Up & Coming Weekly

Truly Enjoyable on Every Level April 22: MU Faculty Recital Sponsored by Friends of Music • 7:30 pm Reeves Auditorium • Free Admission How to Train Your Dragon (Rated PG) by HEATHER GRIFFITHS May 1: Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition • 8 pm Reeves Auditorium • For tickets call 910.433.4690 May 2: All-Choirs Concert 7 pm • Reeves Auditorium • Featuring Chamber Singers, Chorale, Men’s & Women’s Chorus Free Admission May 7: Fayetteville Symphonic Band 7:30 pm • Reeves Auditorium • Free Admission May 14: Cumberland Oratorio Singers Jazz Refl ections • 7:30 pm • Reeves Auditorium Tickets are $12, free to MU faculty, staff, and students (with ID) • For more information, contact 910.822.4447 or jpotter25@nc.rr.com Engage. Enrich. Empower. How to Train Your Dragon (98 minutes) offers the best 3D scenes I’ve ever seen, offers as much gender equality as a viewer might reasonably ex- pect, and manages to deliver an engaging story without dumbing it down. There is the slightest subtext of dominant Europeans subjugating the natu- ral world, but you can probably ignore that in favor of celebrating the child within. In the village of Berk, where Vikings have lived for hundreds of years, the locals spend most of their time killing a variety of really awesome look- ing dragons. A rainbow of dragon colors and abilities offer a real visual treat in between bits of dialogue. I kind of want the toys that I’m sure are available as movie tie-ins. Our skinny teenaged hero Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is the think- er in the village, and what he thinks about is how to kill dragons. He decides if he can kill the rarely seen and never captured Night Fury he can win the respect of his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) and finally get a date. Of course, his plans don’t exactly work out, and he must figure out a back-up plan. The Night Fury, who is the perfect blend of Stitch, an ener- getic puppy, and a snobby cat, makes Hiccup work for every step forward. As he tries to win over the adorably fanged reptile, he is enrolled in dragon fighting classes. Although Gobber the Belch (Craig Ferguson) does his best to grease the wheels, his classmates don’t take Hiccup seriously. Astrid (America Ferrera) spends more time pushing him down than giving him a hand up. Snotlout (Jonah Hill) enjoys scoring points off Hiccup, while Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) is more familiar with Dungeons and Dragons point scoring. Twins Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Tuffnut (T.J. Miller) are too busy fight- ing each to spend much time busting on the hero. Woven throughout Hiccup’s character arc is the search for the drag- on’s nest, led by Stoick. Unfortunately, Astrid finds out what Hiccup does in the forest, and they end up amidst a doom of dragons. Together, the two discover some answers to the questions none of the other villagers have thought to ask. It is not just the atmospheric score and unbelievably beautiful graph- ics that really make the film stand out. Alongside of the fine craftsmanship are important notes about gender equality, the value of thinking your way through problems, and a final scene that shows that every action, good or bad, has long lasting consequences. Of course, the downside of that are the tears from younger viewers. Those tears reflect the emotional invest- ment of the audience rather than gratuitous emotional manipulation (look- ing at you Princess and the Frog!). The only real issues I have with the film are minor. First, anachro- nisms are used to convenience the plot rather than add anything to the overall story. Second, the “Vikings” sound like Mike Myers doing Austin Powers. Third, where are the parents? The teenagers seem pretty much unsupervised. Fourth, while there are plenty off fleshed out adult male Vikings, the adult female Vikings seem to be more background filler than real characters. Overall though, almost as good as Shrek. HEATHER GRIFFITHS, Contributing Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com 28 UCW APRIL 14-20, 2010 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM

• Cover