February 8, 2011: How to Train Your Dragon
How to Train Your Dragon is an animated film about a remote Viking community hundreds of years ago, plagued by constant dragon attacks. For generations, youngsters have been trained as warriors, to kill dragons in battle. One meek and gentle kid, whose father happens to be one of the most fearsome warriors in the vllage, doesn’t want to grow up to kill dragons, that’s just how it is. Breaking from conformity is a recipe for being ridiculed by peers and having disappointed parents. Does this sound like an idea which has been beaten to death in movies for kids? Well, that’s because it has.
The kid, quite by chance, manages to bring down a “Night Fury” dragon during a battle, though nobody else notices this. He goes out to find this downed dragon and discovers that it is just as afraid as he is. I don’t think I’m spoiling the film for anyone, because of the title, when I say that he learns how to train dragons and figures out their motivations, and of course he becomes a hero in his village for it.
The story here is pretty heavy-handed, with the boy being forced to attend dragon killing classes which include the usual arrogant and hormonal teenage types as well as the hot girl who he wins over in the end. The Vikings have Scottish accents, which I suppose might or might not be historically accurate but does give a certain Shrek-like tone to the comedy. There are shades of King Kong at times, which I thought was perceptive and nice to see. The animation is stylized but pretty clean, and the story is no more contrived than that of Toy Story 3, so I might have liked to see an upset in the Best Animated Feature category in the Oscars (I didn’t), and the film was also nominated for its musical score, which covered a wide range from heavy action in battle to the tender scenes of mutual discovery between a boy and his dragon. How to Train Your Dragon is nothing special, but was perfectly fine typical entertainment for the kids.
Unremarkable animated story about personal growth.
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