Terribly predictable, but very fun as well

Rating: 8/10 (7 October 2010)

I have two girls here that loved the hell out of the movie. And they look good! What else do you need from a review?
The animation is pretty nice, even if 3Dish, with very realistic facial expressions, bright colors and large landscapes. The plot is kind of classic, with the weird kid who longs for his father's acceptance and the love of the town's girl getting his wish. The twists are that the kid is a viking and their entire village is plagued by pesky dragons. In the end, a peaceful solution is found, even if a bit ironic. Let's say it's a typically human solution and leave it at that.
What I liked about the movie is that the animated characters were not mere projections of the actors playing them, and the animals were not anthropomorphised versions of their real selves. Actually, the black dragon with big green eyes looked and behaved suspiciously like my black cat with big green eyes. Only a bit smarter... and flying. Clearly a cat lover worked on this film.
Bottom line: has a Shreky freshness to it, even if the script is not parody funny, but situation funny. Good quality in animation, voices, direction and storyline. The ending was a bit mushy, but full of good tension and held itself well. Oh, and the girls loved it.