ThiefHott Too much of everything

WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

kwolff-39229 I needed to write a review to prevent the negatives from doing too much damage. People reviewing this show ADMITTING they only watched the first episode or complaining about the voice actors outside of the original language are ridiculous (ofc Netflix didn't get the same obscure German dub actors, seriously? The ENTIRE English cast is the same AND features huge names like David Tennant). Yes the animation is cheaper, obviously Netflix can't afford the millions of dollars it costs to make flawless CGI like Dreamworks's. And first and foremost this is a G RATED KIDS SHOW, it HAS to be wholesome. And for that the writers still do an amazing job working in large vocabulary, sophisticated humor, and phenomenal dialogue. Trust me, those of you who judged this show within the first few episodes, you made a mistake. The overarching plot is dark, there is major character development, and most importantly it's a FUN show that helps continue the magic for those of us, adults and children, who loved the movies and previous series. I'm so glad Netflix picked up where Cartoon Network left off.

TheLittleSongbird How to Train Your Dragon was a wonderful film, animated or otherwise, DreamWorks' best since The Prince of Egypt and one of the best animated films of the 2000s. The sequel was great and almost as good with even better animation, a darker tone and a good amount of depth to the characters, though Hiccup and Toothless' friendship was done a little better in the first(which I also preferred for its simplicity). Dragons: Riders of Berk compliments How to Train Your Dragon very well indeed and is a terrific show in its own right, though understandably not quite as good. The animation may not be as incredible as that in How to Train Your Dragon and the sequel, but that's inevitable because this is a TV show and they feature-length films. That is not knocking the animation though, because the animation still has much beauty and detail with all movements nice and smooth, and the flying sequences and action still exhilarate, Dragons: Riders of Berk is for me one of the best-looking computer-animated shows out there and it's also true to the style of that of the film. The music has parts where it's rousing and others where it's sensitive depending on the mood, it's fitting, it has a pace and most of all it's memorable. The use of some of the themes from the film was welcome too. Dragons: Riders of Berk has great writing, the show is very thoughtfully written with some jokes that are actually funny and balance well with the emotional and suspenseful parts. Like the film the show gives us plenty of time to get to know the characters and relate to them just as well as we did in the film. Hiccup and Toothless' friendship is genuinely endearing. The story lines are always easy to follow and maintain the simplicity of the tone/spirit of the film, which will please fans, the comedy doesn't feel at odds with anything else and the conflict is convincing while never getting too dark. With how the characters interact and how you really feel the friendship of Hiccup and Toothless the show definitely has heart as well. As said the characters are still engaging, I've always loved how Toothless is so lovable and touches and warms the heart without even speaking, and most of the voice actors return and do typically fine jobs, even the new voice of Stoick courtesy of Chris Noth (although Gerard Butler's voice suits the character far more). Alvin is a fun adversary with a good amount of menace about him and Mark Hamill's voice fits perfectly. All in all, terrific show, the films are a little better but compared to most animated shows now and other shows airing on Cartoon Network Dragons: Riders of Berk compares more than favourably. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Jenny Brewer As with most people who are in love with the movie, I had some high expectations for the series and was worried that 'Dragons' would end up like 'Kung Fu Panda' and 'Penguins' (which I understand is geared towards kids, but it kind of ruined the franchises for me). Luckily, the people involved with the movie seemed to want to set this apart from those two. Instead of airing it with Nickelodeon, DW aired it with Cartoon Network, much to my personal dismay. As the series progressed however, I found myself (mostly) agreeing with their decision because of the seriousness of series. Just a real quick overview of the series in general: it doesn't really seem to have a set time of where it begins in terms of the movie. It does however look like it happens a little after 'Gift of the Night Fury'(still doesn't clear up the time line) because the teens know that dragon eggs explode. Next, the quality is not as great as the movie, but that can be chalked up to a limited budget so don't let it distract you too much. Lastly, it's main focus is on the teens and their dragons trying to help Berk get along with its new residents. While most people are willing to cooperate, there are some who aren't willing to let go of grudges. It also expands on ideas that were mentioned in the movie and digs deeper into the characters. One thing I like about the series is that it's easy to see how the teens grow in their relationships with both their dragons and each other. At the end of the movie, we see the teens begin to respect Hiccup and the series expands on that. There are some exceptions, mostly with Snotlout, but when the situation calls for it they'll listen and be there for him. Next there's the awesome relationship between him and Toothless. In almost every episode, it's obvious that the pair have grown close and will do whatever it takes to protect each other. In the episode 'The Terrible Twos', the pair go through a small split that results in Hiccup stranding Toothless in their cove. In the end however, they make up and realize how important it is to listen and trust one another, which continues on for the rest of the series. There's also the focus on Hiccup and Stoick's family relationships and conflicts. 'Gift of the Night Fury' offered a slight glimpse of them trying to work things out and the series picks up from there. The first is when Stoick gives Hiccup the old dragon killing arena to use as a Dragon Academy, showing that he's willing to trust his son with responsibility. In 'Alvin and the Outcasts', Stoick is generally worried about Hiccup when he finds out that Alvin the Treacherous, their greatest enemy, has taken his son and in a later episode titled 'We are a Family: Part 2'. Also, Stoick is willing to embrace his son's ideas by accepting his own dragon in 'How to Pick Your Dragon', something he claims earlier goes against their Viking traditions. During this episode, it seems like Hiccup's efforts do not work due to his father's stubborn and Viking-like attitude, but at the end it shows that Stoick does listen to his son (though he'll deny it). The greatest example of their improving relationship is in 'Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Young Man'. In this episode, Hiccup goes on a small quest to prove to his dad (and himself) that he can be the kind of Viking they think he should be. The challenges in this quest (which even Stoick took on) are only solved by Hiccup being himself, proving who he is to both himself and his father. The end of the episode shows the two standing side-by-side with Stoick's arm on Hiccup's shoulder, eyes filled with pride. And let's not forget the Hiccup and Astrid romance here. Surprisingly, there's very little focus on that. Instead, the focus is on them becoming good friends who offer each other advice and brutal truths. When Hiccup is faced with a conflict he can't solve on his own, Astrid is one of the first people who offers to help him. In return, Astrid sticks by him to make sure he follows her advice and keep him from getting killed (which happens quite a bit). There's a few glimpses of their blossoming love: when they huddle close together for warmth in 'Animal House' only to back away from each other embarrassment, Astrid giving him playful punches on his arm, and when Astrid grows jealous of Heather in 'Heather Report: Part 1/2' because the other girl is stealing Hiccup's attention (there's a bit more to it but don't want to spoil it from here). So while the series has some of its amazing moments, there's also some parts that drag it down. I won't dwell into those though much because those types of matters depend on your opinions. I can go on about the series, but I'll stop here before I give everything away.To wrap it up, 'Dragons: Riders of Berk' is a very good series that helps strengthen (and sometimes weaken) the franchise in general. It's a bit more serious than DreamWorks' other spin-off series, but it works well due to the nature of the movie and can be off-set by its comedy (also sometimes weak). For those of you who can't get enough of 'How to Train Your Dragon' and can't wait for the second movie, this series is great for you. Besides, I heard that this and the next series, 'Dragons: Defenders of Berk' which will premiere sometime in September, deal with events that occur between the two movies so its probably good to see what happens.

Trevor Mcinsley The film is one of my favourites and something I often turn to in order to cheer myself up but I have to say I really don't understand why this series was ever made...I realised immediately that the budget was lower, that they had clearly avoided using the usual high quality hair and cloth modifiers and visual effects like motion blur to cut down on the animation and render time and hence save money. The models also felt a little less polished with empty environments and lower quality animation... this however would be fine if the story was good. It wasn't. The first episode opened on a lengthy sequence which relied solely on the visuals and lacked any real story or decent dialogue.Surely if you are producing something with a lower visual budget it would make sense to have top notch writing... and this is why I find this series perplexing. It almost felt like a spin off produced by a group of amateur fans rather than a real studio.To be fair I have only watched the first episode and skimmed the second to see if it got any better but there is a very good reason for this. The film has a quite amazing ability to lift me from even the worst moods which is truly a rare thing. I feel if I watched this series the whole way through it would just ruin it for me. The first episode simply bored me, it lacked that unique spark that the film possessed and I basically failed to see why it had even left the drawing board...I would have much rather seen them spend the money on a short 15-30 minute one off special like those produced for WALL-E or Shrek.