How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.

Directors:

Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders

Writers:

William Davies (screenplay), Dean DeBlois (screenplay),

Stars:

Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson

Top 250 #164 | Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jay Baruchel	...	Hiccup (voice)
Gerard Butler	...	Stoick (voice)
Craig Ferguson	...	Gobber (voice)
America Ferrera	...	Astrid (voice)
Jonah Hill	...	Snotlout (voice)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse	...	Fishlegs (voice)
T.J. Miller	...	Tuffnut (voice)
Kristen Wiig	...	Ruffnut (voice)
Robin Atkin Downes	...	Ack (voice)
Philip McGrade	...	Starkard (voice)
Kieron Elliott	...	Hoark the Haggard (voice)
Ashley Jensen	...	Phlegma the Fierce (voice)
David Tennant	...	Spitelout (voice)

Storyline

Long ago up North on the Island of Berk, the young Viking, Hiccup, wants to join his town's fight against the dragons that continually raid their town. However, his macho father and village leader, Stoik the Vast, will not allow his small, clumsy, but inventive son to do so. Regardless, Hiccup ventures out into battle and downs a mysterious Night Fury dragon with his invention, but can't bring himself to kill it. Instead, Hiccup and the dragon, whom he dubs Toothless, begin a friendship that would open up both their worlds as the observant boy learns that his people have misjudged the species. But even as the two each take flight in their own way, they find that they must fight the destructive ignorance plaguing their world.

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Plot Keywords:

dragon | viking | ignorance | friendship | flight | 

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Taglines:

One adventure will change two worlds

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

How to Train Your Dragon: An IMAX 3D Experience

Box Office

Budget:

$165,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£4,846,532 (UK) (2 April 2010)

Gross:

£17,168,517 (UK) (23 July 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks Animation, Mad Hatter Entertainment, Vertigo Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Hiccup is the only character to refer to Toothless by name.

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Goofs

At the end of the film, just after the "queen" dragon is destroyed, Hiccup falls head-first, engulfed by the flames, but the injury he receives is losing his left leg. When Toothless is on the ground, he opens his wings showing that he's hugging Hiccup completely. Hiccup never makes contact with the ground, so his leg could not have been broken. Furthermore, Stoick says, "He's alive. You brought him back alive. Thank you for saving my son." Then Gobber walks up and says, "Well... you know... most of him." This implies Hiccup's leg must have been completely lost due to the fire.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Hiccup: [voice-over] This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery. My village. In a word? Sturdy. It's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitoes... We have...
[aloud, as he slams the door against an attacking Monstrous Nightmare]
Hiccup: ...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening or title credits.

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Connections

Featured in The Nostalgia Teen: Top 11 Animated Movies (2011)
#11

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Soundtracks

"Sticks and Stones"
Written by Jon Thor Birgisson (as Jónsi)
Performed by Jon Thor Birgisson (as Jónsi)
Produced and Mixed by Alex Somers & Jon Thor Birgisson (as Jónsi)
Courtesy of EMI Records Ltd.

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: How to Train Your Dragon

If this is done following the same old beat up formula that Hollywood sticks to with regards to animation, then the dragons will be yakking non-stop. Thank goodness that this film, directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, avoids this like the plague, and

Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup, a viking kid who happens to be more brains than brawn, more scrawny than buffed, and this of course sets him apart from the rest of his warrior clan folks, who are battle scarred from the constant defense of the village pests - dragons who come from afar to plunder their livestock and setting their houses on fire, so much so that every house on the block is relatively brand new. Wanting to help out in any way he can, he's deemed more of a liability than an asset, especially when even his dad Stoick (Gerard Butler) cannot appreciate his unique, technical talent.

In a stroke of uncanny luck, Hiccup downs a flying dragon in the heat of battle, and his compassion meant to set the dragon free, rather than trying to prove himself to be a worthy viking man by killing it. And it's a rare specimen of a dragon too, which would have brought him instant glory. So a bond between man and mythical beast gets struck, and christened as Toothless, this is one pest who slowly grows into a pet, with Hiccup's secret rendezvous resulting in growing appreciation for the species, despite what the knowledge that his kinsman had compiled into a Dragon compendium which details facts all ending with an advisory on compulsory annihilation.

The story here is the strength of the film, being witty, smart but never condescending nor insulting the intelligence of the audience. While most characters are caricatures, especially Hiccup's peers, a lot of effort have been put into creating the leads as multi-dimensional and full of heart, and I enjoyed how the characters are so open to their emotions, that it becomes a lot more real than the photo realistic 3D animation and effects. Sure there's the usual father-son misunderstanding and expectations, and how a zero turns to hero, or even the theme of fearing something that we don't fully comprehend, but it's the manner in which the usual got delivered, that made all the difference. Especially so for its anti-war stance, that all it takes is a little step back from the common battle-cry, and instead seek to be understood, by holding out an olive branch, and to understand first.

For those who enjoy the mythology of the dragon creature, there are a number of ideas thrown up in the film that would make you nod in appreciation how these got conjured up for the film, and they worked wonders, even though they may be a tad predictable plot wise. And I'm betting that a lot of folks out there will take to Toothless, thanks to its "stitch"-ish design similar to Lilo and Stitch (since it's co-director Chris Sander's previous work) and huge saucer like eyes, plus a lovable demeanour built into the character that's always apprehensive, and mischievous. Being the creature that has no track record also helped, since it ropes you into a journey of friendship, bonding and discovery with Hiccup as to how powerful his new found friend can be, not to mention how symbiotic their relationship will evolve into as well.

Action junkies will find the action sequences in the film faultless, and the 3D got specifically crafted for certain set action pieces that really had me ducking for cover, for once. Fights are incredible, and always accompanied either by humour that worked without the feeling that it was deliberate nor just tried too hard, coupled with the comedic voice talents such as Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

How to Train Your Dragon is similar to last year's Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Long titles, great story, beautiful animation and a total delight. Highly recommended, and it goes into my list as contenders for best films of this year!