If you live with a middle-grade child, particularly a boy, you probably know all about the popular Wimpy Kid series of books by Jeff Kinney. And you may have had no idea that there was a book called How to Train Your Dragon (actually, it's part of series too). But both books have been turned into movies, and the movies are playing in theaters at the same time. We saw both of them this past weekend.
OK, maybe you and your kids were aware of the How to Train Your Dragon books and were eagerly awaiting the movie they inspired, but it was a mostly unknown quantity to me. It can be worthwhile to take a chance on an unknown quantity, though; it certainly was in this case. How to Train Your Dragon was clever and involving, and it absolutely charmed me. The animation was excellent, and the voice actors were well cast.
By Viking standards, young Hiccup isn't terribly successful - smallish, clumsy, and considered unlikely to ever be capable of fighting the dragons that regularly plague his island village. But one night he tries anyway, and thinks he managed to hit an elusive Night Fury; however, when he goes out the next day to look for his trophy, he finds he only wounded the dragon. When the dragon doesn't attack him, Hiccup is puzzled - and curious. While he's being trained to fight dragons back in his village, he's slipping away in between lessons to learn more about this particular dragon, and a bond begins to form.
I don't want to spoil the story for you, so I'll end my plot synopsis there. The movie's narrative arc is engaging and fast-moving, the conflict is exciting, and the funny parts really do appeal to all age levels (our group was two adults, two teens, and a ten-year-old, so it was a good test group). The dragons were particularly well-rendered; the Night Fury that Hiccup eventually names "Toothless" reminded me of a cross between one of the critters from Gremlins and a black Labrador retriever. I didn't know much about How to Train Your Dragon before I saw it, but I'm very glad I learned.
I didn't know all that much about Diary of a Wimpy Kid before I saw it, either, but the ten-year-old certainly did; I haven't read the books, but he loves them. I think I can understand why. Greg Heffley is an ordinary kid entering the particular circle of hell known as "middle school," trying to figure out how to be popular - or at least not be an utter loser. Life's a battle at home, too, where he's tormented by his older brother Rodrick.
I've got to be honest; I wasn't entirely charmed by Greg. He did come across as a real kid, and that means that there were times he was...well, kind of a jerk. Part of being middle-school age is trying to fit in and get noticed by the "right" people - and not be associated with the "wrong" ones. (This continues well into high school, in case you'd forgotten. Who wouldn't want to forget that?) Most of Greg's less-than-admirable choices were motivated by that, but I'm not sure how clear that is to a younger audience. On the other hand, I loved Greg's best friend, Rowley, who was just unapologetically himself - one of the "wrong" people, of course, but not the least concerned about it. Still, I'm pretty sure I'm responding to these things from an adult's perspective, and that the Wimpy Kid demographic may not see them the same way.
However, it's undeniable that Greg's schemes make for funny business, no matter what demographic you're in, and even if he's not exactly an ideal role model, I couldn't help rooting for him. I can definitely see why so many ten-year-olds do, too. I'm not sure I've ever seen as many grade-school boys in a movie theater as I saw on Sunday afternoon at Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
But I heard more end-credit applause at Saturday afternoon's showing of How to Train Your Dragon - and we saw the 2-D version. I can only imagine how affecting this movie is in the 3-D and IMAX versions, but it's worth seeing in any format.
Have you seen either of these movies yet?
By Viking standards, young Hiccup isn't terribly successful - smallish, clumsy, and considered unlikely to ever be capable of fighting the dragons that regularly plague his island village. But one night he tries anyway, and thinks he managed to hit an elusive Night Fury; however, when he goes out the next day to look for his trophy, he finds he only wounded the dragon. When the dragon doesn't attack him, Hiccup is puzzled - and curious. While he's being trained to fight dragons back in his village, he's slipping away in between lessons to learn more about this particular dragon, and a bond begins to form.
I don't want to spoil the story for you, so I'll end my plot synopsis there. The movie's narrative arc is engaging and fast-moving, the conflict is exciting, and the funny parts really do appeal to all age levels (our group was two adults, two teens, and a ten-year-old, so it was a good test group). The dragons were particularly well-rendered; the Night Fury that Hiccup eventually names "Toothless" reminded me of a cross between one of the critters from Gremlins and a black Labrador retriever. I didn't know much about How to Train Your Dragon before I saw it, but I'm very glad I learned.
I didn't know all that much about Diary of a Wimpy Kid before I saw it, either, but the ten-year-old certainly did; I haven't read the books, but he loves them. I think I can understand why. Greg Heffley is an ordinary kid entering the particular circle of hell known as "middle school," trying to figure out how to be popular - or at least not be an utter loser. Life's a battle at home, too, where he's tormented by his older brother Rodrick.
I've got to be honest; I wasn't entirely charmed by Greg. He did come across as a real kid, and that means that there were times he was...well, kind of a jerk. Part of being middle-school age is trying to fit in and get noticed by the "right" people - and not be associated with the "wrong" ones. (This continues well into high school, in case you'd forgotten. Who wouldn't want to forget that?) Most of Greg's less-than-admirable choices were motivated by that, but I'm not sure how clear that is to a younger audience. On the other hand, I loved Greg's best friend, Rowley, who was just unapologetically himself - one of the "wrong" people, of course, but not the least concerned about it. Still, I'm pretty sure I'm responding to these things from an adult's perspective, and that the Wimpy Kid demographic may not see them the same way.
However, it's undeniable that Greg's schemes make for funny business, no matter what demographic you're in, and even if he's not exactly an ideal role model, I couldn't help rooting for him. I can definitely see why so many ten-year-olds do, too. I'm not sure I've ever seen as many grade-school boys in a movie theater as I saw on Sunday afternoon at Diary of a Wimpy Kid.
But I heard more end-credit applause at Saturday afternoon's showing of How to Train Your Dragon - and we saw the 2-D version. I can only imagine how affecting this movie is in the 3-D and IMAX versions, but it's worth seeing in any format.
Have you seen either of these movies yet?
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