MyRating: YYYYYDirector: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
Voice: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
MPAA: Rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language
I never love DreamWorks' animated movies as much as I love Pixar's. The reason is because Pixar always has a stronger and more touching story (Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. & Up), while DreamWorks is more focusing on the young and fun side (Shrek, Madagascar & Kung Fu Panda). And for years, if we talk about a good and clever script, Dreamworks seems to fall behind Pixar. But with the release of How to Train Your Dragon, this maybe is about to change, because this movie is simply the best DreamWorks picture, EVER!
Hiccup is a young Viking boy, whose tribe has a long history of becoming dragon slayers. The hostility between his tribe and the dragons has already happened for many generations, due to the attacks from the dragons that destroying their village and looting their livestocks from time to time. Born in this eternal war, all the children in their tribe are trained to become dragon killers since their very young age, so that when the time is come, they are ready to do their own hunt. Even though his father is the chief of their tribe and a great warrior, Hiccup doesn't seem to have the trait to become a warrior like his father. And he is always becoming the joke by the entire village and his friends.
In order to prove himself, one night, in one of those massive attacks from the dragons, Hiccup shoots down one dragon, that happens to be the most fearful dragon by his tribe. When he searches for the place where the dragon fell and finds the dragon trapped powerlessly, he is about to kill the beast with his knife for the very first time. But at that time he realizes, that he will never become a dragon slayer. And that is the point where he learns that everything they believe about the dragons for generations is not what it is supposed to be.
This is a great movie with a lot of fun and a lot of heart. The script is clever, which keeps you interested from the beginning and never lets you go, the dialogs are brilliant, and the characters are lovable. The dragons, with many different bizarre kinds and killer abilities, are so amusing to watch that makes you love to hate them. And the interactions between the characters - the father & the son, the boy & his friends, and the boy & the dragon are heartfelt, funny and touching, that will surely warm your heart. Needless to say, the animation and the 3D are also good. The climax battle scene is so much fun and intense, and it closes the film with a perfect score.
This is a movie that you must watch and cherish every single moment of it. (MJ)
