Day 34- Movie 32. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

I'm going to start this off with a controversial statement- I thought Dreamworks' How to Train Your Dragon was a better movie than Toy Story 3. I don't know how many people would agree with me, and Toy Story 3 will probably win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. I'm not trying to take anything away from that film- it was a solid, entertaining, funny third entry, and it ended that trilogy in about as good of a way as you could expect. I enjoyed that movie immensely. And yet, I wasn't blown away by it. I got exactly what I expected. Some of that might be the insanely high expectations Pixar has set for itself, but I thought Toy Story 3 met them- it didn't quite exceed them.

On the other hand, How to Train Your Dragon was a surprisingly great movie. The film was absolutely incredible to look at- the colors, the people, the dragons- it all flowed together in a picturesque way. The movie is truly beautiful. The animators did an outstanding job and everything looks so crisp and clear. I immediately got sucked into the world because it came to life so vividly on screen.

The voice cast was impressive. Jay Baruchel has such a unique voice, and it was perfect for Hiccup. I'm not a huge fan of him as an actor, but his voice work was incredible. Gerard Butler was inspired casting as his father. Butler surprised me with how well he brought his character to life. The rest of the supporting cast is very good, too- American Ferrera, Jonah Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse were all recognizable, yet didn't overwhelm the character with their voice.

I was a huge fan of the story, too. It was a surprisingly emotional tale about acceptance, revisiting our assumptions, innovation, and friendship. The movie has some powerful lessons for kids, but it never came across as preachy or cheesy. I thought the film blended those important themes into the story in an exceptional way. The movie mixed action, drama, and comedy extremely well together. It all came together in beautiful fashion on screen.

As you can tell, I am a big fan of this movie. I knew critics loved the film, but I didn't expect to like it so much myself. After years and years of Pixar getting the best of Dreamworks, I'm glad that Dreamworks finally hit a home run with this film. I would give How to Train Your Dragon an 8/10.

So, here's the question- What has been the best animated film of the year? I haven't seen Despicable Me or Megamind yet, but with Toy Story 3 and How to Train Your Dragon, this is already an excellent year for animated films. I'm not opposed to the viewpoint that Toy Story 3 is the better film- I could probably talk myself into believing that was the better film. For me, though, I was much more excited after finishing this movie. It's tough because both were so good.