Dreamworks have lost the winning formula

Rating: 4/10 (24 April 2010)

Before I start, let me first say that I walked into the cinema to watch How To Train Your Dragon with no expectations at all. Dreamworks have been going downhill since Shrek 2 and the title of this film, coupled with a huge 3D printed next to it, failed to get my hopes up too much either. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this is Dreamworks best film since Shrek 2, but then I realised that Dreamworks haven't made a good animation since Shrek 2. Oh dear.
After a fairly dull opening, we eventually get to the main story of the film which is about a young boy befriending a dragon which is meant to be the enemy of his people. In fact, it's a lot like Avatar in this regard. The boy in question is Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), son of the chieftain Stoick (Gerard Butler) of the island village Berk. Dragons attack said village and Hiccup manages to take down one known as Night-Fury. Rather than finish the job though, the boy befriends the dragon and is able to get to the top of his dragon training class ahead of his classmate Astrid (America Ferrera). Other classmates include Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jonah Hill.
Already you can tell that the story is rather contrived and predictable with the only moment of true originality and laugh out loud hilarity coming in the opening scene in which dragons are burning down a village whilst Baruchel, Mintz-Plasse and Hill narrate over the top of it as if it's a perfectly normal thing to happen and they complain about their boring lives. Trust me, it will make all but the dullest of people laugh.
It's not just the script that feels a bit contrived though. The directors Chris Sandler and Dean Deblois previously worked on Lilo and Stitch and it clearly shows because the dragon may as well be Stitch. The Scottish accents throughout the film all sound like Mike Myers from Shrek except a million times worse. Just get some real Scotsman for God's sake, why is Jay Baruchel playing a Scottish kid!? Just so Dreamworks can have a big name on the poster, JUST GET A REAL BLOODY SCOTSMAN! Actually, give them some credit they did get Gerard Butler and David Tennant but I still don't get the obsession with big A-listers in animated films.
The moral message is also annoyingly unoriginal and so blatantly forced down the throat of the audience that I choked on my popcorn. How many times to kids need to learn the values of accepting outsiders and being nice to your father? The big surprise to me though was that the 3D was actually pretty damn good. The action sequences were also surprisingly well done for an animated film and these were (along with the funny opening I previously mentioned) easily the stand out moments from the film. It's definitely the best looking and most vibrant animation I've seen from Dreamworks.
How To Train Your Dragon is not a terrible film. It's funny in parts and looks great in 3D with some really excellent action sequences. However, it's so contrived and forgettable that I really don't think Pixar need to worry. They've still got the animation crown and Dreamworks are showing no signs of grabbing it away from them.
2/5