How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
In the tradition of some of our better animated films, How to Train Your Dragon establishes a thoroughly engaging friendship between a boy and an animal – so engaging that we do in fact hurt when it appears that one or both is in grave danger. Animated films have always had that kind of power over audiences, maybe because an animal gives the filmmaker the perfect opportunity to convey emotions at their most fundamental. When an animal is happy, it’s completely happy. When it’s sad, it’s completely sad. When it suffers, it expresses itself so clearly that we suffer right along with it. It matters not that, in this case, the animal is a dragon, which, needless to say, doesn’t actually exist; in the world of an animated film, entertainment rightfully takes precedence over reality.
The boy is a Viking teenager named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), an outcast amongst his people for being too short, too skinny, too clumsy, and too nonviolent in a village where dragon slaying is practically a religion. He thinks he wants nothing more than to be a mighty warrior, and for a good portion of time, he tries to get by in training, in which he’s pitted against caged dragons in an arena of sorts. But after injuring and ensnaring a dragon all on his own – an elusive and (supposedly) lethal kind, classified as Night Fury – he finds he doesn’t have the heart to kill it. He then befriends it, humorously dubbing it Toothless, and quickly realizes that his people have it all wrong: Dragons are not evil beasts that must be destroyed, but merely frightened creatures who are provoked into violence.
Toothless, who hides in a clearing beyond a waterfall, is large, graceful, majestic, and ever so slightly cute. This is good, not only for the children in the audience, but also because we need to care for him just as much as Hiccup does. And speaking of Hiccup, he’s now faced with the task of leading a double life. To everyone else, including his crotchety trainer Gobber the Belch (voiced by Craig Ferguson), he seems to have transformed himself from a village disgrace into one of the best dragon fighters the people have ever seen. This doesn’t sit too well with the tough, athletic, determined Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera), Hiccup’s secret crush; she becomes increasingly suspicious of him, especially since his methods of subduing the dragons are not exactly what one would call violent.
Matters are further complicated by Hiccup’s father, the brawny and hilariously named Stoick the Vast (voiced by Gerard Butler), who up until now has always been disappointed in his son. Unfortunately, he’s now very proud, and it’s for all the wrong reasons. He has yet to find out about Toothless, and he still doesn’t understand that Hiccup has absolutely no intention of ever killing a dragon in battle. It’s a classic case of the reluctant parent struggling to understand his child, of never listening to the child when he’s trying to say something he feels is important.
Indeed, the general plot is a classic case, relying on themes of friendship, acceptance, and courage to get its point across. But what this movie lacks in original ideas it more than makes up for in heart, humor, and sheer visual spectacle, made stronger by its presentation in 3D. Some of the film’s most impressive scenes involve Hiccup riding on Toothless’ back as he soars triumphantly above clouds, through craggy peaks, and over the sea; they’re not merely stunning examples of camerawork and computer imagery, they’re also exhilarating. And yes, there are a number of frenetic battle scenes, especially in the latter half of the film, at which point the Vikings are pitted against a monstrosity the likes of which no one has ever seen.
All this is in the spirit of good fun. But for my money, the strongest element of How to Train Your Dragon was the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, who against all odds became the best of friends. While there’s nothing here we haven’t seen before, you also wouldn’t be honest with yourself if you said you weren’t touched on some level. The moment when Toothless is finally trusting enough to butt his nose against Hiccup’s hand made my heart glad. I suppose I’m too sentimental, but there’s nothing for it. There are also some genuinely funny moments involving Hiccup’s attempts to feed Toothless, one of them ending in a less than appetizing way.
One could easily fault the minor details. Could any Viking, however muscular and well armed, physically defeat a gigantic winged reptile capable of breathing fire? Could anyone keep a large, noisy dragon a secret for as long as Hiccup does? Would no one have discovered the secret dragon nest long ago? If you think these questions are worth asking, you’d probably be better off seeing a different movie. How to Train Your Dragon, adapted from Cressida Cowell’s book (unread by me), is terrific family entertainment – fun, heartfelt, and a pleasure to look at. Its greatest achievement is its ability to resonate emotionally, something all stories about unlikely friendships need in order to work. Without it, you’d have nothing more than a mindless action piece, with plenty to see but little to identify with.
