An exceptionally thrilling fantasy geared towards children, How to Train Your Dragon reunites Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders—the duo behind Disney’s Lilo & Stitch—for another tale of man and beast. Set on a Viking island “twelve days North of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death” that pits its human inhabitants against the dragons who steal their livestock, the story concerns Hiccup, the village chieftain’s gawky son, who stumbles upon a talent to train the fearsome creatures. Despite attempts by Hiccup and Toothless (the wide-eyed dragon with whom he develops a feline domesticity) to bridge the two warring populations, the island is plunged into battle scenes Roger Ebert described as “storyboarded like a World War I dogfight, with swoops, climbs and narrowly missed collisions with craggy peaks.” Though a far cry from the Hawaiian tranquility of Lilo & Stitch, DeBlois and Sanders once again demonstrate a passion for using the island as a battleground for competing interests, where communication and compassion lead to harmony. Of particular interest is how the film treats its many disabled characters: not with pity or grief, but dignity and respect. 

Age recommendation: 8+