If Dreamworks spent more time making movies like “How to Train Your Dragon” and 2008’s “Kung Fu Panda,” there would actually be a real contest with Pixar for the yearly Best Animated Film Oscar. The former studio gets a lot of flack, mostly deservedly so, for cranking out sequels and half-hearted kiddy flicks that come to you with generic CG animation and humor of the lowest common denominator. Every so often, the company steals a few tricks from their rival animation wizards and creates a winning, wowing film. This is most certainly the case with Dreamworks’ latest offering, “How to Train Your Dragon.”
The opening of the movie introduces you to the small Viking town of Berk, where the locals deal not with wolves or bears, but with dragons — lots and lots of dragons. Being Vikings, most of the village unleashes the full brunt of its muscular power in defending the town from a variety of fire-breathing menaces. Then there’s Hiccup, a scrawny, decidedly un-vicious anomaly of a Viking who is as awkward as his name implies and who is the hero of the story. Seeking the approval of his father, he sets out to kill the most elusive breed of dragon, only to find that he can’t quite do it. Instead, he tames the beast, becomes its friend, and sets out to show the tribe that dragons are not as evil as they look. With help from a little mechanical engineering, Hiccup and the dragon explore uncharted territory and bond over fish.
The plot here is essentially a tale of a lonely kid and his best animal pal, but is handled in such a way that it doesn’t feel like yet another Timmy-and-Lassie retread. The gradual juxtaposition of fighting dragons and spending after-school time learning their secrets is actually where a lot of the fun comes into play. And just when you think the movie is all about action and sarcasm, the film pulls out its winning smile, delivering empathy and a dash of optimism. “Dragon” has a quality story that emphasizes heart and wit over cheap jokes and throws every prank in the book at the viewer to see which laughs stick. It doesn’t claim to be original, but it manages to be well-executed enough that a lack of new ideas doesn’t matter as much.
Coupled with the plot are some amazing computer visuals and cinematography. Stepping away from the traditional over-exaggerated Dreamworks style while still maintaining a cartoony feel, the art direction is a welcome change of pace. The colorful dragons pop from the more earthen feel of the human characters, and the special effects, namely the fire and water animations, are some of the best produced yet. Learning a thing or two from Pixar, the cinematography in several scenes rivals some live-action films, with clever camera tricks and engaging angles. The climactic battle scene involves creatures, the scale of which you do not usually see in animation. The latter third of the movie is an eye-popping visual tour-de-force, especially in 3D.
With the absolute deluge of CG-assisted kids’ movies out there — sitting through the pre-feature trailers was a groan-inducing chore — it’s always a treat when someone not named Pixar manages to perfectly marry story and visuals in an animated feature. It’s about time Dreamworks breathed fire into their operation and I couldn’t think of a better movie to do that with. “How to Train Your Dragon” is already a contender for that Animated Film Oscar and, at worst, will have to settle for being the most enjoyable movie of 2010 thus far. Train yourself for a trip to the theater.