Movie Review
How to Train Your Dragon
Train Your Dragon poster
By Craig Younkin     Published March 25, 2010
US Release: March 26, 2010

Directed by: Peter Hastings
Starring: Christopher Mintz-Plasse , Gerard Butler , Jonah Hill , America Ferrera

PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language.
Running Time: 98 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $217,387,997
B
Dragon is as heartfelt as it is impressive to look at, a family film perfect for all ages.
“How to Train Your Dragon," or as I like to call it “That Viking is out of my League," is the second film in as many weeks where Jay Baruchel plays a scrawny nerd looking to find himself. It also happens to be infinitely more entertaining. He voices Hiccup, a hapless young Viking living in a village overrun by flying dragons. He longs to be like his great dragon-killing father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), and charm the likes of the beautiful Astrid (America Ferrara), with whom he is enrolled in dragon-battle training. While dragon-killing isn’t for him, he soon finds a particular knack for dragon-whispering, subduing the beasts with his wits and even making a friend in one that he names Toothless. He soon realizes the reason for why the dragons are attacking and tries to convince dad that the winged creatures really aren’t so bad after all.

Directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois have created a tremendous 3-D experience, setting the bar for animated 3-D much like “Avatar” set it for live-action. The action is thrilling stuff, especially the flying scenes between Hiccup and Toothless, which soar with a joyful vitality and pulse-pounding danger. And John Powell’s perfectly matched musical score only magnifies the great thrills you’ll get from them. What makes it even better is a touching story of friendship and following in the footsteps of one’s father. The animation looks great, from the large, bushy-haired Vikings to the comically goofy looking dragons. The voice cast is also well-matched. Baruchel has a wheezy comic charm, Craig Ferguson gets the best lines as the village blacksmith, and who better to voice a Viking than Gerard Butler. “Dragon” is as heartfelt as it is impressive to look at, a family film perfect for all ages.
Craig's Grade: B
Craig's Overall Grading: 340 graded movies
A10.9%
B41.8%
C31.8%
D15.3%
F0.3%
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