Sets the bar for animated 3-D

Rating: 8/10 (23 March 2010)

"How to Train Your Dragon", or as I like to call it "That Viking is out of my League", is the second film in as many weeks where Jay Baruchel plays a scrawny nerd looking to find himself. It also happens to be infinitely more entertaining. He voices Hiccup, a hapless young Viking living in a village overrun by flying dragons. He longs to be like his great dragon-killing father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), and charm the likes of the beautiful Astrid (America Ferrara), with whom he is enrolled in dragon-battle training. While dragon-killing isn't for him, he soon finds a particular knack for dragon-whispering, subduing the beasts with his wits and even making a friend in one that he names Toothless. He soon realizes the reason for why the dragons are attacking and tries to convince dad that the winged creatures really aren't so bad afterall. Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois have created a tremendous 3-D experience, setting the bar for animated 3-D much like "Avatar" set it for live-action. The dragon battles are thrilling and the flying scenes between Hiccup and Toothless soar with joy and pulse-pounding danger, and are magnified perfectly by John Powell's fantastic musical score. And at its heart this is a movie of friendship and learning to follow your own path, both movingly portrayed by Sanders and DeBlois' screenplay. The animation looks great, from the large, bushy-haired Vikings to the comically goofy looking dragons. The voice cast is also well-matched. Baruchel has a wheezy comic charm, Craig Ferguson gets the best lines as the village blacksmith, and who better to voice a Viking than Gerard Butler. "Dragon" is as heartfelt as it is impressive to look at, a family film perfect for all ages.