How to Train Your Dragon Movie Review.

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Title: How to Train Your Dragon.

Starring: Jay Baruchel {Hiccup}, Gerard Butler {Stoick}, Craig Ferguson {Gobber}, America Ferrare {Astrid}, Jonah Hill {Snotlout}, Christopher Mintz-Plasse {Fishlegs}, T.J. Miller {Tuffnut}, and Kristen Wiig {Ruffnut}.

Gene: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Animation.

Release Dates: Theatrical: March 26^th, 2010; DVD: October 2010.

Plot: Vikings have always and will always be known for their ferocity in battle, their gigantic muscular proportions, their fierce personalities and their big red beards. However, this family-friendly movie will make the Vikings known for their ability to make you laugh {now that they’re all dead and the threat of being carried off by one is severely lessened}.

How to Train Your Dragon takes us back in time to an imaginary island inhabited by Vikings who do the classic Viking things: raid, pillage, plunder, make weapons, break weapons, play catch-the-spear with their children, build big ships and carry on the general existence of Vikings. However, there is one small difference: instead of normal pests, they have dragons who swoop down in great flocks and carry off their sheep and cattle. The Vikings, being a breed of tough warriors, enjoy battling with the scaly, annoying lizards. All except for Hiccup that is. Different from all the other Vikings in muscle mass and thinking {“brains over brawn my dears”}, Hiccup dreams of one day killing one of the elusive, feared Night Furies; black dragons who, under cover of darkness, swoop down and burn the village but never carry off any sheep. When his father {who is head of the Viking village by the way}, and the rest of the villagers are distracted during one hectic night-attack of the dragons, Hiccup sneaks out and, using a contraption of his own invention, shoots a Night Fury.

When nobody believes him when he says he shot it, Hiccup runs out the backdoor of his house and goes looking for his catch; finding the dragon alive but helplessly tangled up in a mass of ropes, Hiccup raises his little knife to end the dragon’s life in hopes of gaining respect from his father and fellow Vikings. Looking into the dragon’s eyes, he sees something that causes him to change his mind and release the dragon who, surprisingly, doesn’t kill him. Stoick, Hiccup’s father, believes that if they find the dragons’ nest and destroy it, then the continuous attacks upon the village will cease, so he enrolls his troublesome son in dragon training school and sets sail for the dragons’ island. Hiccup, meanwhile, begins to swap his time between dragon training where he is suppose to learn how to kill dragons, and dragon training, where he befriends Toothless, the Night Fury he shot down, and learns to ride said dragon.

When Hiccup’s secret double-life is discovered by Astrid, the tough Viking girl he secretly has a crush on, he doesn’t think too much of it; but when, in fine, dramatic style, the rest of the village and his father learn his secret, Hiccup’s world comes crashing down around his head. When he’s at his lowest point, Astrid asks him what he’s going to do, and, suddenly getting inspired as he replies, Hiccup says, “Something stupid and something crazy,” before running off to put his plan into action. Meanwhile, Stoick and his men have taken the captive Toothless to his island in hopes of destroying the dragons once and for all, but they encounter something none of them ever thought even existed before and Stoick finally learns what his son has been trying to tell, and, how much Hiccup really means to him.

Likes/Dislikes: A very well drawn film, with good, fun music, and well developed characters. The voice talents were well chosen and Toothless’ animated facial expressions set my family and I to laughing. Hiccup and his father have communication difficulties between them, but thankfully, Hiccup doesn’t lie to his father and they become fast friends at the end. Hiccup’s fellow classmates, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Snotlout, and Astrid are also very funny and provide good sidekicks. All in all, a good, clean, funny family movie that I highly recommend.

Rating: PG; I’d say a G but some younger children might not like the big dragon’s ferocity.

Date Report Written: October 29, 2010.