How to Train Your Dragon

[Apollo the Just]

Only the first one exists. It had a sequel and a threequel I guess but they're kinda meh. I mean like they're pretty and I like that there is significant re-design of characters between each and cool worldbuilding. But still, eh.

I could post this in the 'movies for 2020 thread' but How to Train Your Dragon transcends that thread. How to Train Your Dragon is the peak of animated cinema, everything before and since has been lesser.

I put it on for the first time in a while. I'm pleased to announce I still basically have the whole thing memorized, but it's been long enough that I could fully appreciate the delivery of lines and the excellent comedic timing and be filled with warm bubblies at the soft scenes.

By far the best thing about this movie is its atmosphere. The visual palette is really earthy and lush, the soundtrack is woven with nice musical motifs and so gentle and magical, the character and dragon designs are so fun and interesting; there is so much care and detail in the production that the movie feels incredibly rich and alive. The flight scenes really make you feel like the wind is rushing through your hair and you're soaring in the air, you can almost feel the cold damp atmosphere and it's just incredible. Watching this movie in theaters was an experience I'll literally never forget.

I mentioned detail - there is one scene, one single scene, that takes place in a little corner where Hiccup is drawing up his plans for Toothless's tail. That scene is LITTERED with props and hints that do hours worth of visual storytelling. You see plans for crossbows and other 'inventions' that give you context as to how he is able to engineer the fake tail; he's clearly practiced this for years. The candles and tools and items in the background make it feel so lived-in and homey. The detail, the incredible detail, on this set that is for ONE scene that is maybe 2 minutes long; it's excellent. Since this movie takes place in a fictional world, in addition to the sets doing storytelling work, they must ALSO do worldbuilding work to tell you what you need to know about this fantasy setting. Hiccup's pencil that he uses to draw Toothless is a stick with a piece of charcoal wrapped to it. The movie tells you about Toothless's missing tail by having Hiccup draw him, take another look, and smudge the missing piece of his tail off. You get a view of the island because Hiccup has drawn a crappy map and is crossing out the spots he went to look for Toothless's downed body. Cinema is a visual medium, and it is appalling how SO many movies get away with just explaining everything for you in unnecessary dialogue, instead of letting the cinematics do the talking. How to Train Your Dragon lets its cinematics do the talking.

That said it does of course have dialogue in scenes involving the human characters, and that dialogue is so excellent. This fake movie about fake teenagers in fake dragon training has better teenage banter than a lot of ~realistic~ TM movies. Every dragon training scene tells you so much about the characters; but it does it in a way that is both hilarious and natural. And it does the EXACT OPPOSITE of that modern trope that I absolutely detest. When a character says or does something genuine, but then immediately after that there is some comic relief line because we can't have sincerity in a Funny Movie TM, can we?? In HTTYD, there is a scene where Hiccup makes a light jab and his dad cuts him off with "this is SERIOUS, son"; and the rest of the scene actually has that feeling of scolding set in. The really funny moments shine because they aren't in your face, but are timed so **** well that I still crack up at them. I think the funniest line in the entire movie is when Hiccup is preparing to show the entire village that dragons aren't evil by taming the Monstrous Nightmare when everyone expects him to kill it; and he grabs the tiniest, least threatening knife, because he doesn't intend to use it; and Stoick comments "hmm, I'd have gone for the hammer." It's **** hilarious because the pacing moves right along but the line is delivered with complete sincerity despite how ridiculous the selection clearly was. This entire movie is nothing but sincerity and that's why it is so absolutely excellent. It doesn't stop for you to laugh at the Funny Parts, it delivers them in a context that still feels real so if you don't find that moment funny it hasn't lessened the value of the story.

I also really appreciate Astrid's role in the story. She's not a villain but she does start out as an antagonist, but her frustrations are treated as completely valid and she is an excellent foil to Hiccup as representing what "traditional" stands for in their culture. That said, she is not unreasonable, and despite being so angry and undermined at every point, her strengths are acknowledged and she is able to see Hiccup's side as well after experiencing a cool ass dragon flight at twilight. I don't know, I think it would have been easy to make her just an unlikable villain or whatever but she's someone with completely different strengths and priorities who sees things in a different light and yet also understands where Hiccup is coming from after meeting Toothless. And again, that scene doesn't have any dialogue, because it doesn't **** need to.

I feel like the fact that modern screenwriters don't know how to write a protagonist that isn't "soft nerd with low self esteem uses brains over brawn to save the day and gain self confidence" has made Hiccup and his story get lumped in with that canned garbage in retrospect by a lot of people. It's not HTTYD's fault that everyone else saw an incredible movie, didn't understand exactly what about it made it so wonderful, and decide to cheaply replicate its hero. Not to mention Hiccup is so, so much more compelling than a lot of the carbon copies that came after, considering he is brazen as **** and goes out and does **** even if/when everyone hates him because he doesn't devalue his own experiences. His dad is like "WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ABOUT MY IDIOT SON" and the camera basically cuts to him hunting around the island trying to find the dragon he mauled. God I love Hiccup all these fugly ass big nose **** can **** off and if anyone tries to put him in with that **** **** from Onward I'll suplex them into the **** sun.

The HTTYD book series is still my preferred story overall, but this movie changed my life and it is always nice to go back to it and experience the magic all over again.