How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Kids will be flocking to see Dreamworks Animation’s latest release, How to Train Your Dragon. Some of these youngsters will drag along their parents or adult guardian, and the grown-ups are likely to experience sticker shock when they discover that movie theaters across the country have just raised their admission prices, especially for the 3-D screenings that are all the rage. For example, an adult matinee ticket at one local theater is now $10, and a 3-D movie is $15. And those are matinee prices! Throw in the overpriced concession stand, and a family night at the movies has become an even bigger blow to the budget. More than ever, ticket buyers will want to know in advance if what they’re about to see is worth the expense. In the case of How to Train Your Dragon, kids will likely enjoy this flawed and unoriginal entertainment, while adults may wish they were home watching The Lord of the Rings again on DVD, a much cheaper alternative.

How to Train Your Dragon is set in mythical days of old, when Vikings were bold (unlike the Minnesota variety) and dragons were plentiful–and annoying. In an oceanside Viking village, swarming dragons (of many types, as we quickly learn) overrun the place occasionally, stealing sheep and food and shooting fireballs at the horn-helmeted populace, led by a full-bearded, fearless father named Stoick (Gerard Butler). His wimpy son Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) has never killed a dragon, and Stoick doubts he’ll ever amount to anything, so he passes him into the care of Gobber (Craig Ferguson), blacksmith and operator of a training school for dragon slayers. While his father sails off on a search-and-destroy mission to the dragons’ nest, Hiccup endures testing in the arena and teasing from his schoolmates, including a shaggy-haired dope named Snotlout (Jonah Hill) and the hot Valkyrie-to-be, Astrid (America Ferrera).

But Hiccup has a big, black secret. During the last dragon attack on the village, he used a homemade cannon-like weapon to snare and bring down a Night Fury, a black dragon so fast and accurate no Viking has ever seen it with the naked eye. Finding it trapped in a hidden canyon, Hiccup initially prepares to slaughter the ensnared beast with his small knife and prove to himself and his father that he’s a real Viking. Instead, he sympathetically releases the dragon from the trap, the dragon immediately threatens but does not kill him, Hiccup sees the dragon is wounded and helps it, and do I even need to go on from there? Just like the fable of Androcles and the Lion and countless man-and-animal bonding tales ever since, Hiccup and “Toothless” (a misnomer, for the dragon is toothy indeed) form a high-flying friendship that, of course, is eventually tested by others who don’t understand. This leads to danger for both and the need to be rescued on more than one occasion, all the while winning young Astrid’s heart and salvaging the father’s love.

Story-wise, the film is predictable as clockwork. It’s entertaining in spots, but never challenging to the brain. In fact, thinking about it too much may lead to pondering such enigmas as, why do these Vikings have Scottish accents? And why do the Viking kids have no accents at all?

The accents stem from the casting of Scotsmen Craig Ferguson and Gerard Butler as the two lead adult voices. Ferguson is a charming actor and talk show host, and does a fine job in his first voice role in an animated film, though the part of Gobber is underwritten at times. Gerard Butler, who keeps getting big movie roles despite his failure to impress me with any strong evidence of talent or charisma, manages to pull off a surprisingly credible performance as the voice of the gruff Stoick. Maybe he’s better heard than seen. Jay Baruchel’s voice wears on the ears after a while, sounding like a whining Andy Richter. All the other voices are forgettable.

A particularly notable credit at the end lists Roger Deakins as a visual consultant. Although he’s not the director of photography on this film, Deakins has brought memorable cinematography to many outstanding films of the last three decades, including every Coen brothers movie since Barton Fink. Though the extent of Deakins’ contribution here is unknown, there are a number of beautifully photographed scenes, particularly at the climax when environmental factors such as clouds and fog are included in the animation. Much of the background detailing is reminiscent of Peter Jackson’s Tolkien trilogy, and the dragon slayers’ training arena appears to be lifted straight out of Gladiator. However, the movie begins with a dragon attack at night, and though it looks cool with the shadowy village illuminated by jets of dragon flame, it’s a bit confusing for establishing the setting and characters in the midst of chaos and near darkness.

What’s weird about this movie is that it feels like two different animation styles pasted together. The backgrounds look detailed and have some verisimilitude, but the character designs are much more cartoony, like the two departments didn’t consult each other. The lead dragon, Toothless, lacks detail and looks boring; other dragons look like they’re on loan from some Saturday morning kiddie show; and the human characters appear to be leftovers from a Legend of Zelda video game. One scene showing a maze of real-looking stone walls toppled by a brightly colored cartoon creature made me think of the crudely made ’70s Disney flick Pete’s Dragon. Not a good association there.

Given the price hike, How to Train Your Dragon is a tough call. The kids may want to see it, but do you? Wait for the DVD, which will probably be in 3-D and more expensive, too.

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