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After the Eastrail 177 Trilogy’s conclusion arrived with Glass, there was another trilogy about to receive its closing chapter shortly after it, and so I decided that would be perfect. It was something a bit more lighthearted, of course, but it’s one of those times where after seeing something as dark as those movies, you’d kind of need that*. This is a trilogy that would prove to be something special, especially in terms of family friendly movies and animation as a whole. In this review, I’ll be covering the first installment of one of the best trilogies of the decade, and the one that may stand out the most out of all of the franchises DreamWorks has made (yes, even more so than Shrek), and that is How to Train Your Dragon.
The story is set in Berk, a small Viking town on an island often targeted by dragons, where the Vikings have been at war with the dragons for a long time. A 15-year-old named Hiccup wants to help fight, but the chieftain (and his father), Stoick the Vast, believes he’s too young, so he works as an apprentice to the local blacksmith Gobber to make weapons. Though his inventions usually fail, he actually manages to shoot a dragon down. It’s not just any dragon, though: It’s a Night Fury, the most dangerous, but also rarest, type. Despite his claims, no one else believes him. Upon finding it, Hiccup has his chance to prove himself and finally be accepted by his tribe. However, he can’t bring himself to finish it off, so he frees and ultimately befriends it. He also learns through his own interactions with the Night Fury (which he names Toothless because of his ability to retract his teeth) that the dragons are harmless and sets out to show everyone else that there’s a better way to solve their dragon problem than violence.
What Worked: First of all, the voice acting is fantastic in this movie. Jay Baruchel is excellent as Hiccup, really bringing his own awkward personality into the character, and it works perfectly. You also genuinely feel Hiccup’s compassion through his performance in the more dramatic and heartfelt moments. He has great chemistry with everyone else, from his father to his friends and especially with Toothless himself.
Gerard Butler gives what might be his best performance that isn’t Leonidas as Stoick the Vast. His scenes with Hiccup are among the aforementioned dramatic and heartfelt moments, where in addition to Hiccup’s compassion, you also feel Stoick’s empathy, and occasionally pain, at the same time.
The movie has its share of humor. One example is the character of Gobber, voiced by Craig Ferguson. He’s hilarious in this. There’s some really good banter between the other characters, like Christopher Mintz-Plasse (McLovin from Superbad) as Fishlegs, Jonah Hill as Snotlout, and the Twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, voiced respectively by Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller (Weasel from Deadpool).
It’s not just moments with them that are hilarious. Quite a few scenes with Hiccup and Toothless have that, but they’re set up brilliantly with some charming development in their relationship.
Then there’s the best (human) character in the movie: Astrid, voiced by America Ferrera. She’s a great example of a strong female character: She’s tough, determined, and capable of handling herself in a fight. She also has an excellent relationship with Hiccup. Over the course of the movie, she gradually begins to see past his awkwardness, learning how kind-hearted he really is underneath, and starts to respect him more.
Now for the best character in the movie: Toothless. Not only does he look awesome, he’s just so lovable. He’s like if your dog or cat could fly and breathe fire. You’ll definitely feel as if his bond with Hiccup resembles your bond with your own pets at least once. I even saw some mannerisms of Stitch from Lilo & Stitch in him. When you take the fact that Chris Sanders, the voice actor for Stitch, also worked on this movie into consideration, it makes perfect sense.
The looks of each of the other dragons and their distinct capabilities are very interesting, and it makes the action even more fun to watch. The scale of the movie, particularly in the action sequences, really shows how gorgeous it all looks. The epic feel this type of story is expected to convey (it is a fantasy movie) is done wonderfully through John Powell’s score. It gives you that feeling of excitement you’d similarly get with something like the more triumphant beats of Howard Shore’s score for The Lord of the Rings.
There is some great world building in this, too, and a perfect story structure. The narrative is handled so brilliantly that it provides both a satisfying resolution for this story on its own and a well-earned feeling of wanting to see more.
Overall: How to Train Your Dragon is one of those animated movies that does everything right. It has the right balance of humor and heart with regards to both the story and the characters. It introduces a fascinating world and sets up very interesting character arcs that you’ll want to see be further developed, because the stakes they end up facing over the course of this movie alone are just the beginning. The same is true for the movie itself: It’s just the beginning of something special.
*That’s not to say that this trilogy doesn’t have its share of dark moments, it does, except those don’t really come into play until a little later. However, this movie still has a few of them, even with the overall lighthearted tone, but they’re just not as dark as what happens during the events following this movie.