"Dat da dah, we're dead!" *SPOILERS*
As it says up there *points to subject line* this entry will contain major spoilers for Cressida Cowell's book and Dreamworks' film How to Train Your Dragon. If you've not read/seen it yet, go now. David Tennant is in the film and narrates the audio books if that'll help make up your mind...although he's only got a couple lines in the film...but it is him! Go read/see it! :D
First of all, if you've read the books by Cressida Cowell, don't expect the film to be exactly like the first book. The filmmakers took a lot of liberties with their script although apparently the author doesn't mind. One of the biggest differences is that in the film, the Vikings' rite of passage is to kill dragons instead of training them like it is stated in the book. It makes for a good story however...a misfit Viking changing his entire tribe :)
Another thing that is different between the books and film are the characters. Hiccup is pretty much the same, but much older in the film, Astrid and Ruffnut don't even exist in the book, Toothless is a tiny common garden dragon, not a flyable Night Fury, Fishlegs is Hiccup's best friend in the book as opposed to not immediatley liking Hiccup in the film, Hiccup's mother is alive in the book, and Gobber and Stoick are annoying, rather icky Viking guys in the book whereas in the film they're alright guys.
Now that I've covered some of the differences between the original book and the film, I'm gonna talk about what I think of the film.
I first really heard about the movie a while ago from danaems. She had heard that David Tennant would be in it and we thought about going. Once it came out and there were all these great reviews for it and my mum had read a PluggedIn review on it and approved, I took my two youngest siblings to go see it. Wow is all I could really say afterwards. Maybe it was my Norwegian side or the story or the music or the visuals but whatever the reason, I loved the movie and still do.
First let's talk about the characters:
Hiccup- the misfit Viking hero of the film and my favorite character. I dunno if its the fact that he reminds me so much of Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet or what but I immediately fell in love with Hiccup. Not "love" love but I think he's kinda cute and actually reminds me of myself a bit...the not fitting in bit of myself. His and Toothless' relationship brought a huge amount of humor to the story and at the end when you see Toothless and Hiccup walking toward the door with their "matching" injuries I nearly cried it was so sweet.
Toothless(aka Night Fury "get down!")- A kitty. That's what I first thought when I saw him. A big adorable, firebreathing kitty. He had a great personality too. When Hiccup was trying to calm Astrid down after her "ride" he got such an evil look on his face. It was hilarious! I was also reminded so many times during the film of my cats. The chasing a spot of light, the purring, the curling up in a ball...all things my cats have done. He also strongly reminded me of Stitch because of the way he looked. Of course, Chris Sanders who helped create Stitch is one of the creators of this film so maybe it isn't really surprising. I want a Night Fury, is all the rest I have to say.
Astrid- a kick-butt Viking girl who I also thought was pretty cool. I don't know why, but I've always liked female characters who can take care of themselves. Disney's Mulan and Belle, Jessica from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Rose Tyler, Ace, Donna Noble...and now Astrid. She's just got a great personality and also reminds me of myself.
The Green Death- the main "villian" of the film. A giant dragon/dinosaur which scared the heck out of me the first time I saw the movie. It still scares me a bit whenever I see it. Maybe it's because after seeing Jurassic Park I've been freaked out by dinosaurs. The other dragons don't bother me though...just this one.
There are so many other brilliant characters I could talk about but if I do I'll run out of space for other things.
Now onto the music:
Wow, wow and bloody wow. This movie has the best music of any film I've seen in a long time. In fact it almost rivals Treasure Planet for its music. I got the soundtrack almost right away after seeing the movie for the second time. As some of you have already seen, some of it is perfect for fanvideos. I've got the cd in my car and have been listening to it almost nonstop this week on the way to and from school. Some of the best track(I think)are Forbidden Friendship, New Tail, See You Tomorrow, Test Drive, Romantic Flight, Counter Attack, Where's Hiccup, Coming Back Around and last but not least the only track with lyrics: Stick and Stones. The rest of the tracks are just as good but these are some of my favorites. If you want to hear them just check out YouTube.
As for the plot:
Um...can I say bloody wow again? It's that good. From the opening titles to the end of the credits I had a blast. Some of the best parts I think are: Hiccup's beginning narration(those two sheep and when Hiccup sees Astrid...LOL), Hiccup and Toothless drawing in the dirt(so sweet!), Hiccup making Toothless a new tai and getting an unexpected ride(Hehehe), Hiccup showing up everyone at dragon training while secretly training Toothless, Hiccup and Toothless' first actual flight(as Cloud pointed out, so much like solar surfing from TP!), when Hiccup takes Astrid for a ride on Toothless(some of the prettiest visuals and music in the entire film) and so many more.
So all in all I give this film 4 and three quarters stars(5 being reserved only for Treasure Planet). I've seen it four times so far and I will most likely be seeing it again. I also strongly suggest you see it in 3D. It's definitely worth the extra cost.
Thank you for reading this long review which took me nearly two hours to put together. I'll leave you with one of my favorite lines: "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile"
~Janna
First of all, if you've read the books by Cressida Cowell, don't expect the film to be exactly like the first book. The filmmakers took a lot of liberties with their script although apparently the author doesn't mind. One of the biggest differences is that in the film, the Vikings' rite of passage is to kill dragons instead of training them like it is stated in the book. It makes for a good story however...a misfit Viking changing his entire tribe :)
Another thing that is different between the books and film are the characters. Hiccup is pretty much the same, but much older in the film, Astrid and Ruffnut don't even exist in the book, Toothless is a tiny common garden dragon, not a flyable Night Fury, Fishlegs is Hiccup's best friend in the book as opposed to not immediatley liking Hiccup in the film, Hiccup's mother is alive in the book, and Gobber and Stoick are annoying, rather icky Viking guys in the book whereas in the film they're alright guys.
Now that I've covered some of the differences between the original book and the film, I'm gonna talk about what I think of the film.
I first really heard about the movie a while ago from danaems. She had heard that David Tennant would be in it and we thought about going. Once it came out and there were all these great reviews for it and my mum had read a PluggedIn review on it and approved, I took my two youngest siblings to go see it. Wow is all I could really say afterwards. Maybe it was my Norwegian side or the story or the music or the visuals but whatever the reason, I loved the movie and still do.
First let's talk about the characters:
Hiccup- the misfit Viking hero of the film and my favorite character. I dunno if its the fact that he reminds me so much of Jim Hawkins from Treasure Planet or what but I immediately fell in love with Hiccup. Not "love" love but I think he's kinda cute and actually reminds me of myself a bit...the not fitting in bit of myself. His and Toothless' relationship brought a huge amount of humor to the story and at the end when you see Toothless and Hiccup walking toward the door with their "matching" injuries I nearly cried it was so sweet.
Toothless(aka Night Fury "get down!")- A kitty. That's what I first thought when I saw him. A big adorable, firebreathing kitty. He had a great personality too. When Hiccup was trying to calm Astrid down after her "ride" he got such an evil look on his face. It was hilarious! I was also reminded so many times during the film of my cats. The chasing a spot of light, the purring, the curling up in a ball...all things my cats have done. He also strongly reminded me of Stitch because of the way he looked. Of course, Chris Sanders who helped create Stitch is one of the creators of this film so maybe it isn't really surprising. I want a Night Fury, is all the rest I have to say.
Astrid- a kick-butt Viking girl who I also thought was pretty cool. I don't know why, but I've always liked female characters who can take care of themselves. Disney's Mulan and Belle, Jessica from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Rose Tyler, Ace, Donna Noble...and now Astrid. She's just got a great personality and also reminds me of myself.
The Green Death- the main "villian" of the film. A giant dragon/dinosaur which scared the heck out of me the first time I saw the movie. It still scares me a bit whenever I see it. Maybe it's because after seeing Jurassic Park I've been freaked out by dinosaurs. The other dragons don't bother me though...just this one.
There are so many other brilliant characters I could talk about but if I do I'll run out of space for other things.
Now onto the music:
Wow, wow and bloody wow. This movie has the best music of any film I've seen in a long time. In fact it almost rivals Treasure Planet for its music. I got the soundtrack almost right away after seeing the movie for the second time. As some of you have already seen, some of it is perfect for fanvideos. I've got the cd in my car and have been listening to it almost nonstop this week on the way to and from school. Some of the best track(I think)are Forbidden Friendship, New Tail, See You Tomorrow, Test Drive, Romantic Flight, Counter Attack, Where's Hiccup, Coming Back Around and last but not least the only track with lyrics: Stick and Stones. The rest of the tracks are just as good but these are some of my favorites. If you want to hear them just check out YouTube.
As for the plot:
Um...can I say bloody wow again? It's that good. From the opening titles to the end of the credits I had a blast. Some of the best parts I think are: Hiccup's beginning narration(those two sheep and when Hiccup sees Astrid...LOL), Hiccup and Toothless drawing in the dirt(so sweet!), Hiccup making Toothless a new tai and getting an unexpected ride(Hehehe), Hiccup showing up everyone at dragon training while secretly training Toothless, Hiccup and Toothless' first actual flight(as Cloud pointed out, so much like solar surfing from TP!), when Hiccup takes Astrid for a ride on Toothless(some of the prettiest visuals and music in the entire film) and so many more.
So all in all I give this film 4 and three quarters stars(5 being reserved only for Treasure Planet). I've seen it four times so far and I will most likely be seeing it again. I also strongly suggest you see it in 3D. It's definitely worth the extra cost.
Thank you for reading this long review which took me nearly two hours to put together. I'll leave you with one of my favorite lines: "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile"
~Janna