Has DreamWorks Animations, the minds behind such modern marvels as Shrek and Chicken Run, ever steered us wrong? Okay, so there was Madagascar in 2005. And Shrek the Third in 2007…and even last year’s disappointing Monsters vs. Aliens. So maybe they’re not peddling as many constant hits as its rival Pixar Studios. But DreamWorks has always had the comedic hand over the Disney-owned workshop, as well as higher star power. Last year’s Aliens attracted Seth Rogen, Reese Witherspoon, Hugh Laurie, Ed Helms, and Paul Rudd among others to grab a microphone and chime in. Though its celebrity voice actors never drowned out the fun most of its films have ended up having. This is why the production is even compared to the multi-Oscar-winning Pixar.

How to Train Your Dragon, based on Cressida Cowell’s bestseller of the same title, is a likable-enough movie. That doesn’t mean it’s fantastic, though. What’s decent in execution is not always so in original premise. Dragon is the story of Hiccup (that’s his name, I’m not kidding), the neglected offspring of a family of Vikings living just off of Scotland. He’s got big-time daddy issues; his father Stoick (voiced by Gerard Butler) is too busy trying to look like a big-shot to listen to anything his son has to say. He’s ashamed of him for being weaker than most everyone around him (the same can be said of the real life murmur behind Hiccup, Tropic Thunder and Knocked Up character actor Jay Baruchel). If we haven’t seen that concept baked a million times over. Though it’s true Screenwriting 101: there are only four original ideas out there, and everything else is built off of one of those structures. How to Train Your Dragon isn’t an unexciting movie because of its lukewarm plot.

DreamWorks Animations has been home to some of the smartest people working in Hollywood today, a notion that remains true to this date. Kung Fu Panda in 2008 was one of the best films of that year because of its spot-on scripted satire, as was my personal favorite DreamWorks film Over the Hedge in 2006. Both were perfect spoofs in and of their own rights, Panda quietly mocking Chinese culture, Hedge commenting on avant-garde suburban America. That’s missing from Dragon. The screenplay from Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (the team behind Lilo & Stitch) isn’t quite ridiculous enough. Yes, a movie about mythical reptiles seems all too realistic when its predecessor surrounded an alien government cover-up.

It sounds like I hate this movie, and I don’t. In fact this is great for kids and adults will have a blast as well. I’m not saying this will be the best thing since sliced bread to someone over 15, but when the alternative is Tooth Fairy or Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (ick) this begins to sounds pretty good. Per usual with DreamWorks animated films, the graphics are gorgeous, especially whenever Hiccup and his dragon, Toothless, take to the skies. At times it comes off as slightly cartoonish, but even then it looks better than the standard Planet 51-esque style.

This is DreamWorks first movie adapted from someone else’s work that’s not a sequel of their past accomplishments. Yet everything here seems to work when taken as a whole. The supporting voice cast of Craig Ferguson (welcome to the movies), America Ferrara, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, and David Tennant is wonderful, and even Gerard Butler is finally a part of something that’s not complete crap. But is it DreamWorks back in top form? They’re improving. How to Train Your Dragon is an above-average movie filled with admirable bits, but for now it’s just a stepping stone to get to something more refreshing and new from the acclaimed studio.

3 ½ out of 5 stars.

Watch my review of How to Train Your Dragon here!