Despite the rather predictable boy-and-his-pet story one of the better computer-animated Dreamworks vehicles.
The character work is excellent and the pic's refusal to go for cheap laughs and pop-culture references in favour of a more thorough storyline is welcome. Still, there's a certain (logical and emotional) discrepancy between the cartoonish dragon-fights and the more somber moments.
Technically, the vistas are simply dazzling and the 3D effects are imaginatively used, but the extra oomph is missing.
6 out of 10 lost legs
The character work is excellent and the pic's refusal to go for cheap laughs and pop-culture references in favour of a more thorough storyline is welcome. Still, there's a certain (logical and emotional) discrepancy between the cartoonish dragon-fights and the more somber moments.
Technically, the vistas are simply dazzling and the 3D effects are imaginatively used, but the extra oomph is missing.
6 out of 10 lost legs