Flick Flak: How To Train Your Dragon
Directors: Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois
With: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera
PG, 97 mins
It now seems a little superfluous to say that an animated film looks remarkable, especially since Up and the gorgeous Wall-E. But still, I was struck several times in How To Train Your Dragon by just how stunning it looked. The animal furs worn by the impossibly burly Vikings looked photo realistic and the scenes of dragons flying across ocean waves were wonderful. I'm pretty sure I was sat with my mouth wide open when, near the end, the film showed from a distance a biblically huge dragon spraying a mountain of fire up into the clouds after the hero of the film. Incredible.
The film has far more than good looks to its name though. It is one of the best animated films I have seen. It was thrilling for the adults and children in the cinema alike, and witty humour combined with slapstick got everyone laughing. The story not only avoided clichs but also can claim a surprisingly realistic and adult ending. Simplified, the story involves young Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) whose village is constantly fighting a nest of dragons.
Unlike his father, the chief Viking (Gerard Butler), he does not seem to be cut out for killing dragons. When he finds an injured dragon he helps it out, and in doing so learns that they are not the vicious killing machines his village believes them to be. The voice cast was great, and Gerard Butler can now boast another good film to his CV. It's been a while since 300. In fact maybe he should just stop now while he's on a high. Or just stick to lending his angry Scottish voice to animated films so we don't have to see his gurning grin in any more romantic comedy trailers.
Animated films have always been good at injecting character into non-human characters - Pixar's lamp, Luxo Jr. is the best example of that. Toothless the dragon is another triumph (though for Dreamworks this time). Simultaneously a wild and dangerous animal and cute and playful, he is entirely believable, and many people left that cinema wishing they could own one, including me. My only fault with the film was that, of all the amazing sounding dragons described in the dragon manual, we only get to see a couple of them. This seemed like a waste, as there were some brilliantly designed dragons in there. Still, the dragon at the climax of the film makes up for this somewhat.
So, if you are a fan of animated films, you must see this. I am not particularly, but I still loved it. Apparently I wasn't alone, as How To Train Your Dragon remained at the top spot of the UK box office takings, above Clash Of The Titans and Kick-Ass, for several weeks. Good on it. It's awesome.
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