Despite its use of a flying, mythological reptile in place of a more conventional animal sidekick, there was every risk that “How To Train Your Dragon” would end up as just another soulless animated cash in on a successful children’s book.
Thankfully, this adaptation of Cressida Cowell’s novel is both charming and heart warming, even if you’re on the wrong side of middle school.
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a young Viking determined to be useful in the fight against dragons that plague his village. He hopes to prove himself the worthy son of Stoik the Vast (Gerard Butler), the village chief and a real Viking’s Viking.
During a nighttime battle, Hiccup inadvertently captures a Night Fury, a menacing breed of dragon (which looks surprisingly adorable) that no one has seen and lived to tell the tale. Instead of killing it, which most Vikings would do, Hiccup names it Toothless and earns its trust.
Fans of the eight novels in Crowell’s series will notice many major departures in this big-screen adaptation. Setting those aside, the film is engagingly animated and entertaining.
Baruchel seems to be in everything lately, but his nasal whine and deadpan sarcasm make for an ideal angsty wimp of a Viking like Hiccup. America Ferrera was another keen selection. She is both smolderingly sexy and self-assured, a fine choice to portray Astrid, a young Vikingess.
REVIEWED THIS WEEK* Movie: “How to Train Your Dragon.”* Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera and Jonah Hill.* Rating: PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language.* Synopsis: Hiccup, a young Viking with a distinctly un-Viking heart, captures and befriends a dragon. Through their budding friendship, he realizes dragons aren’t the deadly enemies his people believe them to be.
I was confused, however, by the use of Butler and Craig Ferguson to voice the film’s primary adult Vikings. With their intense Scottish brogue, they give the impression that villagers are required to audit a post-adolescent accent training course to earn their horned helmets. Other than that, they were excellent choices as well.
Visually, the film is distinctly Dreamworks, which I’ve always thought of as a poor man’s Pixar. Still, it’s hard to argue with the beauty and thrill of dragonback flights above the waves and through lush forests and lava-filled caverns. The film comes in 2D and 3D varieties, but the 3D moments were hardly worth the higher ticket price.
Co-writers/directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders partner up here for the first time since 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch,” and it’s hard to understand why it’s taken them so long to pair up again. They handily avoided numerous pitfalls that could have turned this into a lukewarm boy-befriends-animal-and-meets-girl tale.
Instead, it’s a memorable adventure about a truly touching friendship, finding acceptance and defying expectations I was happy to be surprised by. And with seven more novels waiting in the wings, I’m looking forward to the next flight.