3D isn’t that big a deal guys. (Unless you’re Avatar.)
I’m already on record for saying I love animated films. Kiddie films if you will.
So it should be no surprise that I looked forward to this, and while I agree with the consensus that this is a worthwhile film it is by no means the classic some are describing it as.
I think certain critics have grown tired of the disparity between the quality of Pixar films and EVERYTHING non-Pixar, that they have been looking to anoint something as the best thing Pixar haven’t been responsible for.
Open Season, Shark Tale, Madagascar 2 and Shrek 3 will do that to you.
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In a small Viking village beset by dragons lives a young boy named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel). His father is Stoick (SP?) (Gerard Butler), and Hiccup is the apprentice to local armourer Gobber (Craig Ferguson), who would be in battle himself were it not for his missing arm and leg.
Hiccup dreams of one day becoming a famous dragon slayer, just like his dad, only he is too weedy and nervous, something his father is aware of and embarrassed by.
In a desperate attempt to be noticed by both his Father and a young girl named Astrid (America Ferrera) Hiccup actually manages to hit a dragon with a lucky shot, but of course no-one sees him and more importantly no-one believes him.
Desperate to prove himself to all Hiccup goes looking for the evidence of his kill, only much to his surprise he finds that his target was only winged. In a tense scene Hiccup decides not to kill the wounded shiny black axylotl-looking beast, and instead frees it.
From this point on he swears off dragon killing.
So of course Hiccup gets home to find that his Dad, against his better judgment has enrolled him in the local dragon killing training session, held by none other than Gobber. There, alongside other similar aged, but far more brutal and bloodthirsty teens (in a PG 13 way of course), Hiccup is taught that dragons are to be feared, and when in a position to do so will ALWAYS go for the kill.
Having only recently finding this not to be the case Hiccup is skeptical, and decides he must find out exactly why his encounter did’nt end with him gone and the dragon reaching for a toothpick.
With his Father and most of the village’s adults away on a voyage to find the main dragon’s lair and eradicate the menace, Hiccup consults the good old “Encyclopedia of Dragons”, only he can’t find one which describes “his”, and it seems that the only way to deal with such beasts is continually “kill on sight”.
So Hiccup goes back to his dragon, who for some reason he has named Toothless despite clear evidence to the contrary, and he identifies that without fixing the dragon’s tail, he is a sitting duck, so to speak.
There are some really good scenes with Hiccup and Toothless getting to know and become comfortable with each other, (and thankfully the dragon doesn’t talk and spout catchphrases), and the early flight sequences are really cool.
Also back at the village Hiccup is able to use some of his “pet” knowledge to subdue the ferocious beasts used for training purposes, and with his new skills he becomes a local celeb “Dragon Whisperer”, and ultimately wins the “Class of 1256 Dragon Slayer of the year” award, which gives him the privilege of killing an actual dragon in front of the whole village.
Things get more complicated when love interest Astrid discovers his secret, and more complicated still once his Father realizes that he can use Hiccup’s knowledge to track down the big Daddy dragon.
So Hiccup must decide if he is a dragon killer, or to go public with his knowledge that dragons can be quite harmless and tame.
What might he choose? Hint; this is still a PG film.
Final Rating – 7 / 10. Definitely more intense than most animated films, I think 11 + will get a lot out of this. (15 + will sneak into Kick-Ass.)
