SYNOPSIS:
A winner with audiences and critics alike, DreamWorks
Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon rolls fire-breathing
action, epic adventure and laughs into a captivating and original
story. Hiccup is a young Viking who defies tradition when
he befriends one of his deadliest foes – a ferocious
dragon he calls Toothless. Together, the unlikely heroes must
fight against all odds to save both their worlds.
MOVIE REVIEW:
With Pixar and Disney around, DreamWorks will always be the poorest of the lot. One has an unbeatable box-office track record not mentioning critic-proof and the other, a rich animation legacy that dates back to pre-war America. With the success of "Kung Fu Panda" and this pre-summer hit "How To Train Your Dragon", DreamWorks animation is showing the world they aren’t mere flash in the pan, not Shrek dependent and they are serious in the animation business.
Set in a fantasy world whereby Vikings and Dragons collide, this rousing animation involves a young scrawny Viking, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who is trying to prove to his father, Stoick (Gerald Butler) that he is more than capable enough to fight against attacking dragons in his village. In a twist of fate, he manages to capture and befriend one of the most frightful species of all, the Night Fury aka Toothless which Hiccup nicknamed.
DreamWorks truly owes the success of Dragon to both directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the frequent collaborators who started their craft at Disney and helped created their last successful hand-drawn animation, Lilo and Stitch before some 'creative differences' forced them to leave the Mouse House. Right here, they build up the screenplay based on the original material by British author Cressida Cowell and filled it with so much love, adventure and epic action sets that once the narrative starts going, it never lets up.
The solemn tender love between father-and-son echoes the relationships of many people in real-life. The comedy is truly rib-tickling instead of the usual nod to pop cultures, we have witty one-liners, comical situations and also a sweet tale of friendship between two unlikely individuals.
There’s nary a dull moment and the visual artists at DreamWorks have outdone themselves with this remarkable epic. The visual is simply spectacular, from the opening sequence of the Dragons attack on the Viking village to the final confrontation with the gigantic villain in the end, every scene and backdrops is filled with awesome details that you practically need to pause to see what details your naked eye is missing.
As much as I have enjoyed the theatrical 3D version, the various aerial sequences presented here without the 3D technology with Toothless and Hiccup flying through the clouds are equally dazzling and with famed cinematographer Roger Deakins on board as consultant, it is a much more thrilling experience than any live-action movies. The various reptiles’ character designs are also a delight to marvel at given the many imaginative species the filmmakers have came up with, a pity given some only given a fraction of screentime.
"How To Train Your Dragon" manages to surprisingly lives up or in my opinion surpasses last summer hit, "Kung Fu Panda" in many aspects. The animation is flawless, has plenty of up-lifting messages to go around, fantastic voice acting and two cute leads, Toothless and Hiccup to root for. What more can you ask? If there’s only room for one animation title on your shelf this year, I would seriously recommend you get this.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
Viking Size Cast – An 11 minutes feature that takes you behind-the-scenes of the recording sessions involving stars like Gerald Butler, Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera and Craig Ferguson.
Want to know how much effort the artistes went into creating the fire elements? The Technical Artistry of Dragon is a brief 10 minutes segment that showcases the technology behind the dazzling effects and the hiring of cinematographer Roger Deakins as consultant.
Those aspiring to be computer effects wizard should tune in to Filmmakers' Commentary, directors Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois and Producer Bonnie Arnold offer an insightful view of the story and technical details behind it.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The visual is breathtaking and excellent; the grandeur of the Viking and dragon world which DreamWorks has created is amazingly showcased here. The wide range of ambient sound effects and John Powell’s lush score is a joy to listen. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is definitely potent.
MOVIE RATING :
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Linus Tee
Posted
on 10 December 2010 |
