How To Train Your Dragon by Sam Hoare
Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda. These movies alone should make your ears perk up...well, that's the idea anyway. From Dreamworks Pictures comes an adventurous comedy of 3D proportions (or not so 3D if you so choose) about a Viking boy, Hiccup and his discovery that a long-standing tradition of fighting dragons doesn't quite suit him.
To put it simply the animation and storyline are brilliant - brilliant to the eyes and dazzling to the brain sitting behind those eyes. You'll encounter a variety of dragon species all with their own unique fire-breathing abilities, a village of seriously fierce (and sometimes humourously Scottish) Vikings unique to animated movies, a climax you thought you saw coming but if you're honest you didn't and a boy who captures a dragon no one has ever been able to catch (or kill) before - the slippery, lethal and mysterious Night Fury. You're in for a spectacular ride! This is a great mythical tale with not only skin and bone, but some authentic heart lying beneath it all.
I won't bore you or carry on like certain backseat passengers on a long trip along a certain Highway, but one thing I will say: this film has genuine depth. Not dragging-on-like-another-I've-heard-it-all-before-lecture depth, but a witty, real heart depth. There's a great reflection on friendship; a fragile Father and Son relationship being tested by disappointed expectations and unexpected redemptions and right in the mix there's a boy just trying to be one person he gets criticised for being - himself. I'll let you work out why these values are important for your child.
There are 2 potential climaxes in this film: the eye goggling cinema experience; and the knock on your heart that will hopefully tell you this - your children are God-inspired, breathtaking masterpieces. And they look up to you.
4 and a half out of 5 balloons from me!
Until next time, God bless.
Sam.