Dragon drags in more than childish thrills

I’m not going to lie. I went to see How to Train Your Dragon because of its advertised overt cuteness.

I lack a Y chromosome and thus I will always pass up epic roaring Krakens for cats (females tend to inherently equate any kind of cute animal with cats and puppies). 

This time, cats paid off. 

Dreamworks’ latest animated foray afforded not only exceptional technical skill, but also roaring belly laughs, actually surprising plot developments, tears-in-the-eyes chick suspense, and a message that doesn’t ceaselessly beat audiences over the head. While it is certainly a kids’ film, it is no way unsophisticated or boring for those who don’t identify with such an age group. 

Loosely based on a British book series by Cressida Cowell, the film opens to the image of a foreboding Viking village perched atop a cliff next to the roaring ocean and the voice of a scrawny Viking teenager (who isn’t much of a Viking) aptly named Hiccup. Luckily for viewers, he is a witty conversationalist and keeps laughs rolling even through predictable plot development. 

His dad? Legendary dragon hunter Stoick the Vast. Unfortunately for Stoick, his son can’t swing an axe or lift any heavy weapons. This is extra unfortunate considering the living conditions on the lsle of Berk, as huge dragons attack the village nearly every day for a taste of sheep. Hiccup tries to help his fellow villagers in their fight against the dragons and, well, usually screws up. As such, he is not exactly lauded by the others. 

In order to earn their respect, he decides that he must kill a dragon—not just any dragon, but the one dragon that no one’s ever seen because it blends in with the night sky. Somehow he succeeds in capturing it, but in the climactic moment, he is unable to kill it and instead sets it free. 

Of course, he later befriends it when its tail is damaged and he ends up learning that dragons aren’t the scary monsters the Vikings thought they were. They like having their bellies rubbed, sharing, and generally being cute (like cats).

I don’t want to give important plot points away, but there are deception, lies, Viking anger, a really scary dragon, really cute dragons, and Hiccup and Toothless wind up having to save the day. 

Although only ninety minutes long, the film manages to include everything that should be in a kids’ film. It wasn’t too long, yet it produced a fully fleshed-out and exciting plot that everyone could relate to. 

The special effects were also flat-out amazing. I wanted to touch the boots. The dragon scales could have been in a science textbook. The hair looked like claymation at points but in a really rad way. Once, a character reaches towards the screen and he has freckles on his fingers. How is that for detail? The 3D enhances the movie but isn’t used for comedy. Especially when the dragons are flying, you feel like you are a part of the scene, up in the clouds, soaring. Sometimes they do go for the cheap thrills of fire coming out of the screen, but that’s to be  expected.  

All in all, this was an absolutely fantastic movie that I and everyone around me wholeheartedly enjoyed watching. A heart-warming ending sealed the deal and put tears in my sappy eyes. But the boys enjoyed it too; it had enough flames and gore and Vikings to keep them entertained.

The message? Don’t kill. Learn.