A fair movie, but a shallow book adaptation

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2014)

Approaching the film as an independent story, with no ties to the How to Train Your Dragon books, it's a well-made, appealing animation. The plot is a little formulaic, with no demanding characters or twists. As a movie for kids, it works well. The music and visuals are very impressive.
In regard to the books, the film discards the vast majority of the source material (from the first book alone), except for the cosmetic setting details, and names. It completely abandons the heart of the books, which was a very different dynamic between the main characters. Some characters are represented by name, in the animation, but are not recognizable; another is invented to fill a recycled plot requirement.
I feel it would be more accurate to describe the movie as inspired by the books, as no real effort is made to adapt them directly, which is a real shame.