Nice little allegory for our times.

Rating: Null/10 (21 April 2010)

It's not like it's a particularly new idea: Lad seeks to find his place in society, intuitively makes a decision that breaks with tradition, becomes a pariah, succeeds in transcending tradition and then bringing his society into a new paradigm. An old story idea, told a million times.
But in spite of the underlying staid character of the premise, this movie manages to work. I had no problem following Hiccup along on his little adventure. You revel in his truly becoming, not just a man, but a new kind of man, and a real leader.
I dug it. I particularly enjoyed that, in the end, Hiccup did have to pay a price for his daring (won't spoil that). But he does bring the story to a heroic conclusion that I could get behind. It surprised me in that way! Good writing, good voice work, nice pacing and scenario work. Very well animated. I dug it! I hope we all can learn something about heroism from Hiccup.