Title: How to Train Your Dragon
Studio: DreamWorks Animation
Directors: Dean DeBois, Chris Sanders
Actors: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill
As I’ve said many times before, DreamWorks is a very hit and miss animation studio. They bounce around from movie to movie, unleashing something amazing like Kung Fu Panda and Shrek one moment, and Over the Hedge and Monsters Vs Aliens the next. Walking into How to Train Your Dragon, I was met with the sudden urge to hold my breath, murmur something along the lines of, “Pixar wouldn’t fuck this up”, and then proceed to take my seat. The film started, and I exhaled.
Relax, film-goers. You’re going to love this.
Well, more accurately, if you have little offspring, they are going to absolutely pollute their Pull-Ups over this thing. Hell, you might too – if that’s your thing.
Dragon tells us the story of Hiccup, an awkward, young Viking who is a far cry from his town of rough, dragon-killing Vikings who never let him forget how much of a disappointment he is. Desperate for his father’s approval (and the town, in general), Hiccup makes it his mission to kill his first dragon and prove his worth. When his net-launching machine finally captures a dragon, he follows the trail into the woods to slay the beast. But, reluctant to actually kill the dragon when the moment finally comes, the boy, instead, forms a bond with the beast which pretty much sets up the rest of the film.
“I knew that already from the trailer”, you say. Fair enough. But what you probably didn’t know is that this flick is actually worth seeing. DreamWorks could have easily just made a movie showing a kid riding a dragon, slapped on some cool effects, and then sat back and waited for the parent-dollars to roll in. But this time around, they actually threw in some character depth (just for shits and giggles). With daddy-issues abound, and a seemingly realistic owner-pet relationship between Hiccup and his dragon (about as realistic as a dragon relationship could be, I suppose), Dragon takes DreamWorks a step closer to actually being an animation studio which prioritizes characters over spectacle – though this film contains plenty of both. And it’s that sweet spot that’ll add a couple of zeros to their box office totals.
Speaking of inflating box office totals, I can only imagine how much money the 3D version of this film is going to rake in. The film features fantastic flight and battle sequences that were great in 2D, so I’m guessing IMAX is going to be mind blowing (let me know in the comments). In the non-action scenes, the animation is still smooth and great to look at.
But, for all the things that the film does right, there are some definite areas where they screwed up. The humour throughout the film rarely connects. Side characters (Hiccup’s annoying Viking peers) are all smack-worthy, with the only thing memorable about them being how much you want to smack them. Also, a lot of the charm of, say, DreamWorks’ far superior, Kung Fu Panda, is absent in this film – despite their obvious best efforts.
But kids won’t care. They’ll simply be ecstatic to imagine themselves flying on the backs of dragons and kicking ass. But be honest: you’d kill to do that too.
As I’ve said many times before, DreamWorks is a very hit and miss animation studio. They bounce around from movie to movie, unleashing something amazing like Kung Fu Panda and Shrek one moment, and Over the Hedge and Monsters Vs Aliens the next. Walking into How to Train Your Dragon, I was met with the sudden urge to hold my breath, murmur something along the lines of, “Pixar wouldn’t fuck this up”, and then proceed to take my seat. The film started, and I exhaled.
Relax. You’re going to love this.
Well, more accurately, if you have little offspring, they are going to absolutely pollute their Pull-Ups over this thing. Hell, you might too – if that’s your thing.
Dragon tells us the story of Hiccup, an awkward, young Viking who is a far cry from his town of rough, dragon-killing Vikings who never let him forget how much of a disappointment he is. Desperate for his father’s approval (and the town, in general), Hiccup makes it his mission to kill his first dragon and prove his worth. When his net-launching machine finally captures a dragon, he follows the trail into the woods to slay the beast. But, reluctant to actually kill the dragon when the moment finally comes, the boy, instead, forms a bond with the beast which pretty much sets up the rest of the film.
“I knew that already from the trailer”, you say. Fair enough. But what you probably didn’t know is that this flick is actually worth seeing. DreamWorks could have easily just made a movie showing a kid riding a dragon, slapped on some cool effects, and then sat back and watched for the parent-dollars to roll in. But this time around, they actually threw in some character depth (just for shits and giggles). With daddy-issues abound, and a seemingly realistic owner-pet relationship between Hiccup and his dragon (about as realistic as a dragon relationship could be, I suppose), Dragons takes DreamWorks a step closer to actually being an animation studio which prioritizes characters over spectacle – though this film contains plenty of both. And it’s that sweet spot that’ll end a couple of zeros to their box office totals.
Speaking of inflating box office totals, I can only imagine how much money the 3D version of this film is going to rake in. The film features fantastic flight and battle sequences that were great in 2D, so I’m guessing IMAX is going to be mind blowing (let me know in the comments). In the non-action scenes, the animation is still smooth and great to look at.
But, for all the things that the film does right, there are some definite areas where they screwed up. The humour throughout the film rarely connects. Side characters (Hiccups annoying Viking peers) are all smack-worthy, with the only thing memorable about them being how much you want to smack them. Also, a lot of the charm of, say, DreamWorks’ far superior, Kung Fu Panda, is absent in this film – despite their obvious best efforts.
But kids won’t care. They’ll simply be ecstatic to imagine themselves flying on the backs of dragons and kicking ass. But be honest: you’d kill to do that too.
