My Movie Review: How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon was an adorable, animated full-length film with a lot to offer. From its skillfully made animation to its adorable, tight plot, this movie had me on my toes for the vast majority of it. Speaking of which, this movie, though animated, may be too much for young children considering its action scenes and the fact that it is... well... about dragons! Some of the more intense scenes involved loud sounds and music with scary chasing and attacking content. For the average 10-year-old, I would not worry about showing them this movie. To watch the movie with a child younger than that, one would have to gauge how his or her child normally reacts to action movies involving chasing, fire, and fight scenes.

I don't want to give too much about the movie away because explaining the whole movie isn't my job! That's your job- to go see the movie for yourself! Trust me, you won't regret it. What I will say is that overall, the movie was a delight! The main dragon was created with such an endearing personality that it was impossible to dislike him. He had cat-like movement and dog-like playfulness that left me wanting to have my own dragon! In fact, that is about the only disappointing factor in the entire movie: you will so fall in love with the leading dragon, that you will be somber over the fact that you simply cannot own one due to the fact that they don't exist!

This movie had a deep theme to it about understanding versus fighting. It shows that things are not always as they seem and that perhaps there is a reason for someone behaving a certain way, a personal situation that is causing him or her to act in ways of which you disapprove. Perhaps if you walked a day in his or her shoes (or in this case, flew a day in his or her wings!), you would see the cause of unwanted feelings or actions. This sounds confus-ilating now, but trust me, once you see the movie, you will understand the morals of which I speak... er... write.

The famous and over-used analogical phrase "You can't judge a book by its cover" takes on a fresh, positively adorable new packaging in this film, and I would highly encourage a discussion with your children after viewing it to make sure that they grasp this underlying moral concept. Perhaps movies like this one will encourage kids to better understand their "dragons" at school or other social areas.

Whether you are searching for a movie filled with moral analogies to teach your children or simply for an adorable, immensely entertaining film, How to Train Your Dragon is your Friday night flick! So pop some corn, cuddle up with your whole family, your significant other, or hey, with your teddy bear, and enjoy one of DreamWorks's most heartwarming, yet exciting films to date.

I Rate This Movie: * * * * *