How to Train Your Dragon

Plot: A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHUhygdAZIw

Clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLGUSt7h0f0

Starring: Jay Baruchel (Good Neighbors & Tropic Thunder), Gerard Butler (The Bounty Hunter & Gamer), Emmy nominee Craig Ferguson ("The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" & "Futurama"), Emmy winner America Ferrera ("Ugly Betty"), Jonah Hill (Get Him to the Greek & Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Marmaduke & "Party Down"), 2X Emmy nominee Kristen Wiig ("SNL" & "Bored to Death"), David Tennant ("Single Father" & Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).

Written by: the directors & Annie Winner William Davies ("Flushed Away") based on the novel by Cressida Cowell

Directed by: 2X Annie nominee Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch & "Stitch!") & Oscar nominee Chris Sanders (Lilo & Stitch & "Stitch!")

Review: I want a pet dragon so bad after seeing this movie. Toothless was so cute and reminded me of Spyro. The story and plot is pretty straight forward: An underdog character rises up out of obscurity to save everybody and gain their respect. It was enjoyable though. The cinematography was beautiful, the action scenes were fun to watch, the dragon designs were very creative (I want a little beanie of each one), and the voice-over acting was strong. Was I powerfully moved? Well, I got teary-eyed twice, but I'm a sap so that probably doesn't count. Was I laughing hysterically? No, but I chuckled a few times. Nice movie for kids though not under five because the dragons will scare them. Enjoyable time filler for adults.

Fun Facts: David Tennant, who narrated the How to Train Your... Audio Books, also narrates some features on the film's website and voices a cameo role. If one pays close attention during the new "galactic" DreamWorks/SKG opening animation, a Night Fury (presumably Toothless) can be seen speeding past the stars behind the logo. When Hiccup reads the Dragon Manual, the writings in it are actually in plain English cryptographed into runes. With a small effort, you can read what Hiccup is saying. Aside from the DreamWorks Logo, there are no opening or title credits. The appearance and personality of Toothless was inspired by cats, dogs, and horses. In the book of How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup doesn't have a love interest, and Astrid doesn't exist in the book. The sounds of Toothless (the Night Fury) are a combination of various sounds, including the voice of Supervising Sound Designer Randy Thom, elephants, horses, tigers, and even domestic cats. The sounds the Terrible Terrors make, including growling, are actually based upon a purebred Chihuahua named Paco from Cottage Grove, Oregon. Nia Hansen, a sound designer at Skywalker Sound, contacted his owners after seeing a video of Paco on YouTube, and Paco was paid $100 for his voice work. The hammer used by Stoick bears a strong resemblance to the mythological hammer Mjolnir wielded by Thor. The Night Fury dragon species was originally going to be more wolf-like in appearance. Instead, a DreamWorks employee's computer screen saver of a black leopard inspired the film's creators to make Toothless more feline in appearance. The name of Berk is an actual word, A UK slang meaning "An idiot, in an affectionate sense." Many of the flying scenes are clearly inspired by combat and aerobatic aircraft. Toothless performs many recognizable aerobatic maneuvers such as loop, snap rolls and combinations.

Rating:

Writing-B Nothing new, but still a very interesting story

Voice Over Acting-A

Directing-A

Music-C

Cinematography-A

Editing-B

Animation-A

"Stamped Out but worth seeing"