How to Train Your Dragon

With two of the four movie tickets I got from cashing in my Aeroplan miles used up on Avatar and Shutter Island I had two left still sticking to the fridge compliments of a way too strong magnet and just begging to be used. In the last few days I have heard, actually mostly read, some good buzz about an animated movie called How to Train Your Dragon. It has an 8.3 (out of ten) score on IMDb along with many positive comments about it and the premise just seemed promising to me. So tonight, I went to see it.

I’m trying to recall other movies where dragons feature prominently. There’s that girl dragon in Shrek, Harry Potter has a bunch of them doesn’t it? There’s Dragon Heart, which was OK but also kind of lame. I never saw it but isn’t there a kids movie called Pete’s Dragon? Then there was Eddie Murphy’s comic relief mini dragon in Mulan. The Never Ending story had that Luck Dragon with huge human type teeth which was kind of creepy. Monty Python and the Holy Grail had that scary dragon… oh wait, no, that was a fluffy white killer bunny wasn’t it? Never mind, I guess that’s enough.

HTTYD is probably not a film you will be having deep discussions about long after it’s over but it is a lot of fun while it lasts. DreamWorks has too often (for my taste) relied heavily on current pop culture references for the humour in its movies but there is none of those in this one. There is much to make you laugh but it is all derived from and contained within the story and anyone who sees it for the first time 25 years from now will never have to wonder what this or that ancient obscure reference is about.

I kind of prefer not to recognize a famous actor’s voice in animation because it makes it hard not to picture them when you hear the character speak. Thankfully the only one that was obvious to me was Jonah Hill and he’s not a main character so no problems there.

I saw a YouTube video a while ago about how the cool heroes in movies never look back at an explosion, they just keep on walking calmly away. The introduction of the main girl character (Astrid) is done in such a way as to acknowledge and indeed pay homage to this cliché. I do think though that it’s the first time I can recall seeing it in an animated movie and it was simultaneously awesome and funny.

The story is original with a great blend of action, humour, some genuinely touching moments and just a little obligatory romance thrown in for good measure.

The animation is top shelf all the way. And I must confess, in spite of my general loathing of the current 3D fad, HTTYD (like Avatar) would not have been the same without it. In particular, the flying scenes are the most realistic I have ever seen. And I mean that not necessarily in a literal or technical way but in a more intangible yet ultimately real way. You know those dreams you have where you’re flying, (surely it’s not just me) the flying in HTTYD feels closest to those. You feel the speed, the height, the fear of going so high, the changes in direction and momentum. It really is breathtaking. It’s worth seeing just to experience the flying parts. It’s not like those Imax movies or theme park experiences that tend to make you sick either. It’s actually a little hard to describe. It’s just such an incredibly joyful ride.

In summary I would definitely say that this is by far DreamWorks best animated feature EVER. Highly recommended!

Anne with an e comes to town

I often heard the title Anne of Green Gables growing up. I think I remember Marlan was reading the book at some point but I had no idea about the story and frankly had no interest in it. I mean, let’s be realistic here. With a title like Anne of Green Gables how could any self respecting young man take any interest in it. It may as well have been called Road to Avonlea or Emily of New Moon or any other CBC sounding girly name.

While in Japan of all places, when people heard I was from Canada they would always ask me about Akage no Anne (Red Haired Anne) as she is known over there. In fact I would almost be willing to bet that she is more famous in Japan than in any other country including Canada. In 2008 in celebration of the 100th anniversary of AoGG the Japanese Post Office jointly with Canada Post issued two AoGG stamps. (The two at the top are the joint issue stamps which you can/could also buy in Canada. The others were only available in Japan and were based on an animated version of the story made there.)


They were always shocked and disappointed to find out that I had never even been to PEI and, yes it gets worse, had no idea that this world famous story was a Canadian one. Oops!

I think it was in 1987 on one of my trips there that I found myself with a few hours to kill in downtown Osaka and wandered past a movie theater that just happened to be showing Anne of Green Gables. I decided I’d better see it if for no other reason than to prevent myself any further embarrassment for being completely oblivious to it. I must say I ended up enjoying the story and therefore the movie very much and was so glad I had decided to see it.

Now more than twenty years later I recently got another chance to revisit the story of Anne at the local playhouse. Although I remembered liking the movie I had forgotten most of the story details so it was nearly like seeing it for the first time again.

Dad has a major roll in the musical play and was kind enough to get us tickets for opening night. It was fun to be back watching live theater again.

Anne is played by Sarah Leavitt and she is quite wonderful.


She really becomes Anne with loads of charm, charisma and a great voice too. Dad and the other players are great in their parts as well and it all made for a very entertaining evening.

I know it takes many hours of rehearsals and the talents of many other people along with the players to put on a production such as this. If any of you happens to read this please accept my thanks for all your time, talents and efforts. You all did a wonderful job and I hope I get to see your play at least once more before it ends.