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Greetings. I am the Illusive One. For many years now I have been a huge video game player, movie viewer, and book reader. For almost as long, I have been a critic of these things and many people respect my opinions of these things and have often said I belong on G4 doing reviews on X-Play or a similar show. Sadly that is not likely to happen. So instead I shall do reviews for you, uninfluenced by other reviewers, of video games books, movies, and, occasionally, music and political actions. I hope you find this informative and helpful. Thank you for your time.

Friday, March 18, 2011

How to Train Your Dragon

            Their have been a lot of films, books, and video games over the years that depict humans befriending dragons despite the world seeing them as a menace.  Having recently seen the film, How to Train Your Dragon, I decided to give my thoughts on it.
            As I'm sure you all know, it is an animated film by DreamWorks and features the voice acting of Jay Barlichel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, and Jonah Hill.  The plot revolves around Hiccup, son of a Viking clan leader, as he befriends a dragon named Toothless, despite the fact that his entire clan hunts and kill dragons.
            On the positive side, the movie contained a heartwarming tale of a boy trying to befriend a wild animal while dealing with the pressures of his community with the perfect soundtrack mixed in.  Gerard Butler and Craig Ferguson were both perfect fits for their part, Butler as Stoick the Viking clan leader and Ferguson as Gobber, the slightly insane dragon slayer teacher.  There were a number of different dragons in this film, each with their own abilities and looks and I thought this was very creative.  Some of the humor was entertaining, particularly with Gobber's dragon slaying training.  And last, I thought the dragon Toothless was very entertaining in the way he constantly shifted from being a fierce wild animal to a loving pet, usually indicated by his eyes going from fierce reptilian looking to loving bug-eyed.
            In spite of all this, there were quite a few flaws with this movie.  First is the plot structure, as it’s been used a hundred times over, (watch the movie and you'll see what I mean).  Then there are the dragons.  While they were interestingly diverse, I couldn't get over how stupid most of them looked.  I know it’s supposed to be a kid’s movie, but most of these dragons looked like they had birth defects or something.  Last has to do with the lines and the voice acting.  There were a lot of lines in it that were obviously meant to be funny but just weren’t.  Last, Jay Barlichel just did a horrible job voicing Hiccup. 
            All around, I did like this movie and thought it was both heartwarming and entertaining.  While it will never escape the shadow of Toy Story 3 it's still a good one so check it out if you have an hour and a half to spare.

All Around
8/10

6 comments:

  1. You gave this movie a non-perfect score? To quote Hiccup, 'Why would you do that?!'

    As far as the story being done before, Toy Story 3 isn't exactly original either: It's just the Great Escape done with toys in a Daycare center. Whats important is themework! HTTYD delt with descrimination, acceptance, being yourself, and doing what is right without even sounding preachy!

    I disagree entirely about you saying Jay Baruchel did an awful job voicing hiccup: Keep in mind, Hiccup is a non-comformist Teenager, so I think his deadpan and sarcastic style did work quite well for the charahcter.

    While I will cede the point on the dragons, that should be blamed on the author of the book.

    As for Toy Story 3 bring better, think of it this way: If you had never heard of Toy Story 1 or 2, which film would be better on its own? The acting... the music... the story... the themes... the special effects and CGI work... When you add it all together, How to Train your Dragon was on a whole the superior film. I loved Toy Story 3, but it is quite literally standing on the shoulders of giants, and has the advantage of having already known and loved charahcters... it would be like if they had a sequel of this movie where they kill Toothless on screen. When you discount part 1 or 2, and judge fairly, what is your opinion now?

    Mine will always be How to Train your Dragon... at the very least I can respect your opinion.

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  2. damn dude. thats one long ass comment. to respond, the theam work in HTTYD, like the plot, has been used a hundrned times over. each to his own about hiccup, and i just thought toy story 3 was better and to tell you the truth, you're the only person i can think of who disagrees

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  3. As I said before, Toy Story 3 is no beacon of originality either. It's just the Great Escape with toys and a scene where a college kid gives away his Cowboy Doll.

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  4. it was far more original then HTTYPD and thats the end of this

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  5. Give examples of how Toy Story 3 was more original and had better themes. If you can make a better case, I shall be silent.

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  6. I think the best part about this movie wasnt the plot of the characters, it had to be the scenery and the music. However, you're right, the plot was generic, and the dragons did look stupid. Bring me better dragons!

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