Now that the sequel is coming up in a few days, it’s time to review How to Train Your Dragon, otherwise known as One of My Favorite Animated Films of All Time. But that's just my opinion.
There’s a few common trends in most animated movies in recent years. The ‘liar revealed’ plot, the stupid fake out deaths that never fake anyone out, the awkward kid (usually with an unfitting voice), the misunderstanding that shatters a relationship and leads to a bunch of moping around, the pop culture references (excessively), the way kids talk using modern speech in a fantasy setting, and a whole lot of others. I just listed the main ones. How to Train your Dragon has some of that as well. The ‘liar revealed’ plot, the fake out death, the awkward kid, the misunderstanding, the moping, blah blah blah, whatever.
The formula has been done a million times, but somehow, this movie pulls it off in such a way that it doesn’t feel generic at all. It felt completely original and new. That’s not an easy thing to accomplish, especially with a worn out formula like this.
In case you haven’t seen it yet (if you haven’t, you need to), I’ll give a short description. There’s a town of vikings that constantly fight off dragons. They keep attacking, breathe fire, and are extremely dangerous, so naturally, they think they’re pure evil. The town’s entire culture is based on killing dragons. When the son of the leader of the vikings, named Hiccup, comes across a wounded Night Fury dragon, he finds that he can’t quite sum up the strength to kill it. So, the boy decides to study it, and eventually befriends it. He uses the knowledge he gains from the Night Fury to better understand the other types of dragons. He finds ways to nonviolently fend them off. This gets everyone’s attention, and I think you can kinda guess what happens from there.
One of many things that makes this movie so great is that it shows Hiccup learning and discovering facts about the dragons in detail, and takes its time to really let it all sink in. The movie shows the learning curve he goes through, and the pacing throughout was perfect. There wasn’t a single part that felt pointless, rushed, or forced.
Another perk to good pacing is showing the effect that the events have on each of the characters. Whatever they’re going through, whatever they’re feeling, it feels real. Genuine emotions are not always done as well in other animated films as it is in this one. Usually, they’re focused on pop cultural references, or some joke, or things that have no overall effect, like the Lorax. Wow, that was horrible.
Such strong emotional moments develop each character really well. Instead of a bad guy, it was just a father who didn’t know what to do with his son, not some jerk who just wanted death to everything. Instead of an obviously nerdy kid that tries to be hip and cool, it was an obviously nerdy kid that tried to keep true to himself while trying to get his father and everyone else to understand. The supporting characters were also very likeable and memorable. 3 dimensional characters are a part of what makes animated films like this so good.
Aside from the well executed story and great characters is the visual appeal. It looks fan-freaking-tastic. I’m glad I saw this in 3D at the theater. The flying sequences were unbelievable. Other movies just shove things in your face all the time, but this one did… something… that made it feel like you were riding the dragon with Hiccup. This was by far better 3D than Avatar had. Even if you don’t see it in 3D, it still looks excellent. It’s beautifully animated, and to be honest, it’s some of the best animation I’ve seen in my life. The soundtrack to accompany all of this was equally as beautiful. It fit the scenes perfectly.
Another thing I love is all the imagination the movie has. All the dragons are different, they act different, they each have special abilities, and a whole lot more. Attention to detail like this catches the imagination of any person, especially kids. And if you never wanted your own pet dragon as a kid, then what sort of trauma or midlife crisis are you going through now? What mental breakdowns are you experiencing? Or, even worse… how boring are you? I, personally, just wanted a dragon so I could have it eat and burn my enemies.
In conclusion, How to Train Your Dragon was, and still is, a spectacular movie. It's touching, has great characters, visuals, it's cute, funny, and has some pretty good action at the end. I love it, and can’t wait for the sequel. What do you think about it? Please feel free to comment!
FINAL RATING: 50 / 50
STORY: 5 / 5
VOICE ACTING: 5 / 5
CHARACTERS: 5 / 5
ANIMATION: 5 / 5
ACTION/ADVENTURE/COMEDY: 5 / 5
SOUNDTRACK: 5 / 5
TONE: 5 / 5
ENJOYABILITY: 5 / 5
REWATCH VALUE: 5 / 5
OWNING VALUE: 5 / 5
Don’t just give it a watch, get it on blu-ray, DVD, whatever. It’s worth it.
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