Here, Thar Be Dragons

It seems like ages since I'd last seen Rob. His commute to and from Simi Valley during the week ate up any inkling of free time he had -- having to leave his house at 4 AM to make the 75-mile trip along LA freeways, which dragged the trek to anywhere from 1-1/2 to 3 hours; same excitement on the way home. So Rob, our friend Clark and I celebrated Rob's last working day in Simi Valley by taking in a movie: How To Train Your Dragon.

On the island of Berk, a young Viking named Hiccup just wants to slay dragons like everyone else. One slight problem: he's skinny. And can barely lift a sword. And he's more brain than brawn. His father, Stoick the Vast, chief of the island, refuses to let him anywhere near the dragons when they attack -- which is often. Yet Hiccup still tries by inventing new devices which might just stop the dragons if only someone would listen to him.

When the dragons next attack, Hiccup sneaks out with a new contraption and manages to hit a dragon, and not just any dragon but a Night Fury, which no one had ever seen face to face. No one will listen to him, though, so he sets out to find the fallen dragon for himself. What he finds and what he learns changes what he's always been taught to believe about dragons It's up to Hiccup to change the minds of his fellow Vikings and not only same them, but the dragons as well.

The movie turned out to be a very heartwarming and charming story. And the animation and 3D added to the wonderment. I liked that it wasn't the gimmicky 3D, with sharp swords flying at the audience or such tricks to make the audience jump back in their seats. This 3D added depth to the scenes and to the characters, making them seem more real rather than illustrations on a flat screen. The actors providing the voices also did a fine job. Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, Craig Ferguson as Gobber, America Ferrera as Hiccup's love interest Astrid, and Jay Baruchel as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third.

We enjoyed the film greatly and recommend it to everyone. Just make sure to see it in 3D.

Image from

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cziebarth/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0