Harold et la légende du Pikpoketos

Let's just say I'm a fan of the original. Everything about it was amazing. The plot, characters, voice acting, animation, action, humor, heart and music score were so good it will always be highly recommended for both kids and adults as one of the best animated films ever made.

When I heard that Dreamworks made a short film like this one, I became very interested and watched it a few times to make sure it doesn't disappoint me. The reason why it was because I was disappointed with one of the user comments in this short. I mean, sure it's a short film, but that does not take away everything that I like about it.

First, there are two problems that I do have with this short. 1) The humor was okay, but there were barely a few jokes even though some of them gave a few chuckles here and there. 2) The tone for HTTYD was dark and very mature which was one of the few reasons why that movie was a success. The tone for this short, however, was a little bit dark, but I guess it was fine.

Everything else turned out great. I enjoyed the 2D animation sequences of how Goober met the Bone Knapper Dragon. Although it kind of reminds you of a Garfield cartoon, at least it was good. The computer animation, characters, voice acting, the story and the action were impressive.

LOTBD isn't on par with the original, but it is a very good CGI short made for kids and it's really worth watching.

P.S. I don't have the short film on DVD (save the original on DVD almost a year ago during Christmas break), but I think I'll get it someday.

8.2/10

This animated short is a sequel to How to Train Your Dragon and released as a DVD extra.

The film follows Hiccup and his friends accompanying their mentor Gobber on a quest to kill the mythical Boneknapper Dragon.

The dragon is recalled by Gobber in some dubious stories which we see presented in traditional 2D animation. I presume using such as animation technique was also quicker and cheaper to produce.

The normal story is done in CGI. It is amusing enough for kids and I liked the voice acting of Craig Ferguson who plays Gobber the Belch.

As with so many animated films, How to Train Your Dragon created this short film I presume to go on the DVD as an extra. The plot is that the gang of children set out in search of a completely mythical dragon called the Boneknapper – a dragon only known via the highly dubious stories told by Gobber. While the main parts of the short are CGI, the stories snap into a nicely effective cartoon style which I liked as it differentiated it from the "reality" of the rest of the film. I can understand why some would see these sections as "cheap" because they clearly are less expensive to produce, but this didn't mean that this was the motivation – it worked as a device for me, not as a cost-saving.

The plot is simple and most of the laughs do come from the exaggeration in the story-telling in the cartoon sections. It isn't great but I did like the "and what came rising out of the water/volcano/ice" bits as they were out of nowhere and consistent. The rest of it comes and goes pretty quickly though and I certainly don't think the short is worth making an effort to seek out and it certainly doesn't stand up to the standard of the main film. But as a throwaway extra on a DVD? Sure, why not?

This is a How to Train Your Dragon short. Gobber claims that a Boneknapper Dragon burned down his home. Nobody believes that species exists. Gobber sets off to find the elusive dragon which uses old dragon bones as armor. Hiccup and his friend join him to ensure his safety. Gobber tells them about hammerhead whales and hammerhead yaks in his previous encounters with his Boneknapper Dragon. This is good solid fun. It's absurd and funny. It fits the franchise nicely.

See, now this is what you get when you inject British humor into a film primarily viewed by Americans. They don't get it. I haven't laughed so hard since I last watched Monty Python or read a Douglas Adams novel (or maybe a Doctor Who episode).

This short was definitely quite outlandish and different than the feature film. And guess what! It was supposed to be! This being a short film, it allowed the filmmakers to get away with a lot more creativity and freedom than a big blockbuster would've allowed. It seems that any idea, no matter how ridiculous, that leapt to the writers mind ended up on the page. And it was damn funny, too. So get over yourself people and enjoy the ride.

I actually enjoyed these 16 minutes more than the entire theatrical film. And it was all because of The Mighty Craig Ferguson. God bless him. Watch his show. Or you're a terrorist.