How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Review

"Thanks for nothing, you useless reptile."

-Hiccup

Berk is village of vikings on a remote island that is frequently attacked by dragons.  Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is the son of the chief and is a bit of a weakling that nobody respects.  In his attempts to prove his worth as a viking, Hiccup manages to capture and wound an extremely rare dragon known as a Night Fury, but he is unwilling to kill it.  Instead, he frees and befriends the dragon and names him Toothless.  Now Hiccup has to find a way to show the other vikings that they don't need to kill the dragons after all.

What Works:

Hiccup is an extremely likable protagonist.  We get to witness him go through dragon training with the other young vikings, but he simply doesn't have the physical abilities to do what the other vikings can, so he has to rely on his other skills.  Hiccup studies and learns about the dragons and uses that knowledge to find harmless ways to subdue dragons.  As a big animal lover, this made me really like the guy.  Not only is this interesting from a storytelling perspective, but it's a great trait to have in a protagonist.  If you can't outfight them, outsmart them.

I also really liked the character arc for Hiccup's father, Stoick (Gerard Butler).  The guy has pretty much zero respect for his son and never listens to him.  He's a frustrating character, but well-written enough that this personal conflict really enhances the story.  It makes it even easier to put ourselves in Hiccup's shoes.  By the end of the film. Stoick realizes his son was right about everything.  We get a really sweet moment between the two and some emotional weight to the film.

Speaking of emotional weight, this film does not hold back at the very end.  Hiccup loses his leg!  I didn't see that coming at all.  I like how there were actually physical consequences for the insane stuff Hiccup did in this film and it raises the stakes going into the sequels.  And I love that both Hiccup and Toothless have an artificial body part by the end of the movie.

Speaking of Toothless, he is just the best.  I've never seen these movies before, but I knew who Toothless was.  I had no idea why he was such a popular character, but now I know.  He's ferocious, but also adorable, which is how I like my animals.

Finally, the 3rd act was very exciting.  I wish I had seen this in a theater because flying along with Hiccup and Toothless on the big screen would have been a blast.  It was like a roller coaster ride and I truly had no idea how they were going to beat the Red Death.  It was very suspenseful and a lot of fun.

What Sucks:

My only complaint with How to Train Your Dragon comes from the Red Death.  I never got a good sense of how the other dragons felt about the monster.  I was surprised that Toothless and some of the other dragons were so willing to fight the Red Death in the end.  I think another scene showing that the dragons don't like the Red Death, but are too scared to stand up to it would have been helpful.

Verdict:

I've had many of my friends talk about how great How to Train Your Dragon is and that I need to see it.  I have to say, it lived up to the hype.  The movie has a great protagonist, sweet emotional moments, exciting sequences, and Toothless, who is simply the best.  I wish the conflict between the dragons and the Red Death had been expanded upon, but still, this movie has certainly got it going on.

 9/10: Great