First of all, the animation in this is spectacular. All the scenery in the film looks like something you could find in real life. The action, mainly the climax, and flying shots in this film also show how great the animation is. The main thing about the animation that is amazing is how the dragons look. They all look like real, kinda cartoonish, dragons that come across as vicious but also cute. The cinematography in this film is stunning. The lighting in each and every scene was chosen correctly for it. I really like the score in this film that was done by John Powell. The music in the film just helped bring you into this fantasy world of Vikings and dragons. Now my main problem is mainly the casting of the voice actors. They all did great jobs as their roles but I think some of them would have been better casted if their character was older and not a teenager. That can mainly be seen with Hiccup who is supposed to be a teenager but sounds like an adult who already went through puberty. I also had a few issues with the pacing in this film. Some scenes were way too short and I would have liked to have seen them a tiny bit longer. Now I do get that it’s a film made for children but as long as there’s moving objects on screen kids won’t care what’s happening in the movie. In the end How to Train Your Dragon is an excellent film for everybody no matter how old you are. I give How to Train Your Dragon a 9/10.

**Spoilers ahead** The story was really enjoyable, it is a standard embrace that you are different and you will be stronger. However, I think it works well here. Hiccup is not a strong viking like the rest of his village, but he is very smart. He uses that to observe dragons, learn how to live with them and help them. Which, in some way does make him a better fighter but he doesn’t want to kill them. There are many tropes in this movie, like the one I mentioned above. However, the writers really lift them in a way that they feel fresh again. The rest of the character roster have a simple characterization, but again they have depth. The movie does not have a lot of time, but it really makes the most out of it. It also does not underestimate the viewer, there are plenty of scenes where there is no dialogue. Which makes sense, considering dragons don't understand human language. Those scenes are probably my favorite, those little changes really stick over the course of the movie. They tell a story which words never could. There are some moments where you have to suspend your belief. For example the final fight does feel a bit much for a group of teenagers, but it does feel earned. Throughout the movie we see their daily practice, and we do see their strengths and weakness. While also having very little knowledge of how to fly a dragon, which is also evident in the fight scene. On top of that we also see a character actually suffer consequences, which is rarely seen in this type of media. That part is quite refreshing and a good reminder that our main cast is not invincible. The animation was also really good and there were many beautiful scenes. I think the animators really outdid themselves with the visuals. Overall this a movie for everyone, I think adults and children can enjoy this both equally.

Who doesn’t like films about dragons? This one draws a bit from mythology, stays just the right side of sentimentality and avoids any power ballads as it tells us the tale of the young “Hiccup” who is the son of the chief (Gerard Butler) and has a reputation for messing things up when it comes to the Viking’s biggest nemesis - the marauding dragon. The young “Hiccup” is quite inventive though, and he devises a contraption that despite the scorn and derision of his friends, he reckons might by capture the ultimate in dragonry - the “Night Fury”. Suffice to say he proves just a bit more successful than he had anticipated and so now has to try and do what it says on the posters. What now ensues entertainingly mixes loads of action adventure with some comedy, tales of derring-do and even some engineering that would have made Michelangelo and Da Vinci proud. It’s almost perfectly paced as it rollicks along with a bit of slap-stick, plenty of courage and amiable characterisations as it builds to quite an exciting denouement that I felt had something of the “Moby Dick” to it. The quality of the animation is pretty high, though perhaps a little too uniform and static at times on the grand scale scenarios but nothing to spoil a solid story engagingly told that I really quite enjoyed.