DVD review: How to Train Your Dragon ****

How to Train Your Dragon  ****

Stars: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera
Director: Dean DeBlois
Rated: PG
Runtime: 98 minutes
Animation/fantasy/comedy

Puny Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) lives with his father Stoick the Great (Gerard Butler), fearless chief of the clan, in a mountain village that comes under regular attack from ferocious dragons.

He longs to be a respected dragon slayer like his dad but has a habit of causing more destruction than the fire-breathers, so is relegated to apprentice blacksmith.

Eventually his wary parent agrees to let his weedy son train — but when he actually manages to capture a dragon, he cannot kill it.

Hiccup befriends the creature, Toothless, and soon learns there is much more to dragons than he — or any of his clan — thought.

How To Train Your Dragon is beautifully written, animated and executed.

The visuals are stunning and the 3D is immersive rather than gratuitous.

The collection of colourful dragons switch seamlessly between terrifying and adorable and the detail in the animation is exquisite — every bright scale, tooth and flame is realistic.

Scenes of Hiccup soaring over the landscape on his dragon steed are breathtaking — the ocean and rugged mountains are some of the most realistic CGI yet.

An exciting and action-packed finale will also have you on the edge of your seat and mesmerized by the rich animation.

The talented voice cast fleshes out the human characters and all have good comic timing.

The best lines go to Craig Ferguson’s Gobber, who trains the young dragon slayers. This one-legged, one-armed Viking throws the teens into a ring with the beasts as part of his “hands-on” approach to education, with hilarious and scary results.

Director Dean DeBlois combines fantasy, adventure, action and lots of humour for all ages. The story also breathes new life into the clichéd plots of not judging a book by its cover and a young boy’s struggle to connect with his father.

Watch if you liked: Lilo And Stitch, Pete’s Dragon.