Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

Less than a month after the release of the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, Disney has released yet another “real-world” version of a beloved animated product. This time out, the 2010 release How to Train Your Dragon is appropriated as a non-animated epic. Surprisingly, the fun continues and the new version proves to be every bit and entertaining as its predecessor.

The film tells the tale of young Hiccup (played by Mason Thames), who lives on the isle of Berk, where his father Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his role from the animated version) oversees a Viking village that is plagued by raids from a variety of dragons, including a dreaded “Night Fury” dragon. During the latest attack on the village, the Night Fury is injured and Hiccup befriends the creature, naming him Toothless.

As the bond between Hiccup and Toothless grows, their unlikely pairing leads to the reevaluation of traditional Viking attitudes towards their longtime nemeses as the two friends must now fight to keep both Vikings and dragons safe from a threat that may just destroy both communities unless they work together.

Writer/director Dean DeBlois, who also directed the original animated version of the film (as well as two of its subsequent sequels), makes his feature-length live-action directorial debut here. Working from his own script, DeBlois manages to infuse the film with the same excitement and wonder that were present in its animated counterpart. There is something somewhat astonishing when a film makes a ficitonal character, such as Toothless the dragon, as sympathetic and realistic as this film does. It proves a testament to the work of the filmmaker at the helm as well as those seeing that vision through the entire process.

As Hiccup, Mason Thames is the focal point of the film – though he does share the spotlight with the CGI Toothless – and manages to hold his own against fine performances from the likes of Butler and Nick Frost (who plays the village blacksmith). When paired alongside his rival, and romantic interest, Astrid (Nico Parker), Thames shines as a coming-of-age leading man. So to does Parker, who easily steals several scenes from costar Thames along the way.

Mason Thames in “How to Train Your Dragon.”

Crisp and quick editing provided by Wyatt Smith keeps the film moving at a brisk pace, allowing the audience to appreciate the beautiful way Bill Pope’s cinematography captures the mesmerizing production design of Dominic Watkins that helps breathe life into the animated world brought to life.

While the original film spawned two theatrical sequels as well as a direct-to-video offshoot, it remains to be seen if the new iteration will enjoy such longevity. But, if the newest How to Train Your Dragon is any indication as to the direction the series may take moving forward, it would appear that there may be a few bright spots awaiting filmgoers in the not too distant future.

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Mike Tyrkus

Editor in Chief at CinemaNerdz.com

An independent filmmaker, co-writer and director of over a dozen short films, the Editor in Chief of CinemaNerdz.com has spent much of the last three decades as a writer and editor specializing in biographical and critical reference sources in literature and the cinema, beginning in February 1991 reviewing films for his college newspaper. He was a member of the Detroit Film Critics Society, as well as the group's webmaster and one-time President for over a decade until the group ceased to exist. His contributions to film criticism can be found in Magill's Cinema Annual, VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever (of which he was the editor for nearly a decade until it too ceased to exist), the International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers, and the St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (on which he collaborated with editor Andrew Sarris). He has also appeared on the television program Critic LEE Speaking alongside Lee Thomas of FOX2 and Adam Graham, of The Detroit News. He currently lives in the Detroit area with his wife and their dogs.

@miketyrkus

Mike Tyrkus

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