In this action-packed coming-of-age tale based on a book series, a gawky Viking teen named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel of Tropic Thunder) wounds a Night Fury, the rarest of all dragons. He befriends the creature – a tribal no-no. As a result, he's forced to lead a double life as he trains to slay dragons by day and hangs out with new pal Toothless by night.

Baruchel, 27, used to dub TV cartoons in his native Canada, but this is his first animated feature. It was a bigger commitment than he expected. "I had my final recording session yesterday," says the comic actor, whose Dragon journey began 2½ years ago. Or, as he jokes, "it's lasted as long as the average marriage nowadays."

Hiccup's less-than-macho nature and scrawny physique is not unlike Wart, the hero of Baruchel's childhood favorite, The Sword in the Stone. "He's a square peg in a world where his attributes and virtues are viewed as failings and weaknesses," he says. "He is the wussiest of Vikings."

The story originally skewed younger and was less bold and epic-like until Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch) took over as co-directors about halfway through. "Previous versions were heavily loyal to the book – sweet, whimsical and too small for Jeffrey's taste," says DeBlois, referring to studio chief Katzenberg.

They were encouraged to disregard all the countless big-screen fantasies that were dragged down by clichéd fire-breathers. "He wanted us to celebrate dragons and let us own them for a while."

To lend the movie, opening March 26, a more muscular sense of grandeur, the filmmakers took the unusual step of hiring noted cinematographer and Coen brothers regular Roger Deakins to supervise the lighting and overall look. "It's like nothing else. It feels like live action in the best sense," Sanders says.

So how does one train a dragon? Baruchel's suggestion: "Lots of trial and error. And regurgitated fish guts."