Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

Vikings, as a rule, are a hearty bunch. They'd rather crush heads than cradle them. Break hands rather than hold them. Rampage and plunder and battle rather than, say, recite poetry.

They make war, not love.

Which is why Hiccup, the scrawny protagonist of "How to Train Your Dragon," opening today, wants so desperately to bring down a dragon of his own. He lives in an old Viking village with new houses, new because fire-breathing dragons insist on frequently burning it down. Hiccup, with his teeny biceps and poor aim, can't even fight a Grunkle dragon or a Hideous Zippleback, much less a Monstrous Nightmare. His buddies, led by the fearless cutie Astrid, have a better chance at being a dragon slayer than Hiccup does. Heck, even one-legged, one-armed, one-toothed Gobber has a better chance.

It's doubly humiliating because Hiccup's dad, Stoick the Vast, is chief of the tribe. He kills dragons all the time and fears for his skinny son's safety.

Against all odds and the laws of physics, Hiccup ensnares a Night Terror dragon, the most fearsome of all. But when the time comes to strike the fatal blow, Hiccup's bloodlust deserts him.

He's more Dragon Whisperer than Dragon Slayer.

"For a minute he saw himself in the eyes of his enemy," explained co-director and co-writer Chris Sanders when I sat down with him and his directing and writing partner Dean DeBlois, "And that involuntary act of compassion is what ultimately sets in motion the domino effect that will solve the conflict and change the world."

The times, they are a’changin’  for the dragon-battling ways of the Vikings. Hiccup’s unlikely friendship will challenge the old ways, and lead to a greater menace for humankind and dragonkind alike.

Stoick the Vast has...issues...with this. A loving father, he uses his strength to protect his son and his people. “He goes through one of the biggest changes in the film,” said Sanders, “Because he grows to understand there are more types of strength than the ones the Vikings had always believed in. He has to broaden his view of what strength is.”

The laughs in the movie come from less than stellar dragon battles, but the heart comes from Hiccup’s relationship with his father. Like Viking oarboats in the night, they just can’t connect with each other. Stoick awkwardly tries to talk to his son. Hiccup, youthfully, feels unheard.

“It’s the universal story,” said DeBlois, “You could extract the father son story and apply that to just about any scenario in any time or place. The truisms of some situation outside that’s escalating tensions between father and son became the building blocks for our plot.”

The movie, unlike many kid’s flicks, respects the father. He is never painted as mean or stupid, just as someone who doesn’t understand and gets frustrated.  “You realize he’s being protective of his son,” said Sanders, “It’s not that he doesn’t like him. He’s right. If he lets his son get out, he’s gonna get killed. So you understand why he’s like he is.”

The film features a new animated animal, the Night Terror that Hiccup incorrectly names Toothless. Deadly and yet friendly, Toothless is animated with a sleek style that is likey to make him one of our favorite animated characters.

“Probably predominately obvious about his animation is that he feels very feline,” said Sanders, “The lead animator bought a cat a few months before we started to film. But one of the other things we referenced when we were building the model is wolves and black panthers. Black panthers for the look that black sort of silhouette and that vibe you get. But also with wolves, that incredible icy stare that looks right through you.”

Beyond the character of Toothless, the 3D animation at times soars. Literally. “It really is the wish fulfillment of the whole movie,” said DeBlois, “To not only be able to not only crawl on the back of a dragon and take a flight but also to share that experience with somebody who previously would have killed the thing on sight. And I think that moment of wonder has so much romance built into it without being overtly sappy. It just really is the fulfillment of that wish…what would it be like to be on the back of this thing, flying up, turned every which way up in the clouds?”

The characters are voiced by some big names. Jay Baruchel (She’s Out of My League) is Hiccup. Gerard Butler brings Stoick the Vast to life, and Craig Ferguson is his friend Gobber. Hiccup’s dream woman, Astrid, is voiced by America Ferrera. Accents get a little confusing, but the emotion of the characters comes through well.

Gentle, affectionate humor drives the film. There’s none of the wink-wink, nudge-nudge jokes that so often bring a level of inappropriateness to kid’s films. It’s rated PG and should be considered fine for elementary school kids.

How to Train Your Dragon is a fun, funny movie full of heart that should have Disney and Disney’s Pixar looking over their shoulder.

Enjoy it. I sure did.