HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
Dazzling animation and thrilling 3D effects
By Quiien

A Paramount release of a DreamWorks Animation presentation.

Produced by Bonnie Arnold. Executive producers, Kristine Belson, Tim Johnson
Co-producers Karen Foster, Doug Davison, Roy Lee, Michael Connolly
Directed by Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
Screenplay Will Davies, Sanders, DeBlois,
Bbased on the book by Cressida Cowell
Genre: Animation/Fantasy/Adventure
Target Audience: General



Voices:

Hiccup - Jay Baruchel
Stoick - Gerard Butler
Gobber - Craig Ferguson
Astrid - America Ferrera
Snotlout - Jonah Hill
Fishlegs - Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Tuffnut - T.J. Miller
Ruffnut - Kristen Wiig



Technical Analysis:

DreamWorks' new animated flick is packed with beefy hairy Vikings. It's based on the story of the same name and the film version finds young Hiccup, son of Stoick, as the boy least likely to become a dragon slayer. This is a problem, given that dragon slaying forms much of the day to day of a Viking's life, with attacks coming from the broad variety of fire-breathing monsters on a regular basis.

The First Half is action packed with some really impressive 3D work.. The film also uses its first act to get across the range of dragons that inhabit this world, including the one nobody has ever seen, the sinister Night Fury. It's a character that has ‘end of game boss' tattooed across it from the moment it's first mentioned.

When Hiccup finds and begins to befriend - and train - a dragon becomes the major plot point of the story. Kudos to DreamWorks’ animation artists’ to make the dragons look far from the cute and cuddly creatures that'd make easy toys to sell. The dragon that Hiccup discovers, in particular, is a dark, brooding beast at times, and not instantly one to warm to.

The relationship between the pair develops surprisingly well, with the emphasis on gesture rather than dialogue. It's carefully done, well built up, and you actually buy the fact that the pair are bonding. Thus, when the film does head off down what becomes a fairly obvious narrative path, there are a couple of characters here that are actually worth rooting for.

Flying scenes are in many ways as awesome and inspired as Avatar. Directors and co-writers Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois and their crack team of animators create eye-popping visuals without ever losing track of the compelling tale they are telling. Voice work is exemplary with Butler’s proud but stubborn Viking leader and father a standout.

Baruchel is appealingly cocky and youthful as Hiccup, while Ferrera’s Astrid is aces all the way. Jonah Hill provides comic relief as Snoutlout. Talk show host Craig Ferguson and SNL’s Kristen Wiig also score points in briefer roles. This time around DreamWorks has been less star-struck than usual in filling out the voice roles in the film, and that's generally to the film's benefit.

Where the film is at its weakest is when it digs into the familiar potpourri of clichés. We have our typical father who doesn't believe in his son, a son who doesn't fit in with everyone else, an unconvincing young heroine who starts off as a quite spiteful rival to Hiccup but begins to turn, and the necessary implementation of the moral at the end of the story. The darker elements of the story work a lot better than the gags.

The set piece sequences are often really quite brilliant, and the final act has the frenetic feel of the end of the back end of a (good) Star Wars movie.

Solidly rooted on such a strong, character-based foundation, How to Train Your Dragon is free to take flight for multiple stirring action scenes. They are every bit as rousing as they need to be. Directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders previously helmed Lilo & Stitch, and some of that same manic energy is carried over here, especially in the scenes with Hiccup's joking, jousting peer group. 
 
The thin, reedy voice of Baruchel (recently seen as the star of She's Out of My League) serves his character well. Ferguson's broad, friendly delivery wrings as much humor as possible from his peg-legged, hook-handed, jovial Falstaff. Butler doesn't add too much to Stoick, but neither does he distract. Inappropriate and unnecessary celebrity voice casting has often been a distraction in the films of Dreamworks Animation, but that's not a problem here. 
 
The film gallops through its 98-minute running time, imparting lessons here and there, but mostly happy to tell the story of a boy and his dragon. The bottom line with How To Train Your Dragon is that it's served up a coherent, exciting and engaging three-act blockbuster, whose missteps are easily papered over by some wonderful action sequences.

For me it’s a 3 stars on 5. Go learn how to train your Dragon!!



The Story

Adapted from a book by Cressida Cowell , the film takes significant liberties with its source material, but starts at the same place. The older generation speaks with a thick Scottish brogue -- historically accurate, if delightfully disconcerting -- and preaches the old Viking ways.

Dragons besiege the island. Thus an annual coming-of-age ceremony involves a young lad or lady demonstrating their qualifications as a Viking by killing a fierce flying creature in battle. Hiccup is all too eager to begin training as a dragon-killer, hoping to prove his manliness, but his father is reluctant to put his soft, gentle son on the battle lines when he seems too gentle and awkward to survive.

Things change when Hiccup encounters a wounded dragon in the woods. Hiccup has been raised to believe that dragons are the mortal enemies of the Vikings, and are to be terminated with extreme prejudice whenever the opportunity presents itself. Yet when faced with an ideal situation to assert his Viking-hood and slay a deadly beast that is temporarily defenseless, he wavers. 
 
It's a life-changing moment, as Hiccup realizes it's not within his nature to kill another being. That quickly dawning, daunting self-awareness will affect forever his relationship with everyone he knows. Young Hiccup wants nothing more than to be a good Viking, just like his father Stoick, Hiccup's resolve is tested by his adolescent clumsiness and a sneaking suspicion that he may never be half the man that he imagines his father to be.



Business Analysis

Strong box office followed by blockbuster DVD action is assured.



Other Credits

(Deluxe color and Technicolor, widescreen, 3D); editors, Darren Holmes, Maryann Brandon; music, John Powell; production designer, Kathy Altieri; art director, Pierre-Olivier Vincent; visual effects supervisor, Craig Ring; head of character animation, Simon Otto; head of story, Alessandro Carloni; head of layout, Gil Zimmerman; character design, Nico Marlet; visual consultant, Roger Deakins; supervising sound designer (Dolby Digital/DTS/SDDS), Randy Thom; supervising sound editors, Thom, Jonathan Null; associate producer, Bruce Seifert; casting, Leslee Feldman. Reviewed at DreamWorks Animation, Glendale, March 11, 2010. Running time: 98 MIN. Reviewed at Imax, Wadala, Mumbai on 13th April 2010.

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