The movie is set in a world of dragons and Vikings. The story itself revolves around Hiccup, a teenager who lives on an island called Berk, where being a good normal Viking and fighting dragons is supposed to be your destiny.

This animated feature is filled with all the right elements of a root for the underdog, family oriented classic that  has appeal for a wide, diverse audience. I bet, Mom’s and Dad’s were really, really ok with having to sit through this one with the youngsters. The story and animation are so well done you quickly get wrapped up in the whole adventure. The animation is hip, yet has a classic feel and they’ve even managed to make Vikings sexy and cute. Oh yeah, and anyone who goes and criticizes the Scottish Viking accents, hasn’t gotten out and played in their toy box lately, or they’re the kind who tell kids you can’t paint pink and purple trees. Make believe, is just that. And the director deserves an A+.

The CGI is polished, tasteful and daring. The dragons are down-right kooky fun in nature, as if pulled right off the page of a child’s crayon masterpiece. A sharp crayon that is. Each dragon creature even comes with his, or her, own stats. A manual of do’s and don’ts. There is no shortage of imagination with this movie. It’s a must see! The only question is. Do you go back a second time in the theatres or wait for the digital release and watch it again and again from the comfort of your home? I predict that there are plenty of pyjamas and popcorn nights in this flick’s future. As a creative youngster, this movie would have sent my inspiration quotient off the radar. I would have wanted to hurry home to draw my own versions of each of the characters, and then had a set of next adventures for Hiccup and the gang all ready to go. As it was, I came home from seeing this heart-warming movie as an adult and opened my laptop right away to checkout the “How To” website. I then ended up with my own hatched dragon and happily shared it on Facebook with friends.

I really liked that with this movie the Director wasn’t afraid to show us that the good guy doesn’t always finish last. One of the things I appreciated most about this movie was that even though it followed somewhat of a formula in its boy meets wild animal, boy befriends wild animal, wild animal eventually comes to the boy’s rescue storyline, it thankfully didn’t have an annoying, silly side-kick with scrappy humour that made you want to run from the theatre. Instead, most of the film focused on this troubled teen with a creative spirit, who found the bright-side of life by following his passions and his dreams. Something we should never tire of being reminded of, and especially when it is this well done.

This movie is destined to become a top of the pile DVD must have to be viewed again and again at home, especially when you’re just looking for an adventurous feel good movie and/or you need to entertain some younger family and friends. How To Train Your Dragon has already made it to my list of Top 10 movies of 2010.

Starring: Gerard Butler, Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill and Christopher Mintz-Plasse

Rating: 4.5 out of 5