If dragons were real then parents and pet stores everywhere would undoubtedly be inundated with requests for scaly, fire-breathing pets after this weekend.
It would be just like what happened after 101 Dalmatians came out (or any other animal-centric movie for that matter). Once you see How to Train Your Dragon<,>, you will know exactly why — they are incredibly cute.
Well, one in particular is anyway. He's the elusive jet-black Night Fury dragon that the protagonist of our story, Hiccup, calls ‘Toothless.' They first meet deep in the forest around the horde's village on the rather scraggy and mostly barren island of Berk. Berk is often besieged by marauding dragons that like to set everything alight while making off with herds of sheep. The Celtic Vikings do not like this.
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is not the greatest warrior of the bunch. He is a scrawny stick of a young man, the only son of the forceful chieftain Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), a man with a girth as thick as his brogue. What Hiccup lacks in brawn, he more than accounts for in ingenuity as he invents a spring-loaded weapon that throws out a net, ensnaring Toothless who then hurtles to the ground. In the crash, one of his tail wings is ripped off, rendering him unable to fly. This makes it an easy target for Hiccup to finally claim his manhood by killing it. He doesn't and that decision changes the horde's entire way of life.
This is one of those stories that has great action, family-appropriate humour, cool animation (with the help of DreamWorks animator and St. Albert native Scott Wright) and a couple of lead characters that you desperately wish you knew in real life. It's like Avatar for kids, but that's something you'll understand better when you witness the high-flying acrobatic dragon-riding sequences. The real story here though is about a boy's struggle to be accepted by his community, especially his overbearing father and ending up as its hero. Who doesn't love those stories? The only improvement would be making the young female warrior in training named Astrid (voiced by America Ferrara) the protagonist instead of just Hiccup's foil for the better part of the movie. Granted, there was a fair bit of voice-over narration, especially at the beginning, that wasn't really necessary.
Still this is another fine addition to co-director/co-writer Chris Sanders' curriculum vitae. He's the bloke who developed the stories and/or directed some of Disney's finest fare including The Lion King, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast and favourite Lilo and Stitch. Take a good long look at the loveable and mischievous character of Stitch and you'll get a pretty good idea of what Toothless is like both in looks and personality. Sanders and DeBlois are still a stellar team now that they are at DreamWorks and I look forward to their further creative adventures wherever they may go.
How to Train Your Dragon
Directed by: Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders<br />Featuring the vocal talents of: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, Craig Ferguson and Gerard Butler<br />Now playing at: Grandin Theatres, North Edmonton Cineplex, Westmount Centre Cinemas and Scotiabank Theatre<br />Rated: PG<br />Stars: 4.5
