Review of How to Train Your Dragon (2010) by Halfwelshman — 26 Nov 2011

How to Train Your Dragon puts shame to lesser animated films. It's so lovingly crafted, from it's beautiful animation to the pitch-perfect script flawlessly performed by the vocal talent, to John Powell's rich, Celtic-inspired score.

The casting is perfect, but of particular note is Jay Baruchel, who makes our unlikely hero Hiccup an extremely relatable protagonist, America Ferrera who packs so much attitude into battle-maiden Astrid's every line that you can almost hear her daring you to underestimate her prowess on the battlefield, and Craig Furguson, who's just plain fun as the grizzled, wise-cracking old trainer Gobber.

Despite the talent of the actors, the real star of the film isn't a person at all, but an animated dragon. "Toothless" is a real triumph of animation - not since Wall-E has a mostly-silent computer-animated character been so easy to read, his every movement and slightest change in expression communicating to the audience exactly what he is feeling and thinking.

The dragons in general are extremely well handled - the designers and animators have managed to pull off a range of creatures that are recognisable, but at the same time original, cartoony, yet still believable, a work of fantasy, but somehow grounded in some semblance of reality.

Even with all of these stunning elements, How to Train Your Dragon could have still fallen short, as in the end, it comes down to one thing - the story. Luckily, it succeeds on this front too - it's just a good old-fashioned fable with a timeless moral - don't judge a book by it's cover.

It's also a coming-of-age story, a comment on father-son relationships and a warning against humanity's tendency to destroy that which it does not understand. How to Train Your Dragon is so much more than an animated family feature film.

It's engaging, original and expertly crafted in every aspect. It manages to comment on serious issues on quite a profound level without ever becoming preachy. And of course it's a feast for the eyes, ears and heart.

With features like Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs.Aliens and How to Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks Animation are fast becoming very serious contenders for Pixar's crown...