How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

How To Train Your Dragon (PG)

"A boy and his Cat-dragon"

Dreamworks Animated features finally drop the amusing cartoonish antics and go for the heart (as so often their competitor Pixar is lauded for) in a loose adaptation of the children's series How to Train Your Dragon.

Hindered by typically inept marketing, HTTYD still finally boosted Dreamworks into being taken seriously and making wads of cash with an almost unknown property, an extremely rare occurrence in this cynical box office environment of "sequels and remakes."  The story of misunderstood Viking son Hiccup and his cat-like dragon "Toothless" resonated with audiences with its cuteness and variety.  There are goofy jokes and snide remarks, and low hanging narritive fruit such as "parents just don't understand" that today's youths might latch onto but this reviewer is tired of listening to.

But the art is beautiful, the emotions true, the animation top notch.  The art style has some hidden hiccups and the story some strange eccentricities (why do the Vikings adults all voiced by Scottish actors, yet their kids are all Americans?), but the vast majority of the film exceeds expectations of a DW animated flick.  Expanding the fun yet sparse source material into a giant world (much like they did with Shrek) works well; imparting pathos and a real sense of danger and humanity was genius.

HTTYDragon is a fantasy movie like they used to make pre-90s, with invention and risk taking (mixed with the ultracute just to take the curse off it).  It shows how a license, properly cultivated by caring artists and story tellers, can diverge and prosper artistaclly and not just pander to the kiddies,

8.5 Scots with Horns out of 10 (GREAT)