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How to Train Your Dragon

It was my birthday this past week, and Dreamworks Animation has just delivered this born and bred animation fan a brilliant present called How to Train Your Dragon. A simple story told simply well, it is a joy to behold and I’m straining to say anything vaguely ungood about it.

All right, the supporting cast is rather weak. You’ve met them all before and seen all their antics before (though the one who evaluates dragons in terms of their D&D scores is hilarious). Yes, and so what? Complaining about them is as useful as complaining about the director again using a blue sky during daytime. These are people in the background, given (maybe) a word or two to let you get to know them. So drag out a stock character, let him/her/it scream/speak/bark and voila, the audience understands them immediately.

But enough negativity, on with the oh so very good….

How to Train Your Dragon tells the story of Hiccup, an un-Viking-like boy growing up on an island of rough and tough Vikings. It’s a wonderful island, surrounded by a wonderful sea, populated by wonderful people. It’s a wonderful life.

Which is attacked on a regular basis by wonderful dragons. Er, wonderful to us, the audience. To the Vikings, dragons are a constant threat, a force of nature they are constantly at war with. Other than a few sheep, the impression is that the island’s sole industry is devoted to to this war. Every man, woman, and child learns to fight and kill dragons. All, that is, except Hiccup.

Not that he isn’t trying. He has invented a machine that will let him, scrawny as he is, to take down the most dreaded dragon out there. He does manage to hit the thing, though no one believes him, and in his quest to recovery the body and bring home proof of his success, he discovers things about himself, the dragons, and the very nature of their conflict.

No surprise, but the animation is excellent. The production team brought in acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins as a visual consultant. The result, when combined with all the animation expertise on hand, is an animated film that’s “lit” more like a live-action film. As a bonus, it’s filled with stunning visuals. Really, it all brought a tear to my eye. You don’t quite gasp, but you do hold your breath at the wonder of it all.

The 3D is brilliant. Most 3D films want to throw things at you to exaggerate the 3D effect. A notable exception was Up, which used 3D to lend an amazing sense of altitude to the flying sequences. Dragon takes the Up route and goes further. We’re not floating with balloons here, we’re soaring and roaring with dragons, and the flight sequences are incredible. I have read some critics who say it out-does Avatar, which is embarrassing for that film, but having never seen Avatar, I can’t say.

For How to Train Your Dragon, John Powell has composed his finest work. Toothless (Hiccup’s newfound dragon pal) gets his own musical chord, something you almost feel as well as hear, and it gets woven into the rest to create an aural impression that’s just…fantastic. A single example would be the music playing while Hiccup learns to control Toothless in flight. This being flight test, there are problems, and the music takes us right along on the ride. This sequence represents one of several perfect fusions of the animator’s craft, the 3D effect, and Powell’s music. Takes my breath away, it does.

I know, I’m gushing. So be it. I grew up with animation. If I ever called an animated film a cartoon my dad would smack me. The care and craft that goes into making an animated feature is mind-numbingly complex. When you get to see all of that effort pay off as well as it does here, it seems impossible to go over-the-top with praise.

Needless to say, I recommend seeing How to Train Your Dragon as soon as possible, and most definitely in 3D. I certainly plan on seeing it again, preferably in IMAX 3D. I’ll wear a seatbelt.

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