Full disclaimer: this review of How to Train Your Dragon is about the boring, ol’ 2D version. The 3D screening was in the wee hours of the morning during South by Southwest, and I didn’t drag my drunken ass out of bed. I apologize. I was just as sad as you are.

That being said…How to Train Your Dragon is hopelessly adorable—like baby kittens turned into animated dragons adorable. I turned to Greg multiple times to let out a ‘tween girl squeal—that’s how cute this movie was. However, if you’re going sans little munchkin, you may be bored at some of the kiddie jokes. And if you are going with small kids, they may get restless as was indicated by all the questioning youngsters ruining my movie going experience at the screening. Needless to say, fun was had by almost all.

Read more about kitten dragons after the jump!

So, where kids might get a little antsy is with the whole historical element of How to Train Your Dragon. Even though the film is a sort of bastardized version of Viking culture, it’s nonetheless history. And apparently history is boring to anyone under the age of 10. Go figure. Anyway…in this fictional Viking world, the burly helmeted ones train in the art of killing dragons, who eat their flocks and destroy their homes. Based on the Cressida Cowell novel, How to Train Your Dragon is the tale of young Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), a Viking teen who is a scrawny kid who’d rather invent cool gadgets than fight dragons, much to the chagrin of his warrior dad (Gerard Butler). However, one day he snares the most feared of dragons—the night fury, which has never been seen before—and starts an unlikely friendship.

I imagine that the film is probably even cooler in 3D, but the animation is not harmed in its 2D form. The Vikings are fairly stereotypically animated, but the dragons are pretty bad ass. While most of the dragons are very scarily drawn, Hiccup’s new friend, Toothless, is drawn as if a dragon raped a cat. Trust me, this is cuter than it sounds. Toothless curls up in a ball, he chases grass, he enjoys chin rubs. It’s all hopelessly adorable as I said above.

While some of the jokes are geared towards small children, How to Train Your Dragon works on all the levels that Dreamworks’ Kung Fu Panda worked. It’s a pretty decent story with good voice acting, incredible animation, and cute and cuddly characters thrown in. The subtle jokes will resonate stronger with adults, but the squeal-worthy idea of cats as dragons is sure to hit home with all audiences. Granted, if you can’t stand America Ferrara, you might want to try to ignore her voice work. It’s pretty grating, indeed.

But, look! Cats! Dragons! 3D! Squee!

--Darcie Duttweiler