Dazzling Technical Wizardry and Excellent Story

Rating: 10/10 (12 April 2010)

I've seen several 3D movies in the past few months, including "Avatar", and I rate this one the best of all. The story itself was clever and original, about a young Viking lad named Hiccup who marches to a different drummer in that he's not your typical blood thirsty Viking but more an artist. Part of a young Viking's training is learning how to master the art of dragon slaying. Hiccup has an inside track on learning how to deal with dragons, and becomes what would be known today as a "Dragon Whisperer" (my term, not the movie). He knows how to make them do whatever he commands. However, slaying dragons is not in his ken, and the film's main plot centers around how to reconcile Hiccups pacifist tendencies with the ethos of the Viking Warrior.
The 3D animation was absolutely exhilarating. I enjoyed this even more than "Avatar", if only because the story was good, unlike the tiresome boilerplate plot in "Avatar". I would recommend seeing this in 3D but lacking a 3D screen, go see it in 2D. It would still be excellent.