How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

dir. Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders
writ. Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders, and William Davies, novel by Cressida Cowell
feat. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera

What a delightful surprise this film turned out to be. I knew it was a good sign when one article cited its lack of broad humor and pop culture references as the reason it didn't blow out the box office initially. Thankfully, it found an audience as one of the biggest sleepers of the year, holding rank for weeks. As one who can't count on his taste being easily transferable, I'll rarely raise the flag for a film. But for this one, I tell everyone to see it.

In this case, the trick is in telling a coming-of-age tale with an unusual setting and a unique spin on what makes the main character special. Hiccup (Baruchel) is a young Viking who yearns to slay dragons just like his Pop (Butler). Unfortunately, he's a pipsqueak who shows little promise and as we eventually find out, doesn't have the killer's instinct necessary to do the job. In first hitting, then learning to love the injured dragon, he finds false success as a master of dragons, for understanding instead of violence. This leads to some powerful conflict between father and son, a rift both distressing and plausible within the context of the world. It also sets up Hiccup as a great savior for his people and gives him room to save their way of life and mend things with Pop.

This plot summary doesn't do the story justice. Just as that initial backhanded compliment indicated, the clever writing and very human sensibility of the film and its characters keep it aloft and entertaining. When Hiccup learns to fly the dragon, we experience something utterly lacking in Avatar which, despite its astounding budget and frequent flying effects, never offered the same gasping sense of freefall that grips the viewer as Hiccup dives toward uncertainty. This has as much to do with the attachment to the character as it does with the animation or 3-D effects (can you name one notable characteristic of the main dude in Avatar? me neither). You are along for the ride, sympathetic to both the adorable dragon and the troubled Hiccup.

All of this while surrounded by stunning visuals, created with the support of none other than Roger Deakins, cinematographer for the Coen Brothers films, The Reader, Doubt, and many more, who consulted to bring greater depth to the lighting. And as a last note, the story is well rounded with a budding romance between Hiccup and Astrid, a sly diversion complete with digs about love feeling like a simultaneous kiss and a punch in the face.