Aylmer boy trains Hollywood

Julie Murray

Dean de Blois, who grew up in Aylmer, once again shows off his talents with the third installment of How to Train Your Dragon.  He co-wrote and co-directed the Oscar-nominated first two installments, along with Lilo & Stitch.  He directed and co-wrote the third, which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.  Starring Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera, the movie tells the tale of Hiccup, who must face the ultimate challenge of learning to let go.

According to the movie review website IMDb, the film is about “growing up, finding the courage to face the unknown…and how nothing can ever train you to let go. What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic adventure spanning their lives. Welcome to the most astonishing chapter of one of the most beloved animated franchises in film history:  How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. Now chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid, Hiccup has created a gloriously chaotic dragon utopia. When the sudden appearance of female Light Fury coincides with the darkest threat their village has ever faced, Hiccup and Toothless must leave the only home they’ve known and journey to a hidden world thought only to exist in myth. As their true destines are revealed, dragon and rider will fight together—to the very ends of the Earth—to protect everything they’ve grown to treasure.”

Getting a 98% from Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.9 out of 10 from IMDb, the movie is expected to be as big a blockbuster as the first two.  In an interview on morning television, Mr Baruchel said he was stunned at just how much the first two captured the imagination of audiences worldwide.