Review: How to Train Your Dragon: an IMAX 3D Experience (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon: an IMAX 3D Experience
2010
98 minutes
rated PG (sequences of intense action, some scary images, brief mild language)

by Scott Mendelson

I often talk about how certain directors are actually two different filmmakers who share the same name. Surely the Wes Craven who directed Vampire in Brooklyn and Deadly Friend couldn't be the same guy who directed A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream, or Red Eye. And could the same Chris Columbus have helmed both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief? By that token, the folks at Dreamworks Animation seem to suffer from a sort of split personality disorder as well. Sometimes they give us A Shark Tale and Monsters Vs. Aliens and sometimes they give us Over the Hedge and Kung Fu Panda. Which Dreamworks showed up for work this time? Well, I spent $16.50 on my IMAX 3D ticket and I don't feel the least bit ripped off.

A token amount of plot - In a small Viking village plagued by decades of dragon attacks, the son of the village head yearns to impress his father by becoming a dragon hunter himself. Yet fate casts a wicked spell when the young Hiccup (Jay Barachul) accidentally injures a young dragon and is shocked when it shows mercy. Deciding to nurse the creature back to health, Hiccup soon discovers that dragons are not quite the thoughtless killing machines that the world has presumed, and he's soon torn between his desire to please his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) by becoming a dragon slayer and his realization that the generations-long war between Viking and dragon may not be so simple a conflict.

The story isn't exactly groundbreaking, and it's actually similar in plot and theme to Miss Spider's Froggy Day in Sunny Patch (was one of Tony Jay's last projects). You can probably chart out most (but not all) of the major developments before they occur, but the film is done with such high style and sheer quality that the well-worn myth becomes new again. The animation is beyond beautiful and the 3D is genuinely immersive. With all of the current hub-bub about studios racing to convert their live-action films into 3D, here is a shining example of how powerful a tool it can be in animation, especially if it was planned that way from the start. This film easily stands alongside Coraline and Avatar as one of the finest theatrical 3D experiences thus far. There are moments that look so three-dimensional that I could have sworn I was looking at claymation. To the picture's credit, most of the visual razzle-dazzle is held back until the second half of the picture while the first half is allotted to character development and storytelling. But the visuals are at-times breathtaking, especially the second act moments of Hiccup flying on the back of a newly healed 'Toothless'. If you can, splurge for IMAX and sit as close as you comfortably can.

All of the vocal talents give real and grounded performances. Jay Baruchel does his usual nervous shtick, but he tones it down just enough so that it feels like plausible human behavior in the face of inexplicable situations. Gerard Butler, no longer forced to approximate an American accent, gives the best performance of his career as Hiccup's stern but genuinely loving father. Craig Ferguson does grand work as Gobber, head-teacher to the youngest would-be dragon slayers and Stoick's best friend. The film actually takes the time to develop the relationship between the two elders, so that their actions in the climax have real dramatic weight. All of the younger characters are given personality and charm. Even the token love interest (America Fererra) is fleshed out and allowed to be funny and grouchy, and she is given goals and interests of her own not related to her relationship with Hiccup (and equally refreshingly, she's not the only female in the picture).

Whether the film is appropriate for the youngest of viewers, I can only say that I left my two-year-old at home. But the film has moments of awe-inspiring terror, especially in the third act when the stakes are clearly defined (sorry to be vague - no spoilers). To be honest, the greatest risk to young audiences is that they will get truly upset at the third-act story turns, but then so will plenty of grownups. Just know that the film is rated PG for a reason, and it's not because of a couple vulgar 'adult' references or a token amount of profanity, of which this film contains next to none. It's a real adventure story with genuine thrills and moments of real sadness. If the film has a real flaw, it's that the film tries to have it both ways in regards to its morals. Without going into details, the film tries to position itself as a pacifistic story where an enlightened member of a warring tribe realizes that the other side has feelings and motivations too (real-world geopolitical parables are there if you're looking). Yet the climax basically brings up a new threat so that the film can preach peace while giving audiences an action finale anyway. Said finale is a fantastic sequence, full of eye-popping action, character growth, genuine emotional impact, and surprising consequences, but it feels like a bit of 'having your cake and eating it too'.

Regardless, How to Train Your Dragon is a wonderful motion picture. It's perhaps Dreamworks' best animated film thus far and it's easily the best film of the year at this juncture. It's exciting, funny, scary, and compelling, with actors and voice-over pros giving real vocal performances. It's a visual delight and a textbook lesson in how 3D technology was intended. As family entertainment, as a cartoon, as a motion picture, How to Train Your Dragon soars.

Grade: A-