Directed By: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, & Craig Ferguson
MPAA Rating: PG
My Rating: 9 / 10
It's a rare occasion when we get one truly great animated film in a year. But, it's nearly impossible for us to get not one, but two great ones. Fortunately, that has happened in 2010. The first was Toy Story 3, and the second is now How to Train Your Dragon. As I've been making a mad dash to see as many Oscar contenders as I can before the big night (and to prepare for the highly-anticipated and esteemed...at least by me...Crooked Shoes Awards), one film I really wanted to check out was this one. While unimpressed with pretty much all of the marketing (It didn't click with me.), I was surprised by the overwhelming love it got from critics, and even more surprised by its box-office gross. Clearly, if any film was going to be able to go head-to-head with the formidable Toy Story 3 come Oscar night, it was this one. Now, I know why. Packed with exciting action scenes, heartfelt relationships, and some of the best animation I've ever seen, How to Train Your Dragon is a surprising and beautiful film that, like Toy Story 3, symbolizes everything I love and admire about animated films.
