For centuries, the brawny Vikings and the majestic dragons have warred with each other until skinny teenaged Hiccup proves that dragon training could be the way out of the impasse. That’s How to Train your Dragon for you in a nutshell. The focus of the movie (and the book on which it is based) is the charming relationship between the son of the village chieftain, Hiccup, and his pet dragon Toothless. The technical proficiency of this fantasy adventure dazzles audiences as they lose themselves in an immersive 3D experience that appears more real than fantastical.  Avid movie buffs have found this DreamWorks movie surprisingly intelligent, witty and appealing for all age groups.

Reasons for How to Train your Dragon’s Appeal across Age Groups

Unlike most animated and fantasy movies, HTTYD does not target kids alone. On the contrary, it is designed to appeal to all age groups, including teenagers (generally believed to be one of the most hard-to-please audiences) as well as adults. In fact, the movie was so popular that it now has a game based upon it! Here are a few factors that work to woo both the juvenile as well as the non-juvenile demographic:

• Older audiences are unlikely to enjoy movies stuffed with juvenile comedy and this is where How to Train your Dragon scores with its subtle and sophisticated humor.
• The level of action in the movie is pretty mature and that’s another factor that enhances its appeal for teens and adults.
• Older audiences appreciated the fact that How to Train your Dragon promotes family values as well as the importance of tolerance in an increasingly intolerant world. Nor are the conservationist undertones of the movie hard to miss. Like most of humanity, the Vikings fear and misunderstand the dragons, which are initially presented as vicious and destructive enemies of the Vikings. But due to the efforts of the valiant teen Hiccup, the communication gap between the two species is bridged and they finally learn to coexist in peace and harmony.
• How to Train your Dragon is a movie that abounds with allegory. On one level, it is a straightforward fantasy adventure peopled with cute and cuddly dragons. On another level it is about a geeky medieval teenager’s struggle to find his identity and make sense of the world around him.

   

How to Train your Dragon is a fun movie that kids find irresistible and adults find themselves inexplicably drawn to and that’s the reason for its immense success.