Fun for the WHOLE Family

Title: How to Train Your Dragon
Format: Movie theater, 2-D
Date Seen: March 26, 2010 (opening night)
Category: Animated/Fantasy/Family
Rating: A+

Finally, a family film that's for the whole family. The problem with family films today is that the ones trying to reach out to an older audience do so by adding innuendo or references that you just hope flies over the kids' heads. Or the movie is so ridiculously childish and saccharine sweet that it alienates audiences older than 7 or 8. This movie isn't childish, saccharine sweet, or full of off-color jokes. It's just right for the whole family.

Description (from Fandango.com): Set in the mythical world of burly Vikings and wild dragons, and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, this action comedy tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn't exactly fit in with his tribe's longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup's world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

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I was so thankful we didn't see this movie in 3-D. Mostly because I get headaches from prolonged 3-D media and because the tickets were $3 more than the 2-D tickets, but also because the 3-D special effects would have been the main focus of the experience, rather than the story. Watching in 2-D allowed the movie itself--the characters, the dialogue, the plot-- to shine.

I loved this movie because it was such a fun, family-friendly film. There is only one off-color joke in the entire film. And it doesn't even need that. I saw this movie with a group of friends, all of us in our twenties, and we all loved it. It didn't need innuendos to keep us entertained; it wasn't too young or too sappy either. It's also great because this is one movie I'm going to be able to take my little sister to without having to worry about covering her eyes or ears.

The story in this film is great too, because it's such a classic theme-- the theme of a boy and his dog; except here it's a boy and his dragon. And the dragon is so adorable! I want to take him home with me!

So if you're looking for a film to see with your family, or to see with friends, or to see on your own, this movie is a great fit for anyone. A+