How To Train Your Dragon (2010)

While you can find lots of recommendations on how to train your dog, cat, parrot or whatnot, but there is not a single piece of advice on how to train your dragon. Actually, it was not before the DreamWorks released one of the most fascinating manual on how you can turn a ferocious dragon into an obedient pet and dispel the myth that dragons and humans can't live peacefully together.

Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) lives with other vikings in a distant village on the cliffs. They have no enemies to reach them but there are still pests they are struggling with - these are dragons who come from afar to ravage their houses and steal their flocks. With each habitant in the village being a true warrior, it was hard for Hiccup, a skinny feeble boy, to feel like a part of the pack. To rectify the situation he decides to try his cannon contraption during another encounter with dragons in order to shoot down the most mysterious dragon known as Night Fury to primarily win the respect of Astrid (America Ferrera).

After a boy has been still scolded by his father, ironically the bravest and strongest viking in the village, the cheiftain Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), he was wandering through the woods and came across the dragon he managed to shoot down. It seems he's got a chance to kill his first dragon, what is more this was Night Fury, the rarest of all dragons! But with much more brains in his head than hate towards a poor animal, Hiccup failed to carry out his duty. Instead he set the dragon free and decided to get to know the creature closer. Nicknamed Toothless, the dragon seems to like its new master. Both, the human and animal, will have enough time to discover new unexpected things about each other and establish a strong bond of friendship, which later will help to melt the hearts of stern vikings towards the species.

The story here is surely the strongest part, but it takes time to realize it. So it's not the first thing you pay attention at, but this is amazing, photo realistic 3D effects that catch your whole attention right from the beginning and plunge you into the swirl of events allowing to get unbelievable movie watching experience! The picture is very realistic, so that if before you could hardly generate an image of any dragon in your head, now you won't just have a picture of them but know the tiniest details of each of a species. The flying scenes deserve to be told about: breathtaking and causing tickling feeling. It seems you are flying! Apart from Rio movie, which is strikingly bright, this cartoon cant' boast dazzling colors, but apparently has its unique charm.

Returning to the subject of the story it revolves around the conflict of the father and the son. Apart from the generation gap problems there is also a message sent to parents who are expecting too much from their children by forcing them to be what they are not about to ever be. But this information is given in a comic way without moralizing and rebuking. The characters are primarily funny and create a perfect background for a serious, appealing and quite intelligent hero like Hiccup.

The movie would be too boring without any action sequences, so action junkies will be pleased to know there is enough episodes for them to enjoy. They are even more intensified by the 3D, thus be ready to cover from a flying ax or a stream of fire. How to Train Your Dragon has no songs but very nice music which helps to create a certain atmosphere. The tune I like best is that accompanying Hiccup when he was tiptoeing inside the labyrinth drawn by Toothless.

How to Train Your Dragon is actually a moving cartoon in spite of all those ferocious dragons, savage vikings and aggressive fights. Due to its high critical acclaim, this superb cartoon found its solid place in the list of best movies of 2010 alongside such animated works of 2010 as Despicable Me, legendary Toy Story 3 and Megamind.