A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Directed: Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Stars: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and Christopher Mintz-Plasse

What we think: With a visually stunning opening sequence which revolves around a small Viking fishing village coming under the attack of dragons, DreamWorks set the tone for what is an exceptional warm hearted tale of friendship and loyalty.

The film features Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, who is desperate to follow in the footsteps of  the Viking clan by finally being able to kill a Dragon. However the only thing that he does succeed in is continually being a disappointment to his father and chief of the village Stoick (Butler).

Hiccup does get a chance to redeem himself after shooting down and capturing the infamous and mystical Night Furies, something that no one else has been able to do, of course he’s not strong enough to kill it and instead forms a bond that will tug at the heart strings of all and is the backbone of the narrative.

The relationship is developed ever so gradually as the newly named dragon Toothless and Hiccup test the boundaries of each others trust, like a new born puppy and its owner the pairs bond grows stronger and stronger. The surrounding characters are a colourful bunch with voice talents aplenty including Jonah Hill, Craig Ferguson and America Ferrera, and add great support throughout, as well as the injection of comedic value.

The range of dragon species are well crafted along with each of their characteristics. You can see that a lot of time and effort has gone into making sure that this film is as real as it can be, just as if these reptiles walked the earth millions of years ago.

It’s a film that really cannot do any wrong, the story is well told but it is always going to fall back to the CGI effects that really raise its profile. The 3D aspect is also a deal clincher, and the attention to detail in everything is sublime, you could almost feel the wind in your face and taste the salt of the ocean as both dragon and boy skim the surface in one of the films many aerobatic scenes.

With a sequel already planned for 2013 it is going to take something extra special to top this.

View the trailer

Potential Rating: (5/5)

Visit the IMDb page for How to Train Your Dragon

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