MOVIE REVIEW: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

Six of Seven Cows

I don’t know why I resist animated movies like I do. Some of the most original, entertaining and just plain fun movies I’ve ever seen have been animated. But to see my face on a weekend like this when I realize the only thing new in theaters is How To Train Your Dragon, you’d think I was being dragged to what one of my less-cultured acquaintances would call “one of them ballerina shows.” That’s the ballet for the rest of you, which I’m sure I’d enjoy against my will just like I enjoyed How To Train Your Dragon. I’ll never know for certain.

             

How To Train Your Dragon is the story of Hiccup, a pip-squeak of a Viking and laughing stock of his village where one’s prowess in killing dragons is the mark of manhood. When Hiccup secretly befriends a dragon he’s at first ridiculed, until he saves the day and becomes a hero. Pretty original, huh? Maybe not, but your average eight-year-old doesn’t know that. Original or not, however, How To Train Your Dragon is both fun and surprisingly moving.

            

Perhaps it’s because I love dogs, and because whenever an animated filmmaker wants to make a creature loveable he makes it behave like a dog, but I was a happy passenger in this little fun-ride from beginning to end. I always feel a little silly when I get emotionally involved with an animated flick, but silly or not I did and I’m not ashamed to admit it.

             

One of my biggest questions about animated movies has been the casting of big-name actors to provide the voices for the characters. I’ve always thought this had to be a huge waste of money, as I defy anyone to tell me they’ve gone to see a cartoon because the big gargoyle was played by Dustin Hoffman, or whatever. Seriously, who cares, and why do the Dreamworks and Disney’s of the world shell out such big bucks? Well, I feel somewhat vindicated, as I don’t recognize a single name in the cast of How To Train Your Dragon. I’m not going to bother mentioning their names, because you won’t either and it would be a waste of space to prove it. Suffice to say that this is a great movie in spite of the fact that Clint Eastwood wasn’t cast as the Viking chief.

            

There’s nothing here for parents to be worried about, and those non-parents out there shouldn’t be ashamed to go see How To Train Your Dragon either. It’s easily one of the best movies in theaters right now. I promise. I give it six cows.