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I liked this book more than I anticipated I would. The movie was still undeniably better than the book, but the book was still fun. It was a cute, silly middle grade book. I liked Hiccup and Toothless, even though their characters (especially Toothless') are a lot different from the movie. The slightly different purposes for the dragons was interesting to see too, and the fact that dragons can understand the humans (but only obey them if they are yelling) but the humans (except Hiccup) can't understand the dragons, and speaking in the dragon language is illegal. I know that the movie was based on the book, so in most cases like this, the book would be better, but I thought the movie had more depth to the characters, and to the plot. ( )

Great original story, beautiful animation, and an exceedingly unlikely hero. ( )

A young viking who's not good at fighting lives in a village frequently raided by dragons.

Don't be fooled by the bad marketing and horrible title (like I was). This is a sincere adventure story, entertaining from beginning to end. There are no pop-culture references. There is no crude humor. The voice actors (while they might not have been the best choices) were clearly chosen for their voices, not box office draw. It almost seems like DreamWorks is coming to their senses and trying to do what Pixar does - tell a good story with strong characters. But, the thing is, this isn't really "a DreamWorks Film" - because, come on, that doesn't even mean anything; they're just a f***ing movie studio. What this movie secretly is is the long-awaited (or would have been long-awaited in a perfect world) second film from the writing/directing team that made Lilo & Stitch.

Concept: B
Story: B
Characters: B
Dialog: C
Pacing: A
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: C
Acting: C
Music: C

Enjoyment: B

GPA: 2.7/4 ( )

This computer animated film adaptation of the book by Cressida Cowell tells the story of Hiccup, a disastrous failure of a Viking who can't defeat a dragon, embarrasses his father (a hearty Viking named Stoick), and fails to catch the attention of the girl of his dreams, Astrid. However, when Hiccup encounters and eventually befriends Toothless, a wounded Night Fury (which is, of course, the most dangerous dragon alive), life begins to change for Hiccup and the other Vikings on his island. Though rather different from the book, the adaptation is exceptionally well done and very entertaining. The film is full of visual and verbal humor that works on levels so younger and older viewers will be entertained, though perhaps for different reasons. The plot is exciting and moves along quickly, and the film nicely conveys a range of emotional responses, for instance, the scenes when Hiccup first approaches Toothless are quite suspenseful and mildly frightening. The dragons are cute, and humorously cat-like in their behavior, and the animation and the epic, soaring soundtrack wonderfully convey the excitement of flying with dragons in the scenes with Hiccup and Toothless. How To Train Your Dragon is an entertaining story with nice messages about cooperation, peaceful conflict resolution, being proud of yourself for who you are, and family relationships. The movie does have some frightening scenes and violence, and is appropriate for children over the age of seven. ( )