How to Train Your Dragon

An animated film set on an island of Vikings. The village is under constant attack. Dragons come, take sheep, burn houses, and everyone is raised to kill them. Hiccup is the chief's son. He is weak, clumsy and trusted by nobody; instead of fighting he builds devices. One night he brings a dragon down with a device of his own. Nobody believes him. He finds the animal in the forest and cannot kill it. From there the film is a secret friendship. The dragon's tail is damaged and it cannot fly; Hiccup makes it a piece, and flying requires the two of them to work together. At the same time Hiccup is attending dragon training, and because he uses what he has learned he becomes the best in the class. Nobody knows why. What the narrative is interested in is not courage but observation: Hiccup defeats nobody; he simply looks at what the animals do and notices that everyone has it wrong. The ending is unusual. The hero comes out of the victory damaged, which is rare in a children's film. The flight sequences and the music are its strongest features; the first flight is almost entirely wordless. A cinematographer from live-action film worked on it and the light was built to real optics. The source is a book by Cressida Cowell; the film departs from it considerably. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera and Craig Ferguson are among the voices. Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders directed. Who it is for: any age; the film is short, clean and its feeling is real. Who it is not for: small children who cannot take animals being hurt; several scenes are hard.