How to Train Your Dragon

Posted on October 11, 2010 at 8:03 am

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Lowest Recommended Age:	4th - 6th Grades
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG for sequences of intense action and some scary images, and brief mild language
Profanity:	Brief schoolyard language, reference to "breastplates"
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Fantasy action and violence, characters in peril, scary monsters with lots of teeth, fire-breathing dragons
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters and a strength of the film is the portrayal of three strong, capable, brave, disabled characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 26, 2010
Date Released to DVD:	October 12, 2010
Amazon.com ASIN:	B002ZG97YM

The sheer exhilaration of flying along with our hero on the back of his new best friend, a dragon, is exceeded only by the exhilaration of top-notch film-making with a witty and heartwarming script, endearing characters, dazzling visuals, and a story worth cheering for. The movie is in stunning 3D but it is the 4th dimension — heart — where it truly excels.

Hiccup (voice of Jay Baruschel) is a puny misfit in his Viking village of Burke located “north of freezing to death,” where burly warriors battle dragons. His father, Stoick (voice of Gerard Butler), a mountain of a man and the leader of the village, is confused and embarrassed by his son. Because he thinks Hiccup is not strong and brave enough to battle with fire-breathing dragons, Stoick has asked his closest friend Gobber (voice of Craig Ferguson) to take him as an apprentice. Gobber, who lost a hand and a leg to dragons in battle, is now in charge of forging weapons and training the next generation of dragon-fighters.

Hiccup is something of an inventor and when a catapult he designs hits the fiercest and most terrifying breed of dragon, the Night Fury, he cautiously tracks it down. He discovers that it has been wounded and cannot fly. And he discovers that it is not fierce or violent but as scared of him as he is of it. He names the dragon “Toothless” and creates a prosthetic flap for its tail. As they get to know one another, they learn that Toothless can only fly with Hiccup’s help. Meanwhile, Hiccup is accepted into Gobber’s training program. So his days are spent learning to fight many different dragons and his nights are spent learning to tame — and be tamed — by one.

The screenplay by directors Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders and others is exceptionally literate and witty (Night Furies are described as “the unholy offspring of lightning and death”) and the visuals are intricate and imaginative. The stirring score by John Powell and first-rate voice work by an outstanding cast bring energy and spirit to the story. DeBlois and Sanders make excellent use of the 3D, not just in the soaring and vertiginous flying scenes and the battles but in the use of space and ability to make us feel included in the quietest moments. Those moments have a delicacy, a tenderness, even a grace that gives this film a power that resonates as only the best movies can.

Exclusive Clip from Veggie Tales’ ‘It’s a Meaningful Life’

Posted on October 1, 2010 at 2:58 pm

Yabba-Dabba-Doo! Happy 50th to the Flintstones

Posted on September 30, 2010 at 3:56 pm

Happy anniversary to the Flintstones, who were the first prime-time animated series fifty years ago (and who remembers the anniversary song from the show?) Inspired by “The Honeymooners,” it was a stone-age story of two couples, bombastic Fred and his wife Wilma and his dim-but-sweet best friend Barney Rubble and his wife, Betty. The fun of the show was seeing the crazy re-creations of modern life with the “technology” usually involving some prehistoric creature acting as garbage disposal or record player needle (record players with needles now seem kind of stone age, but that’s another story). Guest stars like Ann-Margret (as Ann Marg-rock) and Ed Sullivan (Ed Sully-stone) and the later appearances of babies Pebbles and Bam-Bam filled out the cast. Two live-action movies never captured the rough charm of the original, which still holds up well as silly fun.

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Animation Television

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole

Posted on September 23, 2010 at 6:04 pm

Zack Snyder tries to do for feathers what he did for abs and biceps in “300” in this 3D animated adventure based on three books from the 15-book series of Ga’hoole novels by Kathryn Lansky. Every snowflake, feather, and talon is vivid, arresting, and (apparently) literally in your face, but the story is not as clear. the striking visuals do not make up for a muddled story with too many characters and a plot that seems to be pulled together from the usual Joseph Campbell/George Lucas/J.R.R. Tolkien box of plots and characters.
Two owl brothers, Soren (a likable Jim Sturgess) and Kludd, not quite ready to fly, fall out of the nest and are captured and flown to the headquarters of Metal Beak (Joel Edgerton) and his wife (acidly voiced by Helen Mirren), where kidnapped owlets are assigned to be soldiers or drones. Look at those names again — any question about which one is going to have the heart, I mean force, I mean gizzard to lead the rebel forces and which one is going to buy into the whole “we’re the pure and the strong so we get to oppress everyone else” side of things?
Wait, you say — but where are the colorful sidekicks? Right over here, where we have a lute-playing warrior-poet and a snake nanny and a future-predicting echidna (an egg-laying spiked mammal that looks sort of like a porcupine) and more. Well, then, you add, there must also be a wise mentor. Step this way, and meet Ezylryb (voiced with asperity by Geoffrey Rush). There are storms and battles and betrayals and a secret weapon made from blue flecks pecked out by owls turned “moon-blinked” (think zombie) from coughed up owl pellets (undigested bits of mouse, we are helpfully told).
Those not familiar with the book will find it hard to follow, especially because of the strong accents of many of the Aussie voice actors. Those who are looking for what they enjoyed in the books may miss the narrator’s voice. There is some impressive sound and fury, but it does not signify much. “Just because you can’t see something doesn’t mean it’s not real,” says the father owl. But, as this and too many other movies show, just because you do see something, even in sharpest 3D, doesn’t mean it is.

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Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue

Posted on September 20, 2010 at 7:00 am

Lowest Recommended Age:	All Ages
MPAA Rating:	G
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Mild peril
Diversity Issues:	None
Date Released to Theaters:	2010
Date Released to DVD:	September 21, 2010
Amazon.com ASIN:	B003DT19F0

Tinker Bell has found her voice in a popular series of DVDs that give Peter Pan’s sidekick a chance for her own adventures in her home town of Pixie Hollow. She and her fairy friends Rosetta, Silvermist, Fawn and Iridessa help to make the four seasons vibrant and beautiful.

In this episode, for the first time Tink makes a human friend, Lizzy, played by Lauren Mote. Lizzy and her affectionate but distracted scientist father (voice of Michael Sheen of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Frost/Nixon”) move into a small house near the woods. Tinker Bell and Lizzy find a way to communicate with each other about their different worlds. And they have to help each other when Tinker Bell is at risk of being captured and Lizzy needs to find a way to remind her father that all work and no fun is, well, no fun, and not very healthy for families either.

The design is rich in texture and detail, showing the influence of Pixar head John Lasseter, who produced, and the story is charming, with top-notch voice talent and a sweet message about friendship, integrity, and family.