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How to Train Your Dragon.
SpeedySwaf
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
This is about Dreamwork's latest animated movie
which was (loosely) based on a book of the same title, and was directed by Chris Sanders. People may remember him for the last film he directed, Lilo & Stitch.
This thread was created so that people can post their impressions of the film, and also to provide some exposure since it deserves more attention then it's getting right now.
"Well that's not surprising, is it? It's Dreamworks."
Put that away. How to Train Your Dragon is quite a bit different from Dreamwork's other films. There are not a ton of pop culture references--very little, if any, actually--and is actually driven forward not by a string of gags or comedic pieces, but by the story and the characters present. The balance of story and humor is very similar to a Pixar film.
"Okay, but the commercials..."
Have been very misleading. There's a growing consensus that Dreamworks dropped the ball on marketing: there's been a lot of commercials and exposure, but they imply a very different film. The commercials are trying to sell it as a slap-stick comedy, with sound effects and voice clips scattered in a way to make it seem as such. While the movie does have humor, it's role is clearly secondary.
"Well, okay...so what's the story?"
The story is that on the island of Berk, located "a few degrees south of freezing to death," a village of vikings are constantly raided by swarms of dragons, stealing livestock and destroying homes. Our protagonist, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (we'll stick to Hiccup), is often looked down on in the village, despite being the son of the viking chief, Stoick the Vast. This is because he is by-and-large a wimp who can barely lift a weapon.
But one night he gets lucky and shoots down a dragon with a device he made, only to let it go once he finds it. What follows is a story of Hiccup trying to learn more about the dragon, which he calls Toothless, while at the same time trying to keep him a secret from the rest of the village.
The story, while not exactly unique (dragons and vikings aside) still provides for some quality entertainment. The characters are fun, distinct, and have some fun interactions with each other. Some of the best scenes in the film come from how Hiccup and Toothless bond with each other, with the latter being emotive despite the lack of a speaking role. Some very pretty visuals in the flight and action scenes also help.
"Alright, well I read the book. How does it stack up?"
A very good question, and one I can't really answer, having never read the book. But from what I've heard, it's vastly different from the original book (Toothless originally being small, green and actually toothless is just one difference), but can still stand on its own merits.
"And it is a good film, right?"
Absolutely! It's definitely one of Dreamworks' best films, and is probably one of the best animated films period. As of this writing it's got a 97% Fresh rating at RottenTomatoes, and a 73 at Metacritic.
So yeah, go watch it when you can. You won't regret it.
which was (loosely) based on a book of the same title, and was directed by Chris Sanders. People may remember him for the last film he directed, Lilo & Stitch.
This thread was created so that people can post their impressions of the film, and also to provide some exposure since it deserves more attention then it's getting right now.
"Well that's not surprising, is it? It's Dreamworks."
Put that away. How to Train Your Dragon is quite a bit different from Dreamwork's other films. There are not a ton of pop culture references--very little, if any, actually--and is actually driven forward not by a string of gags or comedic pieces, but by the story and the characters present. The balance of story and humor is very similar to a Pixar film.
"Okay, but the commercials..."
Have been very misleading. There's a growing consensus that Dreamworks dropped the ball on marketing: there's been a lot of commercials and exposure, but they imply a very different film. The commercials are trying to sell it as a slap-stick comedy, with sound effects and voice clips scattered in a way to make it seem as such. While the movie does have humor, it's role is clearly secondary.
"Well, okay...so what's the story?"
The story is that on the island of Berk, located "a few degrees south of freezing to death," a village of vikings are constantly raided by swarms of dragons, stealing livestock and destroying homes. Our protagonist, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (we'll stick to Hiccup), is often looked down on in the village, despite being the son of the viking chief, Stoick the Vast. This is because he is by-and-large a wimp who can barely lift a weapon.
But one night he gets lucky and shoots down a dragon with a device he made, only to let it go once he finds it. What follows is a story of Hiccup trying to learn more about the dragon, which he calls Toothless, while at the same time trying to keep him a secret from the rest of the village.
The story, while not exactly unique (dragons and vikings aside) still provides for some quality entertainment. The characters are fun, distinct, and have some fun interactions with each other. Some of the best scenes in the film come from how Hiccup and Toothless bond with each other, with the latter being emotive despite the lack of a speaking role. Some very pretty visuals in the flight and action scenes also help.
"Alright, well I read the book. How does it stack up?"
A very good question, and one I can't really answer, having never read the book. But from what I've heard, it's vastly different from the original book (Toothless originally being small, green and actually toothless is just one difference), but can still stand on its own merits.
"And it is a good film, right?"
Absolutely! It's definitely one of Dreamworks' best films, and is probably one of the best animated films period. As of this writing it's got a 97% Fresh rating at RottenTomatoes, and a 73 at Metacritic.
So yeah, go watch it when you can. You won't regret it.
SpeedySwaf on
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This surprises me to hear.
Personally I think this has been Dreamwork's best film.
Stupid marketing people.
I'm definitely gonna try and see this in theaters at some point.
It's got enough comedy to be amusing, and enough of it is adult-ish in nature that it'll keep you amused even without kids around. Plus, the leading dragon is so adorable that I was promptly sent on a quest to find the largest plush version in existence.
I actually really enjoyed the 3D and thought it was actually some of the best 3D animation I've ever seen. It never tried to "pop" out of the screen, and some of the later scenes are absolutely phenomenal in 3D.
Hell, I liked it as much as my favorite movies. In fact, I'd say it's my favorite of 2010 so far. Possibly the most entertaining movie since Star Trek in 2009.
say what now
I've heard this comment a lot about this movie (well, others too), and I'm curious. Is it because it's really good in 3D, or are people now more willing to go see 3D, and are only experiencing Real3D for the first time?
Real3D doesn't inherently give the poke-your-eye-out 3D effect, and most of the movies aren't going out of their way to do those ridiculous contrived scenes (like throwing things towards the audience) specifically to show off the 3D effect. I've been going to all the movies offered in 3D (Ice Age, Bolt, Up!, Avatar, etc.) and I've noticed that they've been specifically avoiding pulling those stunts and doing what I've been calling "tasteful" 3D, which is a lot more subtle.
I've really enjoyed the trailers, the movie looks quite clever and humorous, but it gives me pause that the consensus is that the trailers don't give the film the right characterization. I doubt very much I won't enjoy it either way, and I'm looking forward to seeing it, but I've been misled by trailers many times in the past, and it seems... unecessary to do anything other than play the trailers straight in this case. Makes you wonder what the marketing people are thinking.
I have never been a big fan of DreamWorks movies and was initially hesitant about seeing this film. Luckily my wife convinced me to go see a matinee showing of it in 3D and it beat all of my expectations. As others have pointed out, it is not your typical DreamWorks movie.
Plus it has Craig Ferguson as Gobber the Belch. How can you go wrong with a Scottish Viking teaching you how to fight dragons!
sorry was posting from my phone and it did a weird double post thing.
Before the good reviews came in, this was the only reason I wanted to watch this. Now it's just the main reason.
And am I the only person who dislikes even the newfangled 3D? I saw Coraline in a 3D theater and ugh, the colors were so washed out that the 3D didn't make up for it at all.
I'm not a huge fan of 3D at all, but it suits this movie amazingly well. Especially the last act. The last act in 3D is so good.
Spoiler about said last act:
Better than past Dreamworks movies I remember seeing. Better than Kung Fu Panda, just for starters.
Also the way they ended it was pretty ballsy for a children's movie, I thought.
Only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the main character voice acting. Ferguson was amazing, Butler did what he does best, and even Jonah Hill wasn't too annoying. Hiccup just never sounded emotionally invested in the film, coming across at best as sort of bored with it all. It was the worst with the line from the trailer, "Thanks for nothing, you worthless reptile."
Other than that, our whole group (late 20s guys and gals) had a blast.
The main problem with 3D at the moment is that the glasses cut the amount of light in half. They need to get a special screen that reflects the light much more or it looks dull and the colors are not bright.
I also don't want to look like a Pedo, since I would go see it by myself, so I'll have to wait till DVD.
I'm kinda surprised you singled out Coraline, because I thought that it was one of the better of the 3D movies in this new wave of them.
Re: Lord Palington's comment about the dialogue, I'll agree that I found the tone kind of variable. I know DW were trying not to be Shrek this time, but I don't think they quite got there. A lot of it was just a little too 'modern sitcom' in flavour.
Add me in as someone looking for more artwork from the film. I want a Toothless desktop or something, but there's stuff-all online so far. The main character artist doesn't even have a website, which is a real shame. He did Kung Fu Panda as well.
I saw it by myself. :x
I don't think anyone seeing you watch this movie by yourself would think you're a pedophile. :P And if they do, they're ridiculous and you shouldn't care anyway.
I loved this movie. It's a definitely first day purchase when it comes out on 3D blu-ray or whatever. I watched it in 3D and didn't feel like it detracted at all from the quality of the film.
Speaking of voice actors though, is it just me, or is Jay Baruchel (Hiccup) becoming this year's "in everything" actor. There was one year when Seth Rogen was in everything, and Morgan Freeman is usually that guy. This year, JB is in so many movies, it's strange. Lesser known Canadian kid who I mostly remember as that guy who was on Popular Mechanics for Kids with Elisha Cuthbert.
Steam: TheArcadeBear
Thats a rather silly goose thing of you to do.
Plenty of great source material has been made into terrible movies. If its a good movie, give credit where credit is due... the source AND the people who made the movie.
Same as with Kung Fu Panda, I didn't think much of this movie from the previews, but I've learned from KFP, Cars, and Up! not to take previews for animated movies these days so seriously.
PSN: ShogunGunshow
Origin: ShogunGunshow
Not when every other original story by Dreamworks proves otherwise. I don't think its that outrageous of a claim in this case in particular.
So obviously everyone who worked on the movie had nothing to contribute to its quality. :rotate:
I mean really. Fuck these guys.
There were so many idiot parents who brought toddlers to see it when we went. I guess they are of the mindset that it's automatically for super young children because it was animated. Needless to say, my wife and I were the only ones laughing through most of the movie because the kids just didn't get the jokes/references.
Anyone who doesn't see this film is really missing out.
Also,
This is why I always see animated movies (and most movies generally) at the Alamo Drafthouse here in Austin. Animated movies after 6pm have a no-child-under-6 policy. It's fantastic.
The atmosphere at the Drafthouse is always so much better than the average random Regal or Cinemark.
We knew we should have waited until the 9:00 PM showing because that would have drastically cut down on the number of small children in attendance. However, we didn't and we dealt with the consequences of our decision.
I will say, though, that we thought it was even funnier that we were the only people in that showing who got the adult jokes/references. It was exactly like when we saw Kung Fu Panda; the opening scene that makes fun of all the old time Kung Fu movies is god damn hilarious but no one else got the joke.
I mean short of bringing a puppy and giant bag of candy while wearing a "I own a white van" t-shirt I don't see how you would give that vibe off.
More to the point fuck them. You're an adult. You are allowed to watch any movie you want . The opions of people I doubt you'll ever se again in your life shouldn't matter.
On that note I am going to see the movie by myself. Probably on Tuesday.
You know what's interesting is that I didn't notice that many humorous adult references. Do you mean like pop culture references?
I thought the humor was something that everyone could get. The jokes in dialogue were more humorous banter - sort of like between Dory and Marlin in Finding Nemo. And the other humor was more situational - like the early scenes where Toothless was trying to mimic Hiccup (oh god the smiling scene was amazing). I didn't notice that many adult references or anything that required you to have more than like an average English vocabulary, really.
But maybe I just didn't get the references because I am not cultured.
That was by far one of the best scenes. Any of the scenes where Hiccup and Toothless were getting to know each other were great. I plan on grabbing this as soon as it comes out on Blu-ray.
Toothless trying to smile: