Examiner Bio Movie Review: 'How to Train Your Dragon' sours, technically and artistically

Rating: 9/10 (28 March 2010)

The new Dreamworks 3-D (the type with 3-D glasses) animation, How to Train Your Dragon, takes place in a Viking village. Over centuries, man and dragons have been enemies. Dragons kill people, take livestock, and burn their villages, while men have been trained to slay them. Stoick (Gerard Butler) is the leader of the clan, a master dragon slayer, and the protector of the village. To his disappointment, his son, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), is the complete opposite of him—timid, scrawny, and more brains than brawn. One day, using his engineering skills, Hiccup manages to capture a very rare type of dragon. Instead of slaying him, Hiccup lets him go and a secret friendship develops between them. Meanwhile, his Dad is also training him to be a dragon slayer.
Despite what may sound like the usual generic Hollywood-type plot, the story is quite solid and characters are complex. I was constantly guessing how things were going to end up, despite guessing it'll probably be a happy ending, possibly—there are many ways the film could've gone. There were many rooms for laziness in the plot, but I loved how they didn't do that—things were constantly getting more interesting. The dialogue is very witty, with plenty moments of good irony.
The flying scenes are, to put it simply, spectacular. This film shows why 3-D matters and I felt it really pushed the envelope, technically. The 3-D aspect in Avatar was accomplished, but the 3-D truly flourishes in this film. Few films make me feel like I've actually "been there." This film does just that. I often worry about 3-D action scenes, fearing speed blurs will make it look odd—no worries here.
All the villagers feel real, emotionally, and are quite complex. The voice work by Jay Baruchel and the animation of Hiccup has so much layer and subtleties that I had forgotten I was actually watching animation. Character design-wise, Pixar may still have a slight edge in terms of everything looking "marketable," but this is very solid work, and most of all, everything works so amazingly well together—plot, characters, music, and technology. Some of the dragons do indeed look a little odd, but they serve the story. I loved all the adult Viking characters—with their Scottish accents, huge beards, and the big warrior mentality--they're as fun as animation can make them. The relationship between Stoick and Hiccup is poignant, subtle, and more real than many live-action films. Gerard Butler's voice work for Stoick bring a lot of weight to the character.
Overall, this film is an amazing showcase for the potential of 3-D. One must think, while 3-D is cool, the whole idea of 3-D is all about "being there," it's not about merely watching two people talk, but about audience involvement. It's about going places where you can't go, doing things you normally can't do. I can imagine the application toward video games can be the next big thing. Meanwhile, this film is not only an accomplishment in the use of this new medium, but good story-telling, and fun characters. I give How to Train Your Dragon, *** ½ out of **** stars.
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