As far as I’m concerned, there aren’t enough movies with dragons in them. I love the movie Excalibur. If there were any faults with the movie, it’s only that there was a lack of dragons. That movie Reign of Fire? Still needed more dragons. So luckily for me, a movie has come out that has LOTS of dragons in it. Dragonslayer? Needed more dragon. Dragonheart? Well, maybe less dragon that talks like Sean Connery and well, just less of that movie.
As far as I’m concerned, there aren’t enough movies with dragons in them. I love the movie Excalibur. If there were any faults with the movie, it’s only that there was a lack of dragons. That movie Reign of Fire? Still needed more dragons. So luckily for me, a movie has come out that has LOTS of dragons in it. Dragonslayer? Needed more dragon. Dragonheart? Well, maybe less dragon that talks like Sean Connery and well, just less of that movie.
How To Train Your Dragon is an animated film about a kid named Hiccup, son of the great viking dragon-killer, Stoic. To say the least, Hiccup isn’t quite like the rest of his viking people. He’s kinda small, thin, doesn’t speak with a Scottish accent, and most importantly, isn’t all that good at fighting dragons, let alone killing them. And when he finally does manage to capture one, he ends up befriending it instead of harming it. This won’t go well with the townspeople, to say nothing of how his dad will take it. Hiccup thinks that maybe they’ve misunderstood dragons all this time. Frankly, I think so, too. ‘Cuz dragons are cool, yo!
But this movie has nothing to misunderstand; it’s funny, the animation is top notch, and there are LOTS of dragons. Oh, and it’s in 3-D. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m already at that point where the whole 3-D thing is getting old. You better make really good use of it or don’t bother using it at all. Luckily, How To Train Your Dragon is chock full of really amazing 3-D. All of the environments are rich, multi-layered, and there are some great ‘wow’ moments, too. When the dragons are in flight, it’s completely enthralling.
And it’s actually funny. I can hardly have too many jokes in a fun animated film and this one does well to keep a smile on my face. It’s pretty amusing to see a dragon chasing a spot of reflected light like a cat chases a flashlight beam on the ground. It is. There are some great lines, and the voice actors are all on the money. I love that Craig Ferguson plays the voice of the one-armed viking blacksmith, Gobber. He’s great. Actors also include Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jay Baruchel, and Jonah Hill.
There are so many dragons in this, and infact, if that weren’t enough, they even put another one that is pretty much the mother of dragons. When you get to final scenes of this movie, you’re like, “Woah, that is one serious dragon.” And it’s an exciting final act, and an even slightly surprising but totally appropriate ending.
This is probably fine for most kids. But you know, over the age of seven or eight anyway. There’s lots of noise and fire and some mild emotional stuff that is above a five year old.
This is a really fun animated movie that makes excellent use of the 3-D technology. You’ll get lots of laughs and some great visual “Oooo’s and Aaaahhs”. It’s totally satisfying. Frankly, it’s one of the most satisfying movie experiences I’ve had in a theater in quite a while. Go see it and have fun!
~ Neil T. Weakley, your average movie-goer, able to actually highly recommend a movie to you.
