A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.A hapless young Viking who aspires to hunt dragons becomes the unlikely friend of a young dragon himself, and learns there may be more to the creatures than he assumed.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 25 wins & 63 nominations total
- Hiccup
- (voice)
- Stoick
- (voice)
- Gobber
- (voice)
- Astrid
- (voice)
- Snotlout
- (voice)
- Tuffnut
- (voice)
- (as TJ Miller)
- Ruffnut
- (voice)
- Ack
- (voice)
- Starkard
- (voice)
- Spitelout
- (voice)
- Dragons
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe hesitation Toothless shows during the famous "touch" scene was actually an animation error. However, it looked so perfect that the animators chose to leave it in the film.
- GoofsThe Vikings' accent is Scottish, not Scandinavian. However, the Vikings settled large portions of Scotland, including the Inner Hebrides where the fictitious colony of Berk is shown to be located, and this is the movie's way of reminding us of this.
- Quotes
Hiccup: [about the Night Fury] I really did hit one.
Gobber: Sure.
Hiccup: He never listens!
Gobber: Well, it runs in the family.
Hiccup: And when he does, it's always with this... disappointed scowl, like someone skimped on the meat in his sandwich.
[imitating]
Hiccup: "Excuse me, barmaid! I'm afraid you brought me the wrong offspring! I ordered an extra-large boy with beefy arms, extra guts and glory on the side. This here, this is a talking fish-bone!"
Gobber: Now, you're thinkin' about this all wrong. It's not so much what you *look* like, it's what's *inside* that he can't stand.
[pause]
Hiccup: [sarcastic] Thank you for summing that up.
Gobber: Look the point is, stop trying so hard to be something you're not!
Hiccup: I just wanna be one of you guys!
- Crazy creditsWhen the DreamWorks logo appears at the beginning of the movie, a black dragon can be seen flying over the stars
- Alternate versionsThe 2019 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray printing add the 2013 Universal Pictures logo and omits the closing 2002 Paramount Pictures logo.
- SoundtracksSticks and Stones
Written by Jon Thor Birgisson (as Jónsi)
Performed by Jon Thor Birgisson (as Jónsi)
Produced and Mixed by Alex Somers & Jon Thor Birgisson (as Jónsi)
Courtesy of EMI Records, Ltd.
[Plays over the first part of the main-on-end credits, just after the main title]
Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup, a viking kid who happens to be more brains than brawn, more scrawny than buffed, and this of course sets him apart from the rest of his warrior clan folks, who are battle scarred from the constant defense of the village pests - dragons who come from afar to plunder their livestock and setting their houses on fire, so much so that every house on the block is relatively brand new. Wanting to help out in any way he can, he's deemed more of a liability than an asset, especially when even his dad Stoick (Gerard Butler) cannot appreciate his unique, technical talent.
In a stroke of uncanny luck, Hiccup downs a flying dragon in the heat of battle, and his compassion meant to set the dragon free, rather than trying to prove himself to be a worthy viking man by killing it. And it's a rare specimen of a dragon too, which would have brought him instant glory. So a bond between man and mythical beast gets struck, and christened as Toothless, this is one pest who slowly grows into a pet, with Hiccup's secret rendezvous resulting in growing appreciation for the species, despite what the knowledge that his kinsman had compiled into a Dragon compendium which details facts all ending with an advisory on compulsory annihilation.
The story here is the strength of the film, being witty, smart but never condescending nor insulting the intelligence of the audience. While most characters are caricatures, especially Hiccup's peers, a lot of effort have been put into creating the leads as multi-dimensional and full of heart, and I enjoyed how the characters are so open to their emotions, that it becomes a lot more real than the photo realistic 3D animation and effects. Sure there's the usual father-son misunderstanding and expectations, and how a zero turns to hero, or even the theme of fearing something that we don't fully comprehend, but it's the manner in which the usual got delivered, that made all the difference. Especially so for its anti-war stance, that all it takes is a little step back from the common battle-cry, and instead seek to be understood, by holding out an olive branch, and to understand first.
For those who enjoy the mythology of the dragon creature, there are a number of ideas thrown up in the film that would make you nod in appreciation how these got conjured up for the film, and they worked wonders, even though they may be a tad predictable plot wise. And I'm betting that a lot of folks out there will take to Toothless, thanks to its "stitch"-ish design similar to Lilo and Stitch (since it's co-director Chris Sander's previous work) and huge saucer like eyes, plus a lovable demeanour built into the character that's always apprehensive, and mischievous. Being the creature that has no track record also helped, since it ropes you into a journey of friendship, bonding and discovery with Hiccup as to how powerful his new found friend can be, not to mention how symbiotic their relationship will evolve into as well.
Action junkies will find the action sequences in the film faultless, and the 3D got specifically crafted for certain set action pieces that really had me ducking for cover, for once. Fights are incredible, and always accompanied either by humour that worked without the feeling that it was deliberate nor just tried too hard, coupled with the comedic voice talents such as Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.
How to Train Your Dragon is similar to last year's Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs - Long titles, great story, beautiful animation and a total delight. Highly recommended, and it goes into my list as contenders for best films of this year!
- DICK STEEL
- Mar 17, 2010
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Cómo entrenar a tu dragón
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $165,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $217,581,231
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $43,732,319
- Mar 28, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $494,879,860
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1