Drag your kids to this Dragon movie; Youngsters, and we mean youngsters, will enjoy this flick in 2-D or 3-D

• Published in: Spectator (Hamilton. 1994)
• Main Author: Ebert, Roger
• Format: Newspaper Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hamilton, Ont Torstar Syndication Services, a Division of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited 26.03.2010
• Subjects: Baruchel, Jay; Butler, Gerard; Ferguson, Craig
• ISSN: 1189-9417

Our hero is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (voice by [Jay Baruchel]), a young Viking who lives in Berk, a mountainside village surrounded by the crags and aeries of hostile dragons. Hiccup tells us his village is very old, but all of the houses are new. An alarming omen. Led by his father, Stoick ([Gerard Butler]), and the dragon master, Gobber ([Craig Ferguson]), the villagers have been fighting dragons since time immemorial. It would seem to be an unequal struggle; the dragons are enormous and breathe fire, and the Vikings, while muscular, have only clubs, swords and spears. They may be smarter than the dragons, although you wouldn't know that by listening to them. Butler seems to be channelling his character from 300, beefed up by many a hearty Viking feast. He joins Ferguson and others in muscular Scottish accents, since as we all know, that dialect of English was widely used among the Vikings. In appearance, the Vikings seem victims of a testosterone outbreak causing enormous sprouty growths of hair. Even the hair from their nostrils might knit up into a nice little sock. Oh, how I tried not to, but as I watched these brawlers saddled up on great flying lizards, I kept thinking, "Asterix meets Avatar."