How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Scrawny teenager Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) lives on the Viking island of Berk, where dragons are despised and their slayers held in the highest regard. In a bid to shake his wimpy image, Hiccup is desperate to catch one of the mighty beasts, so, using a homemade device, manages to shoot down one of the mostfeared breed. When he attempts to capture it for proof, however, the kind-hearted youth has a pang of guilt and allows it to go free.

While his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) fights a war against the fire-breathers, Hiccup attempts to track down his catch to discover why the supposedly fearsome beast didn't attack him. Finding the dragon with a damaged tail, unable to fly, Hiccup befriends him, naming the tame and toothless creature, well, Toothless.

As Hiccup attempts to help Toothless soar through the skies once more, he gradually learns that the terrible tales he's been told about dragons may not be true after all.

Universally acclaimed upon its release, this sublime animation is up there with the best of DreamWorks' output. Combining humour and pathos with action and peril, the story and voice work alone are enough to make for a thoroughly enjoyable film, the stunning visuals, however, take 'Dragon' to another level.

With breathtaking aerial sequences, tipped by many as rivalling Avatar 's for sheer excitement, the film has a great balance of substance and spectacle. Beautifully rendered animation makes it easy to fall in love with the characters, as do performances from Ugly Betty's America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Kristen Wiig as Hiccup's slayingschool classmates.

A rare contemporary animation that doesn't fall back on cheap pop-culture gags, this timeless tale is likely to become a firm favourite with the whole family.