How To Train Your Dragon

When I saw the first trailer for this movie, I figured it wasn't for me. It looked too young and too simple to keep me entertained. After receiving recommendations from several folks, however, I decided I had to check it out. Last night, a group of us headed to our local atomic megaplex to see it.

I'm glad we did. I enjoyed it quite a bit, though I did not love it the way my recommending friends did.

The basic story was familiar but felt richer and more layered than most like it: young boy who's a disappointment to his powerful father uncovers his true talents and ultimately proves himself. His talents stemmed from what some saw as his weaknesses, as you'd expect, but in this case a key moment hinges on the fact that he really was a very fearful person, at least for a while. I liked that. The alternating training montages--with him and his dragon learning each other while he and his mates trained to kill dragons--meshed nicely and were entertaining. The soundtrack was quite good and worked well with the animation. The ending went where you came to expect it would go but was ultimately a little more complex than you would expect.

All in all, it was a superior example of this type of film.

So why didn't I love it? I'm honestly not sure. For reasons I can't pin down, it never quite fully latched onto my heart, though, again, I liked it.

On balance, I recommend you check it out.