How to Train Your Dragon

5 stars

Rating: PG
Stars: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill

A young Viking befriends a dragon in this heartwarming film.

What's the story?
Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third (Baruchel) is a teenage Viking who is considered the blundering misfit of the village. His father, Stoick the Vast (Butler), is the leader of a tribe of Vikings who are in battle with the dragons that steal their sheep and cattle. In a desperate attempt to toughen Hiccup up, Stoick enlists him in dragon training. Meanwhile, Hiccup has befriended a dragon in secrecy, and through this friendship, his eyes are opened to the plight of the dragons.

Why see it?
Based on the novel by Cressida Cowell, Canadian director Dean DeBlois creates a wonderful little world that grabs you from the get-go with its innocent humour, which will entertain both adults and children. The animation is very well done, and the various dragons created are all unique and imaginative, both in their abilities and physical traits. There has been a rumour going around that the 3-D is a worthy rival to Avatar's 3-D technology, and I must concur: it’s worth paying the extra few dollars to see this movie in 3-D.

Problems?
If you tend to get nauseous while watching 3-D movies, I recommend skipping the 3-D version and watching the 2-D film, although as mentioned, the 3-D technology utilized in this movie is far better than that of the majority of 3-D movies currently in existence. There are also two characters, Fishlegs and Snotlout, which were poorly incorporated into the script and though they did not bring the script down, they could have added so much more had their parts been better written.

All in all:
A quirky and heartwarming movie, with amazing 3-D.

Youthink interview with How to Train Your Dragon star Jay Baruchel!