The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
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How to Train Your Dragon
Fantasy · Adventure · Animation · 2010
As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father.
Movie details
How to Train Your Dragon
“What started as fire and fury will become friendship.”
2010 Fantasy · Adventure · Animation 1h 38m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.9 / 10
Community rating
As the son of a Viking leader on the cusp of manhood, shy Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III faces a rite of passage: he must kill a dragon to prove his warrior mettle. But after downing a feared dragon, he realizes that he no longer wants to destroy it, and instead befriends the beast – which he names Toothless – much to the chagrin of his warrior father.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over How to Train Your Dragon?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Shrek
Animation · 2001
It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a wisecracking donkey.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Animation · 2019
As Hiccup fulfills his dream of creating a peaceful dragon utopia, Toothless’ discovery of an untamed, elusive mate draws the Night Fury away. When danger mounts at home and Hiccup’s reign as village chief is tested, both dragon and rider must make impossible decisions to save their kind.
Peter Pan
Adventure · 2003
In stifling Edwardian London, Wendy Darling mesmerizes her brothers every night with bedtime tales of swordplay, swashbuckling and the fearsome Captain Hook. But the children become the heroes of an even greater story, when Peter Pan flies into their nursery one night and leads them over moonlit rooftops through a galaxy of stars and to the lush jungles of Neverland.
Inside Out
Animation · 2015
When 11-year-old Riley moves to a new city, her Emotions team up to help her through the transition. Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust and Sadness work together, but when Joy and Sadness get lost, they must journey through unfamiliar places to get back home.
My Father's Dragon
Animation · 2022
Struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer’s adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island and the friendship of a lifetime.
How to Train Your Dragon 2
Fantasy · 2014
Five years after uniting the dragons and Vikings of Berk, Hiccup and Toothless soar beyond their homeland, charting the vast unknown. During one of their adventures, the pair discover a secret cave that houses hundreds of wild dragons -- and a mysterious dragon rider with a startling connection to Hiccup. And as the ruthless dragon conqueror Drago Bludvist rises to seize control of both dragons and people alike, Hiccup must step into his role as a true leader and, alongside his friends and Toothless, protect Berk from a devastating war.
Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure
Animation · 2009
A blue harvest moon will rise, allowing the fairies to use a precious moonstone to restore the Pixie Dust Tree, the source of all their magic. But when Tinker Bell accidentally puts all of Pixie Hollow in jeopardy, she must venture out across the sea on a secret quest to set things right.
Ainbo: Spirit of the Amazon
Adventure · 2021
An epic journey of a young hero and her Spirit Guides, 'Dillo' a cute and humorous armadillo and "Vaca" a goofy oversized tapir, who embark on a quest to save their home in the spectacular Amazon Rainforest.
Dragon Rider
Animation · 2020
An unlikely trio of heroes – a dragon, a boy and a forest brownie – embark on an epic adventure to find the “Rim of Heaven” - the mythological safe haven for all dragons.
Wish Dragon
Animation · 2021
Determined teen Din is longing to reconnect with his childhood best friend when he meets a wish-granting dragon who shows him the magic of possibilities.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Chris Sanders · Dean DeBlois
Written by
Dean DeBlois · Chris Sanders · William Davies
Jay Baruchel
Hiccup (voice)
Gerard Butler
Stoick (voice)
Craig Ferguson
Gobber (voice)
America Ferrera
Astrid (voice)
Jonah Hill
Snotlout (voice)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Fishlegs (voice)
T.J. Miller
Tuffnut (voice)
Court is in session
Put How to Train Your Dragon on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.