just when one expects for it to drop. And, ultimately, as repeated as the message might be, the under-current of "peace and understanding" vs "FIGHT" is a good message to send to the kids, with the most unlikely placement of vikings who pray to Odin and the dragons who fight against them (but as we learn in self-defense).
The voice-work is also uniformly interesting. I liked seeing Baruchel in this lead part, doing what he could with a nerdy hero; Gerard Butler shows why he should stick mostly to his original Scottish accent (it's also nice, by the way, to hear Craig Ferguson in a movie again; the actors playing the 'kids' all, oddly enough, don't have the Scottish twang, but still work well for what's required of their parts as sort of comic relief. And when it comes time to show the bond between Hiccup and the dragon, the writers don't jump to the quips: the dragons never speak, and all of the direction and attention can be found in their eyes and mouths and face contortions. It's really like the story of a boy and his dog or horse and in this, the heart of the picture, it surprised me with how well it worked. 7.5/10