Last night we caught the touring live action production of DreamWorks' How to Train Your Dragon LIVE Spectacular at the Schottenstein Arena. For those of you who haven't seen the movie, it's a heart-warming tale of a young misfit Viking named Hiccup whose village is in a never-ending battle with dragons. The reluctant dragon slayer's people will be wiped-out if he doesn't find a way to save them, not only from their enemy but also their own misconceptions.
The actors were lively and entertaining, with plenty of tightly choreographed action and acrobatics to keep the children's attention. The story was a little more condensed than the movie, but it was delivered smoothly and with enthusiasm. The lighting effects were impressive, as was the use of animation projected onto the floor and curtains that transformed the arena from forest, to a moving sea, to volcano, etc. many times over. I’ve never seen anything like it before. The dragons were very well done. They looked very realistic, and their sounds and gestures were able to convey their emotions well – very impressive. Our hats are off to the riders who "flew" high above the concrete floor.
The children in the audience seemed to love the show. Our boys were enthralled by the show. Unfortunately there was one notable issue that took some of the luster away from the evening. The dragon "Toothless" broke down about ten minutes before the scheduled intermission. It took roughly an hour for repairs to be made before the show could resume. Because of these issues, Toothless was never able to fly during the show (though the other dragons could), which was disappointing but they did a great job of picking up the story without the use of him flying (there were ground and flying versions of many of the dragons). We also weren't prepared for the downtime, so we didn't have much to occupy our children beyond investing in some popcorn. Though we wouldn’t anticipate another technical issue in the remaining shows, flying dragons is complicated business, so our best advice is to pack a book or three, a Leap Pad, etc. just in case.
For those concerned with the dragons being scary (I was one of them), though some were scary looking, they were not really scary. We did talk to our kids (ages five and seven) ahead of time and explained the dragons were robotic and not real, several times. I think this helped alleviate any fears. There were some scenes that were kind of scary, when they were fighting the dragons, but most ended like the movie where Hiccup calmed them. You need to gage your children, but it definitely is not as scary as it might seem to be.
Technical difficulties aside, it was an enjoyable evening. Afterwards, one of our boys made the suggestion that we watch the movie again this weekend, and the others followed suit. The events team at the Schott did a good job of routing traffic in and out of the arena, and the free parking was definitely a plus. We had a great time and would absolutely recommend the show to any family.
Show dates: October 11-14th Friday night at 7pm, Saturday at 11am, 3pm and 7pm and Sunday at 1pm and 5pm.
Tickets are still available HERE. Use the code MOM in the ‘promotions and special offers’ box to save 25% on Friday night’s show!
More about the production:
See actual footage of the show: HERE
The live production rolls fire-breathing action, epic adventure and heartfelt laughter into an original captivating story set in the mythical world of Vikings and wild dragons. Based on the book by Cressida Cowell, it centers on Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t fit in with his tribe’s longstanding tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup’s world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view. The story presents a vision so grand in scale that only DreamWorks Animation and Global Creatures could bring How to Train Your Dragon to life in front of a live audience.
DREAMWORKS HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR breaks every rule of theatrical entertainment to fully immerse audiences into the show in ways that have not been attempted before. Barely contained within the arena, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON LIVE SPECTACULAR utilizes the full venue, maximizing every dimension of the performance space to transport audiences into a mythical world of fire-breathing dragons who soar overhead at great speeds. The state-of-the-art animatronic technology and large-scale cinematic projections interact seamlessly with the live actors, who bring DreamWorks Animation’s heart-warming story to life through theatrical storytelling, martial arts and acrobatics. It's not to be missed!
We were given tickets to this show, however all opinions and views expressed are strictly our own.
