As you know I'm a big fan of Pixar films. It seems like every film they make is a gem, while Dreamworks makes visually boring, pandering derivative features like “Shrek” and “Shark Tale.” Then along comes a film like “How to Train Your Dragon.” I for some reason delayed going to the film. Probably because the reviews I read were fair to good and the title sounded like a kiddy pic.
Then the head of Blue Sky, the wonderful Chris Wedge, said I had to go see the film. So I looked in the papers and it was gone from the city. If I wanted to drive to Long Island maybe I could see it. Then I was invited to the Plastic Paper Festival in Winnipeg, Canada where it was playing at a 3D cinema for it's last week before giving way to Iron Man 2. So I raced over there to see the film. WOW!!! What a masterpiece! It had everything: great design, great 3D action sequences, wonderful story, super humor. I was enraptured from beginning to end. This is what animation should be!
I'd always felt that Jeffrey Katzenberg was the genius behind the whole Disney animation resurgence in the 80's and 90's; the wonderful “Kung Fu Panda” by Mark Osborne and John Stevenson showed that Dreamworks was making quality films. But in this new film by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois they really blew away Pixar films. I know it's probably too late to see the film in 3D in your local cinema, but if you have one close-by – please please go see “How to Train Your Dragon.”
Thank you for that! I was extremely sceptic, but went to see it anyways because of your review and absolutely loved it!!
ReplyDeleteBill, DRAGON is a great movie, but Jeffrey Katzenberg was not responsible for the resurgence of Disney animation in the nineties. Roy Disney should receive proper credit for that.
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