Climbing Higher Pictures

For an animated film, it’s hard work to be recognized these days. Between Pixar and the re-emergence of Disney’s 2D animation, not to mention Blue Sky Studios with their Ice Age franchise, there’s not a whole lot of room for new blood. Then you have the subject of Dragons, a creature which has still yet to have a truly great impact on the motion picture industry, and a group of younger actors who don’t bring with them the A-list clout of past animated features. How does it stand up? Find out below:

How to Train Your Dragon Review

By Ryan Hamelin

Movie Grade: A

It doesn’t take long for you to realize that you’re witnessing something special. I’m not sure if it’s the sarcastic opening voice-over, the epically staged dragon rampage, the wonderful character introductions, or the look on young Hiccup’s face when he realizes he may have finally succeeded in his dream of becoming a true warrior Viking by taking down the mystical Night Fury with a homemade slingshot. There’s a life and a vitality to the filmmaking here that goes far and beyond the energy contained within past Dreamworks Animation efforts, momentum which used to be generated by licensed music and A-list voice casts. What Dreamworks has always seemed to lack in their films are truly great stories, narratives which are strong enough to stand on their own without the trappings of pointless pop culture references.

Advertised as from the creators of Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon easily rises above the benchmark of even those monster hits. The level of animation alone is something that the company has never been able to achieve in the past, with Toothless, our hero’s dragon, being among the greatest key-frame animated achievements of all time. The way the dragon moves, gestures, and expresses emotion are brilliantly subtle and lifelike. You instantly find yourself wishing that beautiful creatures like this existed in our world, as having one for a friend and companion would be the epitome of true happiness.

The world itself has an art style and a care to it that you’d expect from a Pixar film. It may not be going for realism, yet every element has a weight and gravity that redefines what we expect from an computer animation. The one detriment I noted was that the voice work is not 100% in tune with every movement of a character’s mouth, but it only takes a few minutes to get used to, as they were clearly not going for an Avatar level of facial capture. Speaking of Avatar, I think James Cameron can afford to feel a hint of jealousy when he eventually gets around to seeing the film. The flying sequences here put their predecessors to shame, and may be the closest movie audiences have ever come to experiencing the rushing speed of flight. I’m sure that they’d be wonderful to behold in 3D, but even in the 2D press screening, the feeling of awe was all encompassing.

At a certain point you run out of other ways to praise the film. The writing is top notch, even when it veers into camp and cheese, as the scenes themselves and the construction of the narrative hold up so well. From the opening moments, the pace never lets up, and you almost wish they had allowed moments of downtime so the audience could bask in the glow of their fantasy world, despite how well the momentum continues to build. The score is sweeping and solid, providing an emotional backdrop which compliments the excellent overall sound design. The voice cast brings their characters to life with almost reckless abandon from Jay Baruchel’s awkward protagonist to his strong Viking father in Gerard Butler. Everything works, and everything helps to further tell the story. It feels right, no matter how you slice it, and that’s almost more important than wall to wall humor or a perspective that looks down on the children in its audience.

Now all of this might seem a little odd for those of you who have been following the promotional material for the film. The trailers are rather awful, and don’t represent the true scope of the movie. There are hints of the many amazing shots that pepper the final product, but they save all the best stuff for the film itself. Where Pixar is kind of the classical symphony style of animated masterpiece, How to Train Your Dragon is its rock and roll counterpart, complete with intense battle scenes and adrenaline fueled flying set pieces. There were 3 applause breaks during the screening I attended, and I’d only assume that the opening night crowd will respond just as positively. This is not only the best movie Dreamworks Animation has ever made, but it also slides ahead of several Pixar offerings in pure entertainment factor. Honestly, I’d go so far as to say that it’s the best dragon movie of all time as well, even as I hope for Peter Jackson to revolutionize the live action genre with the Temeraire franchise. For now, this is an incredibly promising start to the spring season, and looks to be a huge hit in the making. Do yourself a favor and strap in because this is one adventure you have to take.