Dreamworks Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon” shares more than a few similarities with a certain blue-man adventure that recently broke a gazillion box office records.

Both “Dragon” and James Cameron’s “Avatar” follow a hero who bonds with a skyscraping lizard, fights against his own people and tries to save a race of misunderstood creatures.

The big difference: “Dragon” is fun, exciting and, thankfully, about an hour shorter than the overrated Oscar nominee.

“How to Train Your Dragon” doesn’t tell a particularly original story beyond its novel subject matter of Vikings vs. Dragons. And while it sometimes resorts to familiar kiddie-movie story techniques, the characters are developed enough to add relevance to the film’s spectacular flying sequences.

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