Was forced to watch the first one recently. Not really against my will, the films just weren't on my radar. Between the generic-sounding name, the boring marketing and not being exactly a fan of DreamWorks' previous output, it was a triple whammy of who gives a shit. But I was wrong.
So fucking wrong.
I wanted to watch the second one almost immediately after finishing the first but had to wait until we were back from our trip. By the time the credits rolled the room had gotten real dusty if you know what I'm saying.
So the first one begins as this really simple tale. The set-up is as basic as it gets: There's dragons, they attack our hero's village, he can't step up to the plate. Then something impactful happens and the hero has to overcome a challenge to reach his full potential. It's a tale as old as dirt but HTTYD proves, once again, that it isn't really important what story you tell but how you tell it.
Sure, it treads familiar thematic ground: It's about being heroic, being true to yourself, proving yourself etc. But Hiccup doesn't simply get stronger or faster or smarter. The driving force in the movie (and the sequel) is understanding. Hiccup overcomes his limitations because he is kind, shows empathy towards Toothless and wants to understand him and the other dragons. Whereas everyone else in Berk sees the dragons as a threat, Hiccup sees an opportunity for humans and dragons to live together in harmony. Obviously, with any story where two species or even cultures clash this is a recurring "trope", if you want: The reason why these two groups cannot live alongside each other is a lack of communication and mutual understanding and once they overcome that hurdle, the conflict is resolved. Usually this is enacted by two characters acting as representatives of each species. HTTYD doesn't exactly break new ground here but it is impressive how it manages to tell the same story with one of those characters never speaking a single word:
Motherfucking Toothless.
If you're familiar with the films, you probably know that Toothless was based on a DW artist's cat, if not you can google it. There's just so much they do with animations and sounds to give Toothless character and it's impossible not to fall in love with him, especially if you have pets yourself. And it's really about this relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, how they get to know and support each other. You laugh and cry with this weird cat-lizard-thing. The "real" threat of the movie doesn't appear until two thirds into it.
Then the second film happens. Without stepping too much into spoiler territory, it somehow manages to expand upon everything the first one did while still making it feel fresh. It's funnier, prettier, more epic and never misses an emotional beat.
I feel that at this point I should probably point out that John Powell's score is simply sublime. Here's the main theme of the first movie, feel free to post your favourite tracks.
So yeah, drop everything and go watch them. Unless you're holding your kid then watch it with them.
So fucking wrong.
I wanted to watch the second one almost immediately after finishing the first but had to wait until we were back from our trip. By the time the credits rolled the room had gotten real dusty if you know what I'm saying.
So the first one begins as this really simple tale. The set-up is as basic as it gets: There's dragons, they attack our hero's village, he can't step up to the plate. Then something impactful happens and the hero has to overcome a challenge to reach his full potential. It's a tale as old as dirt but HTTYD proves, once again, that it isn't really important what story you tell but how you tell it.
Sure, it treads familiar thematic ground: It's about being heroic, being true to yourself, proving yourself etc. But Hiccup doesn't simply get stronger or faster or smarter. The driving force in the movie (and the sequel) is understanding. Hiccup overcomes his limitations because he is kind, shows empathy towards Toothless and wants to understand him and the other dragons. Whereas everyone else in Berk sees the dragons as a threat, Hiccup sees an opportunity for humans and dragons to live together in harmony. Obviously, with any story where two species or even cultures clash this is a recurring "trope", if you want: The reason why these two groups cannot live alongside each other is a lack of communication and mutual understanding and once they overcome that hurdle, the conflict is resolved. Usually this is enacted by two characters acting as representatives of each species. HTTYD doesn't exactly break new ground here but it is impressive how it manages to tell the same story with one of those characters never speaking a single word:
Motherfucking Toothless.
If you're familiar with the films, you probably know that Toothless was based on a DW artist's cat, if not you can google it. There's just so much they do with animations and sounds to give Toothless character and it's impossible not to fall in love with him, especially if you have pets yourself. And it's really about this relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, how they get to know and support each other. You laugh and cry with this weird cat-lizard-thing. The "real" threat of the movie doesn't appear until two thirds into it.
Then the second film happens. Without stepping too much into spoiler territory, it somehow manages to expand upon everything the first one did while still making it feel fresh. It's funnier, prettier, more epic and never misses an emotional beat.
I feel that at this point I should probably point out that John Powell's score is simply sublime. Here's the main theme of the first movie, feel free to post your favourite tracks.
So yeah, drop everything and go watch them. Unless you're holding your kid then watch it with them.
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