How To Train Your DragonThis film is like Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, in that I went with my family to just pass the time, I wasn’t expecting much of it, but it turned out to be such a fun time that I can put it in the running for my top 100. Look, I really appreciate funny, well told animation films with good characters. And this film works. For me, it is probably the best film Dreamworks Animation has produced.
Not everything works in the film. Near the end when suddenly all the other students could just ride dragons, in perhaps an hour—I don’t think so. Some of the student’s characters were just too shallow. But overall, it is a fun ride. And it worked for me the second time just as much as the first.
Technical—4/5—Nothing spectacular here, but the computer animation is fully realized and well done. The script is brilliant and everything works along well with that.
Interest—5/5—Funny, excellent pacing, fun characters and some action. What a great time at the movies!
Tension—4/5—Because I fully believed in Hiccup’s teen drama, I really felt for his situations. Especially when the town found out he’d been keeping a dragon. That was intense.
Emotional—3/5—Okay, it was a little dusty eyed when his father accepted him and when it looked like he was dead. I’m a softy, sometimes, okay?
Characters—3/5—Sometimes they worked, sometimes they didn’t. Hiccup and his father were excellent. The one scene after his father returned and Hiccup was some hero and they were trying to have a “real talk”…that was perfect. So uncomfortable. Many of the characters didn’t work. Hiccups love interest sometimes worked, but the other students not at all. Hiccup’s boss and teacher—sure, he was great. But the focus on Hiccup was great—he was the one really fleshed out character and since the movie was told from his perspective, that’s all that’s needed.
Theme—5/5—Hidden talents and the power of understanding
Ethics—5/5—How To Train is like a fantasy movie version of one of my favorite books, The Anatomy of Peace. Both speak to how one deals with an enemy, even a violent enemy. There is a reason for the violence, and if we can appreciate the reasoning faculty of those who harm us and speak to them on their level, then peace might be achieved. This film is a great, if simplified, illustration of that.
Personal—4/5—Look, I was once an awkward teen boy, not knowing how I’d fit in. Yeah, that works.
It’s not a perfect film, but it’s got a lot going for it, and, frankly, I really enjoyed my time with it. I don’t know if it deserves a place on my top 100, but it will certainly be seen in my top animated next year.
1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. In America
3. Rear Window
4. Amelie
5. The Red Shoes
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Princess Mononoke
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
10. Tideland
11. The Brothers Bloom
12. I [Heart] Huckabees
13. I’m Not There
14. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
15. Dog Day Afternoon
16. Brick
17. District 9
18. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
20. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
21. 50 First Dates
22. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
23. Rachel Getting Married
24. The Godfather
25. The Son (2003)
26. Raising Arizona
27. How To Train A Dragon28. Do The Right Thing
29. Adaptation
30. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
31. Scizopolis
32. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
33. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
34. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
35. Three Kings
36. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
37. The Science of Sleep
38. Grizzly Man
39. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
40. Scarecrow
41. Fitzcaraldo
42. Zelig
43. Harold and Maude
44. Repulsion
45. Mister Roberts