How To Train Your Dragon was a lot of fun - even in a theatre full of kids, and the popcorn delayed.
The artwork was beautiful, especially on the dragons. I imagine there were varieties no-one thought of. Toothless, the Nightfury, bears a striking resemblance to Stitch (from the Disney film Lilo & Stitch) and an oversized, winged axolotl; the other dragons are equally spectacular... well, you'll have to see the film.
The Vikings are suitably big, rugged and bloodthirsty - except, of course, for our hero, Hiccup, who is thin, weedy and very unViking-like. He's an inventor and consistently gets himself into trouble whenever the dragons attack. This time, his invention downs a Nightfury that he befriends and trains. Misunderstandings, deceit, suspicion and an epic battle follow.
The flying scenes are better than Avatar and the final battle, man, I was so impressed by the CGI. The fire, the water, the movement of the flesh under dragon skin!
For me, the chatting children, the shushing of the adults, the crunch of popcorn consumed and slurping of soft drink all faded away under the visual beauty of the film. That might be just me, but I love kids' movies; they can present complex issues in a simple way.
Oh, and I saw the shorts for the next Shrek movie. I'm just gonna hafta see it!
2 comments:
I enjoyed it too -- I've seen it twice these holidays! It's a great movie, and good to see something fresh, not endless sequels and Disney adaptations of fairy tales.
I particularly enjoyed the symmetry of the voiceover narration at the beginning and end -- how at the beginning the town was known for its pests, and at the end for its pets.
This is another kids' movie that shall be joining the others on my DVD shelf. The CGI artwork is simply amazing! (That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.)
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