[8]

Jay Baruchel voices a pre-pubescent Viking who fancies himself a dragon hunter — that is, until he accidentally befriends one of the creatures and dubs him Toothless. That’s when How to Train Your Dragon becomes a romance between a boy and his dragon. I was not prepared for how much I would enjoy this movie — great script, endearing characters, well-choreographed (and sustained!) action set pieces, and another terrific score by John Powell. The character animation is still a bit clunky compared to Pixar’s work, but everything else about the execution (the design, lighting, and texturing) is very nice. And, yeah — I cried. With the voices of Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Jonah Hill.

Oscar Nominations: Best Animated Feature Film, Best Score (John Powell)