Marionette-grade animation, trite storyline, irritating voice work.

2 out of 5.

Easily the best Dreamworks film, the serious construction yields a lot more emotional depth and interesting characters than Kung Fu Panda or Shrek, and the striking visuals and consistent adventure make up for a loss of humor. It is occasionally annoying and the repitition of lines from the beginning at the conclusion are grating, but on the whole it was an excellent film experience.
As far as Pixar comparisions I'd say it's on level with lower tier (A Bug's Life, Up,) and is better than Cars. However it never nears the height of films like Ratatouille, Wall-e, or Toy Story.

It's not repetition, you've got to hear it right.

I missed it the first time round.

They apply the same lines to different situations to elicit contrary meanings. I understand the purpose, and for a 6 year old it may be a clever way to reverse the ideas originally suggested. However to me it just felt like a simple, dull, formulaic way to accomplish this purpose. It is forgivable considering the film is at least somewhat geared towards children, and this blunt delivery of their notions would communicate well to them.

I think it's funny that witheberry considers the voice work irritating.

Try watching the movie. Then we can talk about Jay Bronchial's whiny, nasally, and sarcastic voice.

I did watch it, buddy. Also, I liked Jay's work.

Then why not write your own opinion instead of mocking the dissenters? We already have BKB for that.

Hello!

I liked the movie, especially Jay's voice work.

C

Strangely enough, I enjoyed "Jay Bronchial's whiny, nasally, and sarcastic voice" in the two other films I've seen him in this year - - however, in those cases they fit the character, be it the incarnation of The Trotsky or the über-nerd in She's Out Of My League. Jay's performance was outstanding in both of those surprisingly enjoyable films.

Nope... in HTTYD the voices never seem quite in synch with the creepy CGI characters. Their dead eyes reveal their citizenship in the Uncanny Valley, and the jarring voice work just cements the rift. Though it can hardly be considered his fault, Jay's voice in this film was definitely not an asset.

It was fitting with the outcast, confused, teenage character he was portraying. Especially as a contrast to the thick gruff voices of the vikings.

You can play "confused teenager" without having almost ever line be delivered sardonically. There are way too many instances where a simple statement comes off as a complaint.

People are different, you know.

Hmm....I thought it was clever since I didn't hear it the first time round and I've never or rather don't remember another movie ending like that.

But, it's adapted from a book and I think there are quite a few novels/graphic novels/comics that end that way.

Finally caught this on blu-ray and was pretty underwhelmed by it.

I have to imagine this was more impressive with the 3-D in theaters from a visual standpoint (the flying scenes in particular would have been thrilling to see in that format), but really there was nothing very interesting here story-wise for me. The characters and voice acting were by and large obnoxious as well.

Maybe my expectations were just too high after hearing so many good things about it?

5/10

B

it's true that is one of dreamworks best films, but I found HTTYD similar to Brad Bird's Iron Giant (both stories are developed following the same events, step by step), and some moments are quite nostalgic as the ones seen on ET, but overall a good film

A-


Dreamworks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon is the latest in the line of 3D animated films to hit the theatres. While only a handful of those has been released so far in near future we won’t see many major studio animated films that will not be shot in 3D. The results so far have been mixed as far as technology is concerned. It’s a tricky thing too. On the one hand 3D should not be gratuitous and just for the sake of it (unless we’re dealing with the latest instalment in the Final Destination series where pretty much the whole thing is just gratuitous). The “in your face” effects, if overdone, would just distract from the actual film. On the other hand, if the whole 3D aspect is very subtle the question can be posed – why 3D at all (I’m looking at last year’s Up here!). This is not to say that all 3D is unnecessary because this dilemma can’t be solved. It certainly can be. One needs to strike the right balance between the 3D effects, the depth perception it conveys and the film’s storyline. Both should not get into each others’ way, but instead complement each other. This has been achieved by some of the 3D releases so far and How to Train Your Dragon can now proudly claim to be one of them. Oh, it’s a very good movie too.

Dreamworks Animations has always been the “other” big animation studio in Hollywood, next to Pixar. Financially they’re pretty much equally strong thanks to the potent Shrek franchise, but critically they could rarely ever claim as much success. Not that most of their films are considered bad. They’re just usually rather forgettable. Films like Kung Fu Panda and Shrek are more an exception than a rule. Nobody thinks of Bee Movie, Shark Tale or even Dreamworks’ first 3D film, Monsters Vs. Aliens, as classics. In fact nobody thinks much about them at all. How to Train Your Dragon is hopefully the first step in the right direction. The story of a lanky, hapless son of a Viking chief who first dreams of killing dragons and then befriends one and realizes that the winged creatures aren’t that nasty afterall is hardly very original, but nearly perfect in execution. The directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders don’t avoid (most) clichés here, but instead they lovingly embrace them. The characters’ animation is great. The different varieties of dragons (and there are aplenty!) are well-designed and their individual abilities are quite original too (think of a dragon that puts itself on fire before attacking). However, it is the main character’s friend, nicknamed Toothless, that steals the show here. While the dragon thankfully doesn’t talk he conveys more emotions through the eyes and the mouth than all other characters in the film. In fact I’d say that Toothless is up there with some of the great Pixar characters.

How to Train Your Dragon doesn’t look well-staged action sequences and some comedic moments, but the core of the film is about the friendship between the boy and his dragon as well as the relationship between the boy and his father whose set of expectations he can never live up to. Indeed, the drama is corny sometimes, but it is heartfelt too. It also never gets in the way of the enjoyment. The best scenes of the film include the amazing dragon-flying sequences which in their beauty rival almost anything put on screen in CG animation so far. Seeing as the film’s visual consultant was Roger Deakins it is hardly surprising too. In those scenes the film truly takes great advantage of the 3D format without ever overplaying it. When Hiccup (the boy) and Toothless are above the sky, looking at the Northern Lights or gliding just above the sea the images are breathtaking. The visual appeal of the film is one of its biggest strengths. Equally enjoyable (if not as visually stunning) are the dragon-fighting training sequences in which Hiccup partakes along with some of his peers and manages to become the best of the class by using some of the techniques he learned while secretly spending time with his new dragon friend.

Of course in the movie like this there’s a big showdown at the end with Hiccup and Toothless fighting the big meanie which would rival Godzilla for being a real badass monster, but at that point the film has already won me over. The finale (which is, indeed, surprising in one of its outcomes considering it is a family film afterall) is solid, but far from the movie’s biggest strengths. Overall, How to Train Your Dragon is a tremendously enjoyable package that is well-worth seeing in its stereoscopic format as it makes the best of it. I would also go as far as saying that this is the best film Dreamworks animations has produced to date and does rival some of the Pixar productions in quality.

I want my own toothless!!

It's animated Avatar for me. The flying scenes are amazing and almost made me cry. Getting to know Toothless was almost as good, like Rockwell getting to know Pandora was great in Avatar. The supporting characters had their moments.

But everything to do with the dragon's nest fight + the plotline with the dad cahracter, left me cold. Like in Avatar, the last 30 minutes of action scenes is boring drivel I've seen before and I just wanted it to end.

So I'd give it a B, it's a solid animation with a few outstanding moments but I really wish it wasn't an action movie, those scenes had none of the life of the earlier Toothless bits

Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury

I just watched this short film thinking it was the feature film, How To Train Your Dragon. It was ok, but not great. I noticed Gerard Butler's voice, very distinct, but I couldn't place Hiccup's voice until I looked it up - I originally thought it might have been Paul Giamatti.

C+

My full review will come when I actually watch this film. I'm trying to find it because everyone said back in 2010 how great it was. The animation in the short was pretty good, I must say.

My favorite animated movie ever.

It really is a pretty good movie. Definitely DW's best one yet. I loved the ending. You should definitely hunt for this one

It is, IMO, BY FAR DreamWorks' best. The best Pixar film, Pixar has never made.

After having rewatched it a few times since its release, I must say I like it a bit more, now it's a B+ for me

I enjoy this movie so much every time I watch it that I'm sure I'll elevate it's grade to an A+ somewhere down the road. It's just such a wonderful movie with incredible rewatchability.