Review 314: How to Train Your Dragon
Based on the book series How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup's world is turned upside
The film also has many elements that have all been done before e.g. the nerdy underdog who becomes the hero (Hiccup), the prejudice parent who will never listen (Hiccup's dad Stoick (Gerard Butler)), the misunderstanding that will break them up and just have them arguing, the hiding of the pet so no one will see it.
Yet the film manages to subvert lots those tropes and put a fresh . I think this is mostly thanks to the films pacing and the characters, which are so well crafted it's paced in way thats just right so that every time something happens you see how it effects the characters, when you see Hiccup learn something about Toothless you see it sink in, when the characters are happy they feel genuinely happy, when they are jealous, they really feel jealous and when they are heartbroken you feel how heartbroken they are
As a result we get to know the characters and understand their motives. In doing so we understand the situations they are in and hope it will turn out well in the end and it's not rushed.
When you set aside all the movies cliches it's a very simple story of maturation, friendship and seeing the world in a different light.
Friendship: Much of the film revolves around the friendship between Hiccup and Toothless, of course the whole plot point about their friendship being discovered has been done before but the because the film is paced so well, we get to spend time with them, therefore get to know them and as a result we really feel for them and it's hard not to like.
Maturation: Another large part of How to Train Your Dragon focuses on Hiccups journey, he goes from being just a kid to being becoming an actual Viking, again we've seen that story before but this time it feels genuine, because you see the pressure he's going though, he wants to make his father proud, but he also has to keep his friendship with Toothless a secret, so it's a pretty tricky and interesting dilemma.
Seeing the world in a different light: Once Hiccup encounters Toothless, he finds that not all is what they seem and the dragons are actually quite friendly and they are not as dangerous as everyone makes them out to be. But the question is, How does he convince the rest of the tribe to see the same way he does?
Writer/Directors: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois animation direction is precise, the animation is dazzling, the production design is amazing (they created a whole Viking civilisation), the score by John Powell is beautiful, the character design is staggering (they created all these dragons, all of whom are different sizes, shapes, all have their strength and weaknesses, even their own personalities). The flying scenes are amazing (they literally take you out of the movie and onto the back of the dragon, you really feel the effect that you get when a the dragon flies up or down and turns), the scenery is breathtaking, it's well paced, the action is exciting, the suspension is excellent, the humour is funny and well handled, it has an odd and touching charm to it and it has an great overall sense of scale and epic feel.
The voice acting is superb all round, Jay Baruchel is incredibly likeable as Hiccup, he's clever, brilliant, rebellious, determined and sarcastic. All these things make him a social outcast, however when he meets Toothless, he suddenly goes through a change, realises that what he has been told is not exactly accurate and finds harmless ways to fight them off.
Gerard Butler is hysterical as Stoick the Vast, Hiccup's father, he basically represents everything that's Viking, he's immensely strong, utterly fearless and a fierce warrior. He doesn't understand Hiccup as they have little in common. However as you watch the film you can see the turmoil he's going through with trying to love his son/hate his son/live wit his son. He essentially goes back and fourth like a normal human being would and not just and one dimensional character. He's not a bad guy, he's a human being like we all are, who just happens to have a prejudice but it's a prejudice you can understand (he hates dragons because they terrorise Burke and take the peoples sheep and kill people) that doesn't mean it doesn't break his heart when he has to disown Hiccup.
America Ferrera is awesome as Astrid Hofferson, she is essentially the teenage embodiment of the Viking, she's striking, tough, energetic, competitive and determined. Hiccup has the hots for her but she doesn't fall for him that easily however over time they grow to quite like each other, she's the kind of girl who likes people not being afraid of her. Also her relationship with Hiccup is quite interesting it's purely a love story, they look out for each other, they confide in each other and in more ways than one become team mates.
Craig Ferguson is also very good here playing Gobber the Belch, a close friend of Stoick and a seasoned warrior who trains Hiccup, Astrid and the other recruits. He's not exactly the sentimental type about teens and sees them as expendable, except for Hiccup whom he's quite fond of. He also acts as a bridge Hiccup and Stoick. Fans of Ferguson's comedy will recognise that of the funny moments involving Gobber are based on Ferguson's comic routines which mostly take a really dark situation and turn it in a way thats almost a punchline - which gives some good laughs - which is nice.
Other comedic highlights in the film are Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs Ingerman, a nervous and frightened Viking trainee who has a great knowledge of Role-playing game and an inexhaustible arsenal of facts, Jonah Hill as Snotlout Jorgenson an overconfident, brash and fairly unintelligent Viking trainee who has an interest in Astrid and T. J. Miller and Kristen Wiig as Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston who are kinda thugish and foul tempers. They overall bring some different and funny moments.
Even David Tennant has a cameo as a Viking named Spitelout.
How to Train Your Dragon is an exciting, funny and thoughtful Dreamworks offering and I can't wait to see the sequel.
Please comment and subscribe, 5/5.
The Anonymous Critic.
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