How To Train Your Dragon

[superhero]

I guess they didn't expect any kiddies at the Apollo hence no drinks/snacks and balloons..

[hdaniel82]

The only disruption came beforehand when a drinks spillage had to be cleaned up directly behind me

I think you must have been in the same row as me! Some kid spilled their Sprite right?

[valda]

I saw this morning at Westfield Extreme. It was a DReamworks family and friends screening, that I got tickets for from friends. WE had a couple of youngsters with us who I think liked it but ended up getting pretty bored and the youngest kept on asking to go home bless him. I think maybe they were too young, older kids and us young at heart oldies will appreciate it more.
Soi yeah the accents were distracting but apart from that, I really enjoyed it. Free popcorn and water inside, but no activities and no goodie bags.
7/10

[kevinknapman]

The only disruption came beforehand when a drinks spillage had to be cleaned up directly behind me

I think you must have been in the same row as me! Some kid spilled their Sprite right?

Yes I believe Sprite was involved.

[dovetail]

Went to the Vue Westfield viewing yesterday. Bit of a day of firsts for me and friends: first Saturday morning kiddy flick so was pleasantly surprised by the activities and treats: balloons, face painting and souvenir picture, free popcorn, chocolates and bottle of water. It was also my first 3D movie and I can't think of a better place to watch it in than the Vue extreme. The flying sequences were terrific but the film was a little too verbose at times! Also first time at Westfield Shopping Centre. Normally, I'm not a mall person but it was pretty impressive. We had lunch in the food court and then spent a couple of hours exploring the place.

All in all, 8 out of 10.

[prettyxcool]

Me too 9/10 - I loved it. Just found the accents strange for Vikings and hiccup sounding too old! First time watching a 3D and thought it was amazing. The time seemed to have flown by and if there were any disturbances by children or otherwise, I did not notice, was so captivated by the film and the 3D. Plus a real treat with all the goodies too.

Also first time at Vue Westfield and so glad we went.

Yeah, we were the two adults enjoying the kiddies area - we were invited to so being young at heart, went for it !

[tilly]

Me too 9/10 - I loved it. Just found the accents strange for Vikings and hiccup sounding too old! First time watching a 3D and thought it was amazing. The time seemed to have flown by and if there were any disturbances by children or otherwise, I did not notice, was so captivated by the film and the 3D. Plus a real treat with all the goodies too.

Also first time at Vue Westfield and so glad we went.

Yeah, we were the two adults enjoying the kiddies area - we were invited to so being young at heart, went for it !

I think you were both standing in front of me before we went in. I saw you had a picture that was taken in the kiddies area?

[pcRock]

Yeah, we were the two adults enjoying the kiddies area - we were invited to so being young at heart, went for it !

Shame we went to the Apollo, otherwise I would have joined you.

During the "Paul Blart - mall cop" preview screening there were also some kids activities. There were 3 people drawing caricatures so we ask them to do ours. Two of the caricaturists were even arguing because both wanted to draw my bf. He was a relatively big beard, has curly hair, and is bald so he must be funny to draw, I guess.

[prettyxcool]

I think you were both standing in front of me before we went in. I saw you had a picture that was taken in the kiddies area?

Oh, really, that's a shame (if only we had our badges!). We were also talking to hdaniel82, showing them our photos. We were really pleased they came out so well, and we had a lot of fun in the kiddies area!

Yeah, we were the two adults enjoying the kiddies area - we were invited to so being young at heart, went for it !

Shame we went to the Apollo, otherwise I would have joined you.

Catch up with you both next time, tilly and ucakpam!

[Beate]

http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/films/how-t ... ewsletters

The ViewLondon Review

Review by Matthew Turner
01/04/2010
Four out of Five stars
Running time: 98 mins

Beautifully animated and superbly written, this is a hugely entertaining, frequently funny and emotionally engaging adventure with thrilling action sequences and a terrific voice cast.

What's it all about?
Directed by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, How to Train Your Dragon is based on the children's book by Cressida Cowell and is set on the island of Berk, where the Viking inhabitants have all become dragon slayers in order to fend off frequent dragon attacks. However, nerdy teenage Viking Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is something of a disaster in the dragon slaying department, so his Viking Chief father Stoick (Gerard Butler) forces him to attend dragon fighting classes run by Gobber (Craig Ferguson).

However, when one of Hiccup's inventions brings down a feared Night Fury dragon, Hiccup befriends it, naming it Toothless, and soon discovers that there's more to dragons than he had assumed. Soon, Hiccup is using his new-found dragon knowledge to impress his classmates, particularly girl-of-his-dreams Astrid (America Ferrera), who's Gobber's top student. But can he keep Toothless a secret?

The Good
The voice cast are terrific, even if it's a little bit grating that all the adults speak with Scottish accents while all the kids are American. Jay Baruchel is superb as Hiccup and delivers some very funny line readings (“Duh duh-duh, we're dead!”), while Ferrera is feisty and appealing as Astrid and there's strong comic support from the likes of Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Hiccup's classmates.

The script is excellent, combining witty dialogue and an emotionally engaging plot with a surprisingly sophisticated message about the need for understanding and communication. In addition, the film is wonderfully animated with colourful dragon designs (Toothless looks a lot like Stitch from Lilo & Stitch) and some truly beautiful, genuinely thrilling flying sequences, all of which are heightened by some of the best 3D work seen to date.

The Great
On top of that, the film builds to a terrifically exciting climax with 3D dragon flying sequences that, frankly, put Avatar to shame.

Worth seeing?
How to Train Your Dragon is a hugely enjoyable, emotionally engaging and frequently funny adventure that's enormous fun for both adults and children alike. It's also easily Dreamworks' best animated feature to date. Highly recommended.