Grade: A-
For being a kid's movie, the plot of How to Train Your Dragon is quite involved. You learn at the beginning of the movie that the island of Berk is constantly attacked by dragons that steal sheep and other animals from the Vikings on the island. The protagonist, Hiccup is the son of the chief, but is not a successful dragon slayer. The Vikings pride themselves on their abilities to kill dragons and believe that it is their duty to destroy the dragon's nest. However, Hiccup manages to befriend a dragon and learns that they aren't as bad as they seem. He ends up having to save both his village and the dragons from an even greater force of evil.
At times, the Vikings' accents make it difficult to understand what they are saying, but it isn't something that will be a huge bother. The music is quite fitting and I was extremely pleased with the visuals. Cartoons allow for a more liberal usage of 3D effects and How to Train Your Dragon benefited from it immensely. The level of detail that went into the appearance of clothing alone was incredible. A lot of the animation felt very real—the way that everyone ran and such, very believable. It makes me think that the upcoming Shrek Forever After will be equally stunning.
Despite the idea of this being a kid movie, some of the humor was dry and a bit more sophisticated. I was pleased by the fact that it wasn't a lot of ordinary kid humor like burps, farts and such. Kids will still like the film though. I noticed that the kids in the theater seemed to keep up with everything and they didn't ask any questions.
So, while I wouldn't necessarily suggest running to the theater before the film ends its run, I do think that you might enjoy watching How to Train Your Dragon when it comes out for rent (or onDemand).
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