"How To Train Your Dragon" is the latest attempt by Dreamworks Animation to seriously compete with the quality and hugely successful animation juggernaut that is Pixar. 

    After all, with multiple Oscar winning successes like "Wall-E" and "Up",  Pixar still remains the 300-pound gorilla of the animation kingdom in Hollywood.  With the exception of the "Shrek" series of films... Dreamworks' seems to be always playing second-fiddle to Pixar in terms of glory, quality, and audience popularity.   

    Thus far, Dreamworks' is still the "Pepsi"... to Pixar's "Classic Coke".

    However, with films like the new "How To Train Your Dragon", Dreamworks is showing wonderfully incremental signs of one day being on equal footing... or at least, a far more serious contender to being a "brand name" animation house like "Pixar" and, of course, "Disney". 

    "How To Train Your Dragon" is a step forward for Dreamworks in terms of technical quality and storytelling... not to mention, it's downright fun.

    The film tells the story of a young viking lad named Hiccup. ( voiced by Jay Baruchel )  Hiccup doesn't exactly fit in with the rest of those in his village.  He's small, a bit scrawny and weak... not to mention a tad timid in contrast to the big, bold and brave Viking men and women who make up the majority of his village. 

    In fact, Hiccup's literal shortcomings stand out even more... given the fact that his village is constantly defending itself against an onslaught of the land's indigenous wide ranging species of flying dragons.  The vikings' entire way of life seems to be mostly devoted to regularly battling different breeds of flying attacking dragons, each with their own unique ability beyond just the run-of-the-mill fire breathing.

     Some dragons can spew boiling water onto their prey, while others with two heads spit flammable gas... while the other head ignites it.  Some slice, dice and puree their victims or simply crash through the buildings like flying winged wrecking balls.  The dragons are so diverse in scope, the village needs a training manual on how to handle each different breed.

    Amid this chaos, Hiccup longs to be taken seriously as one of his fellow Vikings.  However, each time he tries to lend a hand, embarrassing results follow... leading Hiccup's father and leader of the clan, Stoick the Vast ( Gerard Butler ) to marginalize his son into a safe apprenticeship with Stoick's friend and weapons maker, Gobber ( Craig Ferguson ) 

    Stoick's barely disguised embarrassment at his son's shortcomings as a strong dragon-fighting Viking causes a sad distance between the two... and Hiccup longs for his father's approval, along with that of the village and his young peers.

    During one multi dragon attack on the village, Hiccup manages to train one of his net-throwing weapons on the most fearsome of the dragon breeds, the vicious Night Fury... named as such for it's ferocity and it's ability only barely be seen against the night sky.  Yet, through some miracle, Hiccup manages to snare one the Night Fury dragons... causing it to plunge from the sky into the woods tangled in Hiccup's net.

    Understandably, no one believes Hiccup when he tells them of his amazing capture... so, Hiccup sets out on his own to track the downed creature and kill it himself.  However, when Hiccup finds the crippled Night Fury, which resembles a sleek, panther-like lizard with giant bat wings... Hiccup finds himself unable to plunge his dagger into the helpless creature. 

    Instead, Hiccup frees the dragon from his entangled snare... only to find himself momentarily endangered by the snarling freed beast... but, instead out of equal compassion, the Night Fury spares Hiccup... and a gradual friendship is borne.

    Over time, Hiccup secretly gains more of the Night Fury's trust... who he names "Toothless", and brings him food and builds contraptions designed to repair it's maimed tail that prevents Toothless from flying again.

    Meantime, back in the village, Hiccup's gets his chance to train with his fellow young Vikings to kill dragons in a "Thunderdome"-like arena where captured dragons are used as sparring partners.  Among Hiccup's fellow trainees is a young, attractive Viking girl named Astrid ( America Ferrera ) who is as tough as any of the boys, if not more so... but, she seems to have a grudging soft spot for Hiccup.

    As Hiccup grows more attached and friendly with Toothless, and vice versa... Hiccup gains a greater understanding of the creatures.  He learns they are not attacking out of evil... but instead, only to defend themselves against the Viking clan who has hunted them as assumed enemies for years. 

    Hiccup's new understanding and friendship with Toothless helps him to also "understand" the other dragons in the training ring... enabling him to harmlessly subdue each dragon, much to the amazement of the village, his trainer and even Hiccup's father.

     Meanwhile, Hiccup fashions a flying harness that allows him to ride Toothless into the sky... in several animation sequences that are spectacular and amazing to watch... especially on a large screen and in 3D.  While these sequences have an obvious similarity to those in Avatar... that doesn't detract from the incredible animation artistry demonstrated here in this film. 

    Seeing Hiccup and Toothless freed from their earthly ties... is truly a beautiful sight to behold.

    Alas, soon Hiccup's secret about Toothless is discovered when the dragon tries to save Hiccup during his final training battle in the arena.  Toothless manages to save Hiccup, but not before the dragon himself is captured by the angry Viking clan... and the truth of their friendship is revealed to the village bringing shame upon Hiccups father and breaking their family bond.

    The result is a climax where Toothless is used for a final, dramatic assault on the dragons' nest... where an unexpected and powerful foe awaits.

   "How To Train Your Dragon" is a fine film about friendship, family expectations and relationships... and pure exhilarating animation.   The standouts among the voice over cast are Gerard Butler, who evokes via his powerful Scottish accent a true sense of authority to his character of clan leader, Stoick.  

   Craig Ferguson equally adds vibrancy to his character as well... making the friendship between Gobber and Hiccup's father believable and entertaining.  Baruchel as Hiccup and America Ferrera as Astrid are fine in their roles too... but, it's Butler and Ferguson who best inhabit their characters.

    Dreamworks' animation on this film is quite impressive and seems to improve with every film.  The sequences involving Hiccup and Toothless in flight are simply marvelous to behold... again, even more spectacular in IMAX and 3D.  

   Also, of note, the early sequences in the film where the village is attacked at night by the fire breathing dragons give the film action literally a realistic glow... which is truly quite impressive to behold.   The film's climax with the most dangerous dragon of the lot... is an action packed sequence that's worthy of comparison to many live action CGI spectaculars.

    Overall, "How To Train Your Dragon" is a fine film that both children and adults will enjoy.  Though, unlike many previous films of this genre... it seems more geared to the kids and lacks some of the double entendre and pop culture references that have made some of these animated films equally enjoyable for adults... if not more so than for the kids.

    Still, this is a story for all ages who enjoy a well crafted, entertaining family film that everyone can enjoy and appreciate.  

For video reviews from film critic, Tim Estiloz ... and much more from the BLTV staff - visit Boston Latino TV : http://bostonlatino.tv/  and more written film reviews at : http://www.examiner.com/x-23026-Boston-Movie-Examiner and  - Visit Tim's website at : http://www.timestiloz.com/Site/Home.html  - Tim is a member of the Broadcast FIlm Critics' Association.