How To Train Your Dragon is the best action movie I have seen in a long time; this came as a great surprise to me because when I initially viewed the trailers, the film appeared boring and predictable but as the critical accolades poured in, my interests began to pique. I thought that perhaps the film would work as an enjoyable rental or something to check out in the dollar theatre but the tireless exhortation of David Chen from the /Filmcast convinced me to drive an hour to see the film in IMAX 3D. As it turns out, this was definitely the right decision.
With the success of Avatar, many studios are pushing the release of 3D movies in the hopes of making a larger profit. I, personally, have seen a number of films in 3D and really have not felt ‘sold’ on the technology. While the effect is sometimes neat, it has never really added to my enjoyment of a particular film. However, the experience of watching How To Train Your Dragon on an IMAX 3D screen was so immersive and engaging that I truly feel it is the best way to experience it.
The main reason the movie works, is not because of the 3D, it is because of the characters. They are all well defined and likeable. Each character has a distinct motivation and personality that he or she does not stray from during the course of the story. Any amendments to a character’s personality are earned through plot-development. This extra attention allows a fairly common story-arch to feel fresh and organic.
The main character in the film is ‘Hiccup’: a young Viking who is a disappointment to his father due to his physical weaknesses. Hiccup’s village is constantly under-siege by dragon attacks and it is a rite of passage to slay one. When he is given the chance to slay a dragon, he finds he is unable and instead decides to adopt it as a pet. Over time, he learns that the dragons are misunderstood and he finds himself on a quest to change the opinion of an entire society.
As I mentioned, the film takes place in a Viking colony and the historical setting is used to great effect. The designs of both the characters and the world they inhabit are charming and sometimes beautiful. The unique setting also gives the viewer a chance to escape into an environment that they are not accustomed to. While I cannot attest to the historical accuracy of much of the movie, I did recently listen to a podcast about vikings from How Stuff Works, and I do know that Vikings did not wear horned hats.
Since the release of Shrek, the quality of Dreamwork’s animated films has drastically dropped. The movies began to feel lazy as they relied on the celebrity of their voice actors and current pop-culture references to hide the weak writing. This movie does not fall into any of those traps and makes me curious to see the direction Dreamworks plans to take next (I mean, of course, other than the new Shrek film which will surely be awful).
I am not sure what else to say about this movie except that I loved it. If you are looking for a movie experience to remember, please seek this out in IMAX 3D before it is gone. It is so infrequent that a movie so wildly exceeds your expectations but when it comes, it is a thrill that is matched by little else in the world of media consumption. Bring your parents, bring your children, and bring your friends: this movie has something for everyone. Universal appeal is rare and it should be treasured and celebrated.
