Asterix and the Gauls turn Dragon hunters

Rating: 8/10 (13 April 2010)

Its no Kung-fu Panda, but How to Train Your Dragon does what it sets out to do and some more. The brief intro to the Vikings is reminiscent of my favourite Gaulish village and did bring out a grin. The main character is Hiccup a misfit viking, who is also (unfortunately for him) the Chief's son. Born with a significant lack of brawn as far as his peers go; the young man pursues his goal of slaying a dragon with a single minded dedication which mostly lands him in several interesting situations. The boy finally does bag a fabled dragon but can't seem to find it in his heart to kill the beautiful creature so he ends up freeing him. Thus begins the symbiotic relation ship between the man and beast as they find common grounds and ultimately become friends. The story is fairly predictable from here on however Sanders and DeBlios handle it extremely well and about a half hour into the movie have you eating out of their hands. The visuals are great especially the flying sequences which are brilliantly shot and they end up conveying the energy and adrenalin rush to the viewer. The big baddie dragon is the perfect villain though this angle could have been delved into a tad more. Regardless of this the movie is one of the best animation movies to come out in a few years and is definitely worth a watch with the family. No matter how old you are you will want your own dragon by the end of it.