What is up my dudes and dudettes? Today I'm doing a review of the movie "How To Train Your Dragon". It's one of my favorite animated movies. I went as Toothless for Halloween last year and my profile pic is me in the hoodie my Mom made for my costume! :)
Book vs. Movie
This movie is actually based on a book series of the same name by the author Cressida Cowell. And although the movie pulls many details from the books it's not the same story at all. When I first saw the movie I thought it was fantastic, and didn't find out about the book series until some time later. I personally think that the movie is better than the books, but I wonder what my opinion would have been if I had read the books first.
I think when DreamWorks chose to make the movie they were not planning on making a movie of the book, but rather a movie inspired by the book, only pulling certain elements from it instead. And also, the series is twelve books long, which would have been very hard to fit into one movie.
Plot and Character Development
If you've never seen the movie then CAUTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! With that out of the way, let's talk about the story. One thing I really appreciate about this movie is that actions have consequences. The main character (Hiccup) goes directly against his father's wishes, by first not killing Toothless when he finds him in the woods, and befriending the dragon instead. Even though what his father and the rest of the tribe believed about dragons was wrong, Hiccup was still disobeying Chief Stoick, and he hid a pretty huge secret from him.
Hiccup pays for this by Stoick ultimately finding out about his secret friendship with Toothless, and forcing Toothless to show him where the dragon's nest was, so he could destroy their home once and for all. Stoick also completely disregards Hiccup as his own flesh and blood, saying: "You throw your lot in with them...You're not a viking...You're not my son"
Stoick then leaves Hiccup on Berk as he and the rest of the tribe sail off to supposedly do battle at the dragon's island.
Another way Hiccup pays for his actions is he loses the entire lower half of his left leg, when he and Toothless work together to destroy the Red Death at the end of the movie. Toothless manages to force the Red Death to swallow it's own fire, disintegrating the boss dragon from the inside out, as it crashes to the ground in a fiery inferno.
During this battle, Toothless's prosthetic tail catches fire and begins to flake apart, making it harder for Hiccup to steer and keep them aloft. As they navigate up the spines of the dying dragon's back, the Red Death's tail, which resembles a large club, catches Toothless right in his gut, knocking Hiccup off Toothless's back as they both fall into the fire below. The last shot we see before fire covers the camera is an unconscious Hiccup being enveloped by the flames, as Toothless flaps wildly after him in a desperate attempt to save him.
When Stoick later finds Toothless, who was shielding Hiccup with his fire proof wings, we are not shown lower than Hiccup's waist, but it is remarked upon that while Hiccup is still alive, only "most of him" was saved.
Later it is revealed that the entire lower half of Hiccup's left leg is gone, having been unintentionally bit off by Toothless trying to catch him, or was burned badly enough that it had to be amputated. In most animated movies where the hero must save the day, they might risk their lives doing so, but there are no consequences. The hero walks away unscathed and life immediately goes back to normal. But Hiccup must now live with the loss of a limb for the rest of his life, and learn to walk again with a peg leg. These are some of the things that make this movie so good.
Cinematography
I really think that visually this is one of DreamWorks's best animated movies. The landscapes for Berk are amazing, from the deep forests to the wide shoreline shots, it's all stunning. Especially the flying scenes, which, coupled with a fantastic soundtrack (more on that in a minute), give the viewer a sense of truly flying right alongside Toothless and Hiccup. Scenes like the romantic cloud flight, are breath taking as we see the world from Hiccup and Astrid's point of view when Toothless flips upside down, or when the Northern Lights come out from the clouds.
And then there's the dragons. All the different species are so unique! My favorite is Toothless the Night Fury. Most of his movements seem almost cat-like, which is not a trait I would have thought dragons possessed. All the dragons have their own kind of style. As agile and graceful as the Night Fury is, the Gronckle is clumsy and slow, though still ferocious when it needs to be. I love the diversity of the different dragons and appreciate the thought that went into designing and animating them that way.
Soundtrack
The music for this movie is just.....perfect. It's ridiculous how much I love this soundtrack. The main theme really captures the Norse/Viking feel, and the flying theme is epic, making you believe you really are soaring through a cloudless sky on sleek dragon. I really don't think there's anything the composer could have done to make this soundtrack any better. If you're into epic music like myself, this is the kind of thing you want to blast on full volume. It's that good.
Soooo....this ended up way longer than I though it would be. Whoops. But now you know what type of things I'll talk about in these reviews, and how detailed too. Anyways, that's all I've got today, comment what other animated movies you want to see reviewed! :)
Torilinn
Later it is revealed that the entire lower half of Hiccup's left leg is gone, having been unintentionally bit off by Toothless trying to catch him, or was burned badly enough that it had to be amputated. In most animated movies where the hero must save the day, they might risk their lives doing so, but there are no consequences. The hero walks away unscathed and life immediately goes back to normal. But Hiccup must now live with the loss of a limb for the rest of his life, and learn to walk again with a peg leg. These are some of the things that make this movie so good.
Cinematography
I really think that visually this is one of DreamWorks's best animated movies. The landscapes for Berk are amazing, from the deep forests to the wide shoreline shots, it's all stunning. Especially the flying scenes, which, coupled with a fantastic soundtrack (more on that in a minute), give the viewer a sense of truly flying right alongside Toothless and Hiccup. Scenes like the romantic cloud flight, are breath taking as we see the world from Hiccup and Astrid's point of view when Toothless flips upside down, or when the Northern Lights come out from the clouds.
And then there's the dragons. All the different species are so unique! My favorite is Toothless the Night Fury. Most of his movements seem almost cat-like, which is not a trait I would have thought dragons possessed. All the dragons have their own kind of style. As agile and graceful as the Night Fury is, the Gronckle is clumsy and slow, though still ferocious when it needs to be. I love the diversity of the different dragons and appreciate the thought that went into designing and animating them that way.
Soundtrack
The music for this movie is just.....perfect. It's ridiculous how much I love this soundtrack. The main theme really captures the Norse/Viking feel, and the flying theme is epic, making you believe you really are soaring through a cloudless sky on sleek dragon. I really don't think there's anything the composer could have done to make this soundtrack any better. If you're into epic music like myself, this is the kind of thing you want to blast on full volume. It's that good.
Soooo....this ended up way longer than I though it would be. Whoops. But now you know what type of things I'll talk about in these reviews, and how detailed too. Anyways, that's all I've got today, comment what other animated movies you want to see reviewed! :)
Torilinn
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