Admit it. We all watched “Up,” and somewhere in the back of your mind was that tingling sensation of giddiness translated into, “I actually like this movie.” Yes, animated films feature cute caricatures parading within fantastical worlds on ever more fantastical adventures that we humans on the other side of the screen only wish we could jump into, so why ignore the tingling? Ignore the fact that you’re likely one of the few college students among the slew of 5-year-olds gleefully encompassed by the unsurpassed graphics that now come in 3-D. But a second thought irks you. You wish your familiar era of Snow White, Mulan and Aladdin had been featured in 3-D back in the day.

With the breakout success of “Up” after a successful but arduous effort to captivate the key demographic – teenagers – two ex-Disney employees, Dean DeBlois (who wrote “Lilo & Stitch”) and Chris Sanders (who helped co-write the script and voiced Stitch), backed by their history of working together on the script for”Mulan,” jumped ship to DreamWorks with the lure of the unrestrictive creative styles that the smaller film studio naturally had to offer.

“[DreamWorks] is very open in terms of the types of movies we make there, and everything from broad comedy to this one, which is a little bit more fantasy/adventure,” DeBlois said. “So I love that they have such an open mind about projects, and [How to Train Your Dragon] is really healthy as a result.”

But, there was one catch. DreamWorks had already begun production on “How to Train Your Dragon” for several years before DeBlois and Sanders were brought into the mix.

“Chris was [at the head of the story department] when I joined the team as a storyboard artist,” DeBlois said.

It was DreamWorks CEO Jeffery Katzenberg’s quick thinking to corral DeBlois and Sanders’ directing expertise, something which DeBlois recalled in detail.

“Jeffrey called [Chris Sanders] up and just said ‘Listen, we have a project that has to be out. The story just needs some dialing up and aging up, and would you be interested?'”

Having to work with an initial storyline that kept the film’s adaptation faithful to Cressida Cowell’s “How to Train Your Dragon: Book 1,” DeBlois and Sanders immediately rooted out the kinks of the film’s shaky and too-sweet storyline of dragon/Viking harmony – a confusing and rather humdrum plot for seasoned film goers – for the action of a Viking/dragon war.

“The reason we did that was it was very clean and strong…it was about clarifying the story first and foremost,” DeBlois said.

DeBlois and Sanders’ vision of each character is deliberate and precise. The reason viewers return to “Grey’s Anatomy” week by week is a testament of our own willingness to escape into another, albeit fictionalized, human being’s life. Following a similar model, each animated character retains a human-like personality, characterized by a fault.

“So building faults in just makes them more human. It makes the experience a little more real, and we are always referencing sisters and people we know whose traits are both endearing and annoying at times,” DeBlois explained. “These characters have maybe the best of intentions but are not always equipped to carry them out in the most effective way.”

The final cut follows Hiccup, the main protagonist, keeping his amicable relationship with a befriended dragon, a secret from his clan. Think of Hiccup as a potential dragons ambassador or mediator between the dragon species and Hiccup’s uncultured Viking clan. But the question remains, why is it that a teenager will be attracted to this movie? Sanders was quick to point out the level of action and the emotionality of the film.

“[“How to Train Your Dragon”] is very grown-up in that the film actually starts with a battle. There is a great deal of action that I think is just fun to watch.”

As expected, an underlying message is rooted in the dragon/Viking back-and-forth clash. “[Hiccup] is struggling with the problem of, does he believe what people tell him about the world, or does he make up his own mind?” Sanders said. “And not to believe people if they tell you that you are weak or that you have shortcomings. Because those perceived weaknesses and those perceived shortcomings are actually very possibly your great strengths.”

Outside of the storyline, Sanders and DeBlois keep true to “How to Train Your Dragon’s” undertone.

“Dean and I worked very hard to get the story right. And just dramatically be true to whatever story we’re on. And we first and foremost just try to please ourselves,” Sanders said. “How to Train Your Dragon” hits theaters Friday.