A Jay Malone review of:
Directed By: Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (the guys behind the brilliant Lilo & Stitch)
Starring: The voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah
Hill
Run Time: 98 Minutes, though it feels like 10
Had I realized that the directors of this film were behind my favorite animated movie of all time (Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, for the record) I would have made it a point to see as a first run film, rather than procrastinating until the movie was in the $ 1.00 theater. As it stands, this movie hits on every imaginable level, and proves once again that Disney were beyond insane to dismiss Sanders over his handling of American Dog (aka Bolt). How To Train Your Dragon is everything a film should be, and if you’re not smiling ear to ear or have tears of joy throughout the film, your soul is withered and black, and I feel so, so sorry for you.
The Plot
Our story revolves around Hiccup (Baruchel) and his desire to make an important impact on his Viking village, a village that’s under constant attack by dragons. He’s clearly an outcast in every sense of the word – while every other Viking is aggressive, husky, and somewhat thickheaded, Hiccup is jumpy, thin, and brilliant. In short, he’s the exact opposite of his father, Stoick (Butler), who is also the chief of his village. Hiccup works as an assistant to Gobber (Ferguson) in the village’s smithy, and designs a type of catapult / crossbow used to take down the most vicious dragons of the raiding party. During the initial raid, Hiccup fires his catabow and succeeds in ensnaring a dragon – only no one’s around to see it. This leads to Hiccup finding the downed Night Fury, freeing him, and realizing that in the crash his tail fin was damaged. Being a kind Viking, Hiccup designs a synthetic tail fin attachment and learns more about dragons through his interaction with the Night Fury, who he names Toothless, due to his ability to retract his teeth when breathing fire. Hiccup uses his newfound knowledge base to advance through dragon training, where Astrid (Ferrera) finds out Hiccup has struck up a friendship with a dragon. More dragon breeds are introduced, the Vikings become friends with the dragons, and there’s epic dogfights and ground battles that make for an overall excellent film. Hiccup proves he’s a great Viking.
The Good
It’d be a lot easier to say “everything” and be done with it, but I’ll try and get more in depth. Being an animated feature, it’s necessary from the word go to have great character design, and this movie does, in spades. The voice acting is almost perfect throughout, with the most exceptional performances from Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera and Jonah Hill, whose performance as Snotlout was so well done I had to do a double take when I saw his name on IMDB as the performer. In fact, I’m still not convinced it’s THE Jonah Hill, because the performance was so far away from his normal voice and acting talents. The score throughout the film is stirring. It plays so perfectly against what’s happening on the screen that you notice when the music isn’t playing. The final trial that Hiccup faces during the films closing scenes are both poignant and touching, and really show the symbiotic nature of the characters. Finally, the plot lines of a boy and his pet and a boy and his father hit especially home for me – sure, it’s a cartoon at the end of the day about Vikings and dragons, but there’s enough real life there to tug at the heart strings.
The Not So Good
Not much, truth be told. Jay Baruchel’s voice does get a little grating at times, but it’s a perfect fit for Hiccup’s character, so it’s hard to really say it’s a poor performance. I think the big bad of the film was a bit forced, and his style didn’t exactly match the rest of the film, but overall it was a satisfying movie, and I’m being nitpicky.
Should You See It?
Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. This has been a good year for animated features, with Toy Story 3 out in June, and How To Train Your Dragon only adds to 2010’s Animated pedigree. To be honest, I enjoyed HTTYD more than Toy Story 3. It hadn’t been since the first Iron Man that I walked out of a theater with my cheeks hurting from smiling so much. As many films as I’ve seen this year and I’ve enjoyed, I can’t say I liked one more than How To Train Your Dragon – it’s my film of the year for 2010.
The Verdict
100%, beyond a shadow of a doubt, 5 out of 5 Viking helmets.
Jay Malone currently lives in a cupboard under the stairs, much like Harry Potter. He has a wife, a son, and a dog that looks like Stitch. His favorite food is Korean spicy pork and would stab a man in the neck for a giant bowl of it. He also plays a lot of video games. I mean, a LOT. It’s a bit unsettling, really.
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