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  • Monday Movie – How to Train Your Dragon

    I wouldn’t say that dragons are really my thing. I mean, I like them as much as the next girl, but I’m not exactly what you’d call a dragon enthusiast. Which is why it caught me completely off guard when I geeked out over How to Train Your Dragon hitting movie theaters this weekend.

    how-to-train-your-dragon-movie

    I mean–sure, I first heard about it because I was looking up what movies Gerard Butler was coming up in. And then I found out that Craig Ferguson voices a character, too, in the animated romp. What’s not to love about 2 of my 3 favorite Scottish guys in the same movie? (I’ll give you 1 guess who the 3rd Scotsman is.)

    I was excited, but it wasn’t until I started watching the Olympics in February and watching the reimagined contests set in the Viking era that I realized the potential of this highly amusing cast of characters.

    how-to-train-your-dragon-bookBased on the book by Cressida Cowell (which I haven’t read but would really, really like to), this is the story of Hiccup, a Viking who just doesn’t fit in with the other dragon-slaying members of his little village. On a regular basis, dragons of various shapes and sizes attack the village, stealing sheep and various human limbs. Hiccup’s father, the chief (and our own Gerry Butler), has raised him to fear all dragons.

    But being a bit smaller and more inclined to inventions than the average Viking, Hiccup tries to bring down the most feared and powerful dragon known to their village–the night fury. And he manages to do just that! But grounding it doesn’t kill the dragon. Going against everything that he knows to be true, Hiccup releases the injured animal and the two form a special, if tenuous, friendship.

    This friendship is just what Hiccup needs to help him through his dragon slaying classes. But ultimately it leads them to the realization that there’s a danger much bigger than the night fury waiting for them all.

    The humor is spot-on with great one-liners. The animation is beautiful. And while I didn’t see it in 3D (the glasses over my glasses thing never works that well), I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It’s a classic boy and his dragon story–with a touching father/son relationship in there, too.

    I had hoped that I might be able to watch it with my oldes niece at some point, but it’s definitely a bit scary–fire-breathing dragons and all. But it’s great for the older kids and the kids at heart.

    I hope you enjoy it as much as did! And if I can get a copy of the book, I’ll tell you more about that in the near future, too! Until then. -LJ

    3 thoughts on “Monday Movie – How to Train Your Dragon

    1. Jess

      S and I went to see this, and rather unexpectedly, I ADORED it. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to go with you and experience the joy that much sooner!

       
       
    2. Ash's Mom

      We read the book as a family first then went to see the movie. Let me just say first that we adored them both but being a book nerd that I am I was disappointed that the Author sold out. The movie was NOTHING like the book at all. In fact the only similarities are the Title and the characters names. Even the dragons are different in the two. Don’t get me wrong they are both very good stories and very well done but I’m getting tired of Authors selling out on their original ideas. The original story would have made a very cute and enduring movie as well.

       
       
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