A Look Back #2: How To Train Your Dragon

A Look Back:

#2

'A Look Back' is a place where 'Movie Freak 77' reviews old movies, which he considers them one of his favorite movies. Hope you will enjoy these reviews. 

And Don't Forget: 'ENJOY BEING MOVIE FREAKED!"

Review: How To Train Your Dragon

"How To Train Your Dragon".

      'How to Train Your Dragon' is my favorite animated movie that just captivated me and everyone from the first time we saw it with its fresh and new story, characters, and special effects.

      In a Viking village lived Vikings, whose mission in life is to kill all kind of dragons. 'Hiccup Horrendus Haddock III'(Jay Baruchel), the son of the Viking chieftain 'Stoick the Vast'(Gerrard Buttler), meets and befriends one of the presumably deadliest dragons of all time, 'Night Fury' also called 'Toothless'. And here will start a new friendship as well as problems for 'Hiccup', 'Toothless', the Vikings, and the dragons. We also have in this story 'Gobber the Blech'(Craig Ferguson) 'Stoick''s friend, 'Astrid Hofferson'(America Ferrrera), 'Fishlegs Ingerman'(Christopher Mintz-Plasse), 'Snotlout Jorgenson'(Jonah Hill), 'Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston'(T.J. Miller and Kristin Wiig), and 'Ack'(Robin Atkin Downes).

      'How to Train Your Dragon' is one of those movies that will really surprise you. First of all, everyone must be aware that this movie based on the same name book series, which is written by "Cressida Cowell". However many changes to the plot, characters, and dragons were made. And I think these changes paid off. The target audience for this movie was widened and the end result was that much better. I really liked the movie and consider it one of the best animated movies I have ever seen.

      The story is really a new story that is fresh and never been told, and that was a big reason why people like me loved this movie. It brought new things to the table. The screenplay, which was done by the directors and "William Davies"('Johnny English'), was really good. The directors "Chris Sanders"('The Croods') and “Dean DeBlois"('Heima') in my opinion made a beautiful movie. The movie was just so great to watch from the aesthetics to the flow of the scenes. And the music, which was provided by "John Powell"('The Bourne Ultimatum' and 'Rio'), elevated the movie.

      The special effects in this movie are done in very beautiful way, but at the same time allowing you to enjoy the story and not to distract you from what is actually going. 'Toothless' was really done in a magnificent way. They described him as having the dragon and mountain lion features. And one thing that I really admired with the special effects was the attention to details in every thing. For example, 'Toothless' eyes, the way they change according to his state. The special effects in this movie are one of best I have ever seen. 

      The beginning of  the movie was a perfect way to introduce us to the characters and what is going on. And from there and towards the end, I thought that the movie flowed in a great way and that each scene took its fair share of time. My favorite moments were definitely the scenes of 'Hiccup' and 'Toothless' together. They were really done very well, had great comedic as well as dramatic moments, and these scenes are the ones that will get stuck in your brain. I think the ending was good and a great way to pave the way for future sequels.

      All the characters in the movie are essential, and if I had to remove a character I couldn't since all of them are essential and made this movie great. "Jay Baruchel" was the perfect voice for 'Hiccup', he just 100% matched the animated character. And the relationship between 'Hiccup' and 'Toothless' was one of the best human-animal relationships I have ever seen on the big screen. One thing I thought was weird is that some of the characters such as "Jay Baruchel" and "America Ferrera" had an American accent, while other characters such as "Gerrard Buttler" and "Craig Ferguson" has Scottish accent, which was weird but does not cause a great issue. All other actors who gave their voice also did a great job.

      'How to Train Your Dragon' is definitely one of my favorite animated movies as well as one of my favorite movies ever. Can't wait for 'How to Train Your Dragon 2 & 3', which will be released in June 20, 2014, and June 18, 2016 respectively.

"How To Train Your Dragon".

-"How To Train Your Dragon" Info:

-Release Date: March 26, 2010.

-Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerrard Buttler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J Miller, Kristin Wiig, and Robin Atkin Downes.
-Based on: 'How To Train Your Dragon' by Cressida Cowell.

-Studio(s): Dreamworks Animation and Paramount Pictures.

-Directed by: Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois.

-Music by: John Powell.

-Running Time: 98 minutes.

-Budget: $ 165,000,000.

-Box Office: Domestic(US): $ 217,581,231.

                      Foreign: $ 277,301,000.

-Ratings: -IMdb: 8.2/10.

                -Rotten Tomatoes: 98%.

                -Metacritic: 74%.

                -PERSONAL RATING: 8.8/10.

-"How To Train Your Dragon" Trailer: