How to Train Your Dragon

Ya learn somethin' new every day... I was under the impression that Vikings were Nordic, you know...Scandinavian? Imagine my surprise to learn that they speak with a Scots' accent!

Our main Viking, a scrawny young fellow voiced by Jay Baruchel ("She's Out of My League") is American as apple pie, but his father and his instructor, voiced by Gerard Butler ("Bounty Hunter") and Craig Ferguson ("Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events") respectively, are Scotsmen, born and bred, with brogues as thick as haggis.

It seems their little village is constantly under attack by dragons, who schlep off all the livestock they can carry. Naturally, fighting dragons is a time-honored skill and our gawky hero finagles his way into training. (He is eager to prove his "Viking-ness" until he actually meets one young dragon eyeball to eyeball.) His classmates provide the comic relief and one of the tough little girls, voiced by America Ferrera ("Our Family Wedding") is determined to make the first kill.

This being a DreamWorks 2D, 3D and/or IMAX production, you will see lots of action, admire amazing landscapes and find a moral to the story. If you are taking a tot to this PG film, either sit very close or offer your lap for some of the more tense situations―there ARE fire-breathing dragons. The children in the screening I attended were mostly elementary age, but the younger ones seemed to survive it quite nicely.