With a somewhat unwieldy tile and the lack of the winning Pixar storyline that has dominated the Oscars for a decade, Dreamworks animations latest could have been a clunker. Not only is How to Train Your Dragon the best film of the year so far, but it even eclipses the quality of last years duel academy award winner Up.

The latest 3-D film to fly into theatres in so many weeks is also the best of its format (story wise),making Burton's overblown misfire Alice in Wonderland look even more pitiful. Dragon will no doubt enamour kids (excuse the cliché) of all ages while keeping parents not only awake but equally enthralled. This movie is sure to tug the hearts of anyone who has ever loved a pet and will undoubtedly draw tears from those who are so inclined.

The texture that can be created from today's CG technology never ceases to amaze. Consider a beautiful tracking shot of a downed dragon where the twisted wing that protrudes towards the screen is actually out of focus, as if you yourself were staring awestruck at the giant lizard that lay before you in real, tangible life. I did not have the pleasure to viewing How to Train Your Dragon in 3-D but I have heard great things and even without having paid a surcharge the film does in no way suffer as a result. The narrative, visuals, writing and voicework is ample reason to seek out Dragon and frankly is the real heart of the movie anyways.

On the Island of Berk, the Viking community that lives there does not fear a rival tribe, the weather or disease but rather a much more toothy threat: dragons. Nightly raids by the winged beasts have forged a great hatred upon the tribe and led by the aptly named Stoik the Vast (Gerard Butler) they wage war with the intent to rid themselves of dragons once and for all. This is not a feeling shared by Stoik's scrawny son Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who favours non-lethal tactics as much as he does blacksmithing. Much to Hiccup's surprise, during one of the aforementioned raids he is able to down a dragon with one of his contraptions. Intent on proving his manhood to Stoik, he seeks out to find the dragon know as a Night Fury but finds himself unable to slay his scaly foe. So begins an unlikely and forbidden friendship with the later named Toothless that follows a time-tested but absolutely rewarding arc that is as enthralling as it is touching.

Joining Butler and Baruchel, both of whom give excellent performances (with Butler recapturing some of his 300 mojo),are the likes of Craig Fergusson as the Viking blacksmith, America Ferrera as the feisty object of Hiccup's affections and a whole slice of the Apatow gang including Kristen Wiig, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jonah Hill as other young warriors. Much like WALL-E, Toothless exhibits oodles of personality and is endlessly endearing. To achieve this level of depth is perhaps even more impressive due to the fact that he never utters a word and must emote through non-verbal means.

Along with Kung Fu Panda this movie represents the highest ilk of the Dreamworks repertoire and that is not a backhanded compliment by any means. Like Panda, there are thrilling and well choreographed action sequences to compliment the heart, and plenty of humour to keep this from becoming too much of a dramatic slog for younger theatre goers. Teenager or adult, fan or animation or not if you like truly good cinema, you will not be unsatisfied by How to Train Your Dragon.

Read all my reviews at simonsaysmovies.blogspot.com

When I saw this film tonight, I was completely bowled over from start to finish. I have simply never seen a better looking computer generated film nor a film that used 3-D to such wonderful effect. Finally--a film that doesn't look like the 3_D doesn't look like it was tossed in as an afterthought--but was clearly intended as one all along. However, I will warn you NOT to waste your time seeing it in 2-D---the film loses too much of its artistry. Now I know some of you will think I am a total sap for saying this, but the film literally brought tears to my eyes because it was so beautiful. I simply couldn't believe how special and artistic this movie was--it completely exceeded my expectations. This is because the advertising campaign make this movie look like it's just another kids' movie--and nothing more. But, with a lovely plot, interesting characters, the best CGI on Earth, a terrific sound track and lots of surprises, this simply is a joy to watch. Nornally when I review a film I try to talk about the film's flaws...but I simply couldn't find any. At last, a 3-D CGI film that actually manages to be better looking than last year's "Up"! It is hard to imagine a film being any better--though I am sure five years from now, I will be seeing even better 3-D and computer generated films...and it boggles the mind! See this film!

UPDATE: I saw this on a huge home television. While the wonderful 3-D was missing, the film still had the nicest CGI and was nearly as entertaining as it was in the theater.

I love animation, always have done, always will do, and I was blown away by How to Train Your Dragon. Granted, not all Dreamworks movies are bad, Prince of Egypt is one of the most stirring and evocative films let alone animated films I have seen, Shrek was very original and funny and Spirit:Stallion of the Cimarron is their most underrated I feel. I will say too, How to Train Your Dragon along with Prince of Egypt is my absolute favourite of Dreamworks, and one of the best of 2010.

The story is very engaging; there is nothing too sophisticated for kids and nothing too childish for adults. It is instead an intelligent, moving story that moves along at a good pace, and I for one didn't find it that predictable, and I loved the bonding scenes between Toothless and Hiccup which were suitably poignant. The script is also very strong, it is thoughtful and touching at times but also amusing when it needs to be.

The characters are another strength. Hiccup is appealing as a protagonist, and Toothless is really quite cute for a dragon. Hiccup's father Stoick is a good character too, he is gruff and such but you can tell he cares for his son. The voice acting too I had no problem with, to me they did fit well with the characters, Jay Baruchal's excitement and enthusiasm contrasts wonderfully with Gerard Butler's restrained, gruff yet sensitive performance.

Where How to Train Your Dragon really excels though are in its visuals and music score. The animation is outstanding, while the characters are modelled convincingly the real revelations are in the stunning flying sequences and the beautiful lavish backgrounds. Oh and the fight sequences are equally spectacular, haunting but also very gripping and almost epic. John Powell's score is a revelation, and one of my favourite scores in a film of recent times. Sometimes soaring, sometimes dramatic, sometimes energetic, in fact no matter what mood is conveyed, the score compliments it to perfection.

So overall, there is very little else to say about this film, other than to say it is a must-see in my opinion. 10/10 Bethany Cox