It's Just Movies

— by ALLISON HIGGINBOTHAM —

Having two younger sisters means that I’ve had to watch some pretty horrible kid movies. From “Garfield: The Movie” to “G-Force,” it hasn’t been pretty. Luckily, “How to Train Your Dragon” wasn’t horrible at all.

The plot of “How to Train Your Dragon” is pretty simple. Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) is a teenager living in a Viking city which is constantly being attacked by dragons. His father, Stoick (voiced by Gerard Butler), is the leader who is very good at killing dragons; Hiccup on the other hand just makes things worse. When Hiccup does manage to injure a dragon, he finds that he cannot slay him. Instead, Hiccup gives him a name (Toothless) and begins training him. At the same time, Hiccup is also training to become a dragon fighter at his dad’s request. Hiccup begins to use what he has learn from Toothless in his dragon-fighting lessons.

The film overall has a great message for kids: if we learn more about things that are different from us, then they become less scary. Plus, the animation is enough to keep them interested for an hour and a half. Adults shouldn’t have a hard time sitting through it either. It’s funny without having to rely on potty humor or innuendos that go above the kids’ heads.

There’s not much else to say about “How to Train Your Dragon.” The animation is on par with other Dreamwork films. The flight scenes are a little over-stimulating though, especially if you’re watching it in 3D. The ending is a little implausible, but it’s a movie about dragons, so you have to take it with a grain of salt.

Overall, I recommend seeing “How to Train Your Dragon.” You’ll be laughing along with the kids.

“How to Train Your Dragon” is playing in Imax 3D, 3D and 2D in theatres everywhere.

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Follow Allison Higginbotham on Twitter at http://twitter.com/allisonbh.