How to Train Your Dragon

I'll be honest, I had very low expectations on this one. But, I saw 98% on Rotten Tomatoes, so I decided I would see it anyway. Boy, was I surprised.

The movie is centered on a viking village with a gigantic pest problem: it is frequently raided by dragons. Everything in the village is in some way related to slaying dragons and its most respected citizens are expert dragon slayers. Hiccup, however, is not good at being a viking. He does discover though that he is quite good at taming the beasts, much to the dismay of the village.

This movie was pure genius. The story was excellently crafted with just enough tension in all the right places. It was careful to inject emotion-filled moments, but never crossed the line into tear-jerking territory. It was an inspiring tale that leaves the viewer feeling cheerful and fulfilled. It had such good writing that I cannot even put it into words. The dialogue was fantastic. It was never overly-corny and had just enough moments of gentle humor that it made the whole experience uplifting. Brilliant.

The production itself was just as masterful. The voice acting was very, very good and each one matched the on-screen persona. The visuals were simply stunning. The animation was flawless and I can only imagine how good it must have looked in 3D (I need to go see it before it's gone). It was a masterpiece of animation.

I can't say enough about How to Train Your Dragon. Go see this movie, you won't be disappointed. Truly superb movie. 5/5 stars