Anyway, the film was very enjoyable indeed. The story is a classic misfit-comes-good gig: young viking is frustrated at not being given the chance to prove himself to his dragon-slaying peers, yet ends up playing a vital role in building bridges in dragon/viking relations and eventually becomes a hero. A simple, classic tale then, but it's a heck of a lot of fun. Let's face it, dragons and vikings are COOL, so what's not to like?
The relationship between our intrepid hero Hiccup, and his dragon Toothless, is very well portrayed and packs a surprisingly emotional punch, as does Hiccup's relationship with his father (there's no doubt this is a kids' film, but there's perhaps a few themes that are aimed at the more discerning older viewer). Toothless himself is an amusing creature, and the cause of much of the film's humour. The story moves at a good pace, with plenty of 'action' sequences to keep things ticking over. The climax is somewhat predictable (like I said, it's a film made for a young demographic) yet is pleasingly epic and handled well.
The soundtrack is one of the film's genuine surprises - some lovely classical compositions in the mix. Anyway, How to Train Your Dragon is well worth a look if you're stuck for something to watch at the cinema.
5 comments:
I couldn't agree with you more. The thing that I enjoyed about Dragon is that it was able to be fun on all levels. The makers didn't try to throw in adult jokes so that there was something for everyone to enjoy - it was an all around, enjoyable film.
We saw it recently and I found myself enjoying the film overall. Definitely a lot more going on plot-wise than your standard "kid's film" but with enough fun to keep the younger ones interested. The VA was also a definite plus.
All in all it was a movie for kids, so i probably watched it with the wrong expectations. The way Hiccup and Toothless become friends and the climax were way too corny for my taste. But again it was made for a young audience.
What put me off the most was the way the dragons were pictured. The Night Terror looked like a manga cat, and the others were looking like a hippo mated with a giraffe, a pug or a crocodile. I just missed at least some of the dignity fictional or mythological dragons have.
The Soundtrack is quite good, I agree. And voice actors were chosen wisely, especially Craig Ferguson as Gubber.
As kids film I would give 7/10.
As movie in general 3/10.
You, sir, have excellent taste. I loved the movie and the soundtrack is, as you said, a pleasant surprise. Can't wait for it to come out on DVD. It'll be one of the few movies I buy the second it comes out...
What couch?
Yeah one of the better films so far this year and even the 3D elements added to the visual appeal quite nicely (really only works in fully CG animated films IMO).
The story is very predictable but that didn't matter int he long run. I was kinda hoping they had an explanation to why all the adults had Scottish accents and the kids had Merkin ones - like when they slay a dragon their accent changes or something, but that was a minor irk.
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