"How to Train Your Dragon" - my favourite movie of 2010?

"This is Berk. It's twelve days north of Hopelessness and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death. It's located solidly on the Meridian of Misery." Thus begins Dreamworks' "How to Train Your Dragon," a wildly adventuresome movie for the whole family.

Berk, a Viking village apparently located somewhere in Scotland, is plagued regularly by various types of dragons, who steal the livestock and set buildings aflame. Most of the Vikings bravely fight off the beasts, but Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the adolescent son of the chief (Stoick the Vast), is not like most Vikings. He is small, clever, inventive, and sarcastic, and most importantly - NOT a warrior. Think Eric Foreman from "That 70's Show" or Smalls from "The Sandlot." As such, Hiccup is an outcast in his village, wanting nothing more than to be like everyone else.

Everything changes when he encounters a Night Fury dragon (offspring of Lightning and Death), the most elusive and dangerous breed known to man. While unexpectantly befriending the dragon, whom he names Toothless, Hiccup also trains with the other Viking teens in dragon combat. During his time with Toothless, he discovers everything the Vikings thought they knew about dragons is horribly incorrect; the beasts, usually considered "extremely dangerous - kill on sight" are simply misunderstood. Trying to convince the other Vikings (especially his father) of this fact is another challenge all together.

This movie has many great attributes. The animation (particularly in 3-D, if you choose to see that version) is superb. To me, even though the characters are intentionally cartoonish, the realism of everything is quite amazing. They have pores on their faces. Individual hairs on their heads and on their fur clothing stand out. The landscape, the way the sun glints off the water, it's all so real. There's an incredible attention to detail that is subtle, it does not hit you over the head. Even the way the dragons move harkens back to the days when animators welcomed wild animals into their studio so they could study their movements (like in "The Lion King." Although, I have to admit, they probably did not do that for this movie). (You might recognize some of Toothless's characteristics; a couple of people who worked on this film were also behind "Lilo & Stitch.") The action sequences are sophisticated and advanced for a film of this genre and target audience.

The four principal characters were well-cast. The voice of Hiccup is Jay Baruchel (most recently seen in "She's Out of My League"), who is perfect for the awkward, not traditionally cool kind of guy. Gerard Butler has the thundering Scottish accent that resonates well in an intimidating Viking leader. Craig Ferguson also lends his Scottishness to the film as the comedic and handicapped Gobber the Belch, the trainer in dragon combat. He was quite amusing, especially in the variety of prosthetic hands he uses. America Ferrera plays Astrid, the tough yet pretty Viking youth at the top of the combat class. She's feisty and strong, like many characters Ferrera portrays (although Astrid is blonde...not like Ferrera). The supporting cast did a decent job, but I feel some of their talent didn't come across well, or it didn't really matter if a "big name" person voiced their characters (such as Jonah Hill and Kristen Wiig).

Aside from the people behind the voices, the script is incredibly witty and funny. It's not your typical children's fare where the humor is too slapstick and dialogue too infantile. Yes, the movie has its silly moments, but they are surpassed by a "man and beast" story that fully envelops the audience with surprising depth.

Additionally, the movie's score (always a big influence on my opinion) was stirring and powerful, fitting for a more epic movie, yet perfect for this one. I downloaded it the day after I saw the movie ($7.99 for over 20 tracks? Not bad!).

Overall, "How to Train Your Dragon" has adventure, heart, and humor. It's perfect for families, but even if you don't have kids, go see it. It might just be my favorite movie of the year so far.