howtoditchyourdragon

[howtoditchyourdragon]

So, ya girl watched the live action httyd yesterday…

I’m not going to go into every little detail that was changed and my thoughts on it bc let’s be honest nobody asked or wants that (and I actually did like a lot of the movie - more than I was expecting) BUT there was one left out line that I want to talk about because I think its removal is interesting.

(I could also go on and on about how they negatively changed my man Gobber but that’s a conversation for a different time).

Anyway, I rewatched the original movie today just to re-jig my memory to what changes I noticed that I didn’t pick up when I was in the movie theatre and there’s a line change in the live action that I have… feelings… about.

In the Gronkle training scene early on in the animated film there’s this exchange:

Gobber: Today is about survival. If you get blasted... you're dead! Quick! What's the first thing you're going to need?

Hiccup: A doctor?

Fishlegs: Plus five speed?

Astrid: A shield!

In the live action, this quote is reduced significantly, and Hiccup and Fishlegs’ lines are completely cut. So, Gobber asks the question and Astrid answers - easy peasy. Right?

Well…

Look, I’ll be the first to admit it’s not a particularly noteworthy exchange in the grand scheme of httyd, but to me it so perfectly encapsulates the characters who say the short lines in such a marvellous way.

Hiccup says his line in his typical Hiccupy sarcasm, but inherently I think the more, well logical, suggestion of probably needing a doctor in this situation speaks to the leadership qualities he would come to embody. Hiccup is a problem solver, we see that all the time in rtte and subsequent movies - and over time as he becomes team leader, and later Chief, Hiccup plays the role of a kind of caretaker. He will look out for people, and he will offer up logical, needed solutions. It’s something the Riders come to expect and even depend on. Now, is this to say that he always comes up with practical ideas… no. Dragon Fly One and subsequent flighsuit inventions I’m looking at you. But, I think Hiccup’s leadership qualities that he would eventually be known for are kind of hinted at here for the first time.

Fishlegs’ answer also offers the audience an excellent chance to learn how he interprets things. Fishlegs, along with Hiccup, would come to be known as a kind of walking dragon encyclopaedia and often this is played for some kind of comedy. But, like Hiccup, dragons are genuinely Fishlegs’ passion. He inherently cares about dragons and wants to know as much as he possibly can. I also think credit needs to be placed on how smart one must be in a society where they have literally one copy of a book that every single person has to share, to not only retain information but be able to remember it off the top of one’s head while being actively shot at by an angry, lava-spewing dragon. Fishlegs is smart, and often his knowledge is valuable in the Rider’s interactions with the larger dragon world as they move beyond Berk.

Then there’s Astrid’s answer. The Viking answer. Astrid, particularly in the animated movies is such a wonderful example of a knowledge female character - one who knows the world around her and what is takes for her to carve out a place in it. She’s the quote-unquote ‘typical’ Viking, which is such an interesting role for her to be able to take up when the franchise’s main male character - a role that is usually reserved for the stereotype of whatever world they inhabit - is so far from. The female character is the ‘ideal’ depiction and this is reiterated multiple times throughout the animated franchise (I’m particularly thinking of the Team Astrid episode in rtte which showcases her internal battle with the weight and responsibility of fitting the understood battle responses of a Viking). And her success is never seen as a weakness of Hiccup’s, nor a failure on Astrid of not fitting a typical female characterisation. She is literally the typical Viking! And she’s badass! And I just, I have so much love and affection for the Dragons franchise for letting her be a ‘warrior’ character without making her one dimensional.

To me, this is what is so special about the animated httyd universe - particularly the first movie and tv shows. The small little hints of different personalities that emerge that make the characters feel so inherently human and realistic in such an unrealistic world. Like yeah, these are three teenaged Vikings who are about to be blasted by a giant rock dragon, but Hiccup’s deadpan sarcasm, Fishlegs’ genuine fear and Astrid’s quick thinking highlights how httyd never fails to write them as anything but human. They’re teenagers! They’re human! They have different emotional responses that the audience is trusted to understand and learn! If they all had boring, stock personalities (like some parts of the live action, I’m so sorry) it wouldn’t be as entertaining or make the audience care about finding out more about the characters.

(It’s also a really good example of how talented the writers were that they could highlight three characters’ distinct personalities in such a small time frame).

Now, this isn’t all to say that I’m using this as a reason to hate on the live action - I think if anything this has just made me love the animated movie even more, which doesn’t take away the live action’ strengths. I personally do think it sums up what one of my only real issues with the live action was though - that in turning it from cartoon to real life I think some of the unrestrained earnestness and small, witty details that are so beloved in the animated movies were cut, like these small - seemingly insignificant - moments between characters or certain line deliveries that made the animated characters feel so real to so many people. And I mean, I get it, I’d imagine turning a franchise as big as Dragons into something bigger in scale is probably really hard and some things just have to give.

Now, I don’t work for Dreamworks (unfortunately) so I can’t definitely say why this line was cut - probably it was just done for time constraints and nobody else in the world is reading into it as much as I am BUT we all know how much I love when the Riders fun little personality quirks come out and I just find live action adaptation changes fascinating, because like, why were certain changes made! I genuinely, really want to know!

But yeah, I’m getting emotional about fictional characters again and I was actually all in all quite happy with the live action! It was better than I was expecting! I just have thoughts because of course I do 😌.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

i'm rewatching race to the edge and it is deeply amusing to me that the episode Triple Cross, one of the most iconic and definetly one of the best episodes of rtte, with the A plot of viggo and hiccup coming together to take on a common enemy and viggo proving how much he's changed by bonding with a dragon and giving up his life to let hiccup escape in a poignant and triumphant end to the arc of their relationship, has the B plot of. the twins trying to get a world record for their dragon by smashing apples and figuring out how to fly upside down. and also inventing the guinness thorston book of world records. if that doesn't sum up race to the edge i don't know what does.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

This is absolutely gorgeous

The Queen being disrespected

[howtoditchyourdragon]

I think it’s really poetic that I’ve returned to tumblr and the httyd community just to join in the collective hatred of the live action movie when it was our collective hatred of the hidden world that brought me here in the first place…

Truly a full circle moment of sucking.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

guys i’m not hating on the live action httyd casting im hating on the fact that they are making a live action

[howtoditchyourdragon]

No i completely agree keep going…

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." " THATS NOT THE POINT OF THE SCCEEEEEENNNNEEEEE. "it's okay, I won't hurt you." YOU ALREADY DID!!!!!! YOU'RE MAKING AMENDS FOR IT!@!!!!! THA'TS FTHE FUCKING POINTT OF THE MOVIEEEE!!!

"It's okay, I won't hurt you." BITCH THATS THE OFFSPRING OF LIGHTING AND DEATH ITSELF!!! YOU SHOULD BE WORRIED ABOUT IT HURTING YOUUU!!!! THAT'S THE POINT OF THE SCENE!!!! YOU'RE HELPING HIM EVEN THOUGH IT COULD KILL YOU BECAUSE YOU NEED TO MAKE AMENDS!!! YOU DON'T NEED TO SAY THAT, THE SCENE IS SUPPOSED TO DO THAT FOR YOU!!!! I'M GONNA THRHWOW SOMETHING THIS IS GONNA BE SO BAD.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

How To Train Your Dragon 1: Ignorance can lead to violence, and misunderstood animals are just as capable of love and gentleness as a once-presumed weak person is capable of being a strong leader. Sometimes it takes a strong bond and a good friendship to see the potential in one another.

How To Train Your Dragon 2: The happiness love brings can outshine the pain of loss, and the bonds built between animal companions and their owners is unbreakable if both truly care for one another.

How To Train Your Dragon 3: Nobody deserves animals because all humans are incapable of change.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

I can't stop thinking about how Hiccup and Toothless' relationship is built on trust and has been built on trust the whole time. But more than that, it was built on trust from their very first scene.

Hiccup holds Toothless' life in his hands and he chooses to let him go, even though Toothless could very well (and might) kill him.

Toothless then has the power and he could easily kill Hiccup. He probably considers it just like Hiccup did, but he responds to Hiccup's kindness with kindness of his own, and he lets him live.

So when Hiccup goes down into the cove, there is already a tentative understanding between them that neither means to bring the other any harm. You have spared me, I have spared you, we are equal.

But both are still wary.

So Hiccup makes a decision to trust Toothless with his life again when he throws the knife into the lake. Not that the knife would have protected him much from Toothless, but it is presumably the same weapon that Hiccup would have taken his life with to begin with, and it's more about what it represents. So Hiccup gives the power in the situation over to Toothless when he throws the knife away. Now that Toothless doesn't see Hiccup as a threat to him, he calms down.

Toothless trusts Hiccup when he eats the fish Hiccup brought with him the first time, and the basket of fish the next time. Eventually, both of them are relaxed. Hiccup can just sit on a stump and draw in the dirt, Toothless can nap, there is no worry that one will kill the other. There is mutual trust.

They bond, Toothless shares his fish, Hiccup smiles (which Toothless clearly understands to some extent bc he smiles back), Toothless draws, Hiccup plays along w Toothless' game, until finally Hiccup decides to reach out to touch him.

He tried before, when Toothless was resting in the sun, but that didn't go very far, bc Toothless didn't trust him. But NOW, things have changed. They have spent enough time together that Toothless is less wary. But not entirely.

Hiccup sees this, that he is asking for trust from Toothless, so he puts his trust in Toothless first. He closes his eyes and turns away, and just like that, Hiccup once again shifts the power from himself to Toothless. (Cutting the ropes, throwing the knife). And so Toothless trusts him.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

canon tidbits i think people who've only seen the httyd movies should know that are confirmed in the shows:

tuffnut and snotlout are canonically talented seamsters

we see the prototype versions of hiccup's flaming sword and the flightsuit in race to the edge

hiccstrid's first kiss is in rtte and its perfect

VIGGO GRIMBORN aka the best httyd villain and the "hiccup's evil mirror" concept actually done right

there are multiple societies dedicated to protecting dragons other than berk

snotlout's assholish disposition is a consequence of his deeply held insecurities that if he can't be the best he's the worst, which is encouraged by his father

the other riders (namely snoutlout) have used the ship name hiccstrid to refer to hiccup and astrid

hiccup redeems so many villains in the shows (alvin, dagur, viggo - one of them later performing a heroic sacrifice to save him) that it's completely unsurprising he thought he could change drago's mind

hiccup punched snotlout in the face and knocked him out cold

the shows let the twins be smarter, snotlout be more thoughtful, and astrid more deranged

snotlout's middle name is gary

[howtoditchyourdragon]

I’ll never forgive the writers of Httyd 3 for making Snotlout look Hiccup in the eye and say “who died and made you Chief?”

It probably would have been funny from any other character that wasn’t there when Stoick was killed. But coming from Snotlout was like 1) undoing all character growth he had over the series. 2) ignoring the fact that he cried at Stoick’s funeral

Just tacky

[howtoditchyourdragon]

No???

I think the fuck not, netflix, you take that back

Edit: this was posted on the httyd facebook page (for FATHER'S DAY WHICH IS WILD) so I guess not netlfix's fault but uhh still a bad take

Imagine making a httyd post for Father's day and not making it about Hiccup and Stoick

[howtoditchyourdragon]

Guess who just saw a deleted scene from httyd2 with Hiccup breaking Toothless out of Drago’s control by saying the words “I won’t leave you, I won’t let you go” and now wants to violently sob…

It’s me.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

you know what i hate the most about httyd thw?

they tried to recreate the iconic moment from the first movie, one that was special for TOOTHLESS AND HICCUP, and making it happen with toothless and the light fury.

the drawing scene? sure, drawing for her would've been fine, but when she stepped on it and he growled, referencing movie one? no.

that was their special scene, where hiccup and toothless officially bonded, and they tried to recreate that for romantic purposes, which pisses me off so much.

of course, she ends up growling back and toothless' jaw drops (literally), allowing her to step on his artwork (bitch), but that scene was such a big part of hiccup and toothless' relationship turning for the better.

it was obvious that the writers wanted us to like toothless and the light fury being together, by making a parallel to the original scene that everyone knows and loves, but it just makes me so angry.

get an original experience for these two. i don't care if you switched it up, let them have their own romantic moments, and don't reuse the iconic ones from the past.

[howtoditchyourdragon]

I don’t think I’ll ever get over how hiccup choosing to save toothless is him also choosing himself. It is him looking at his awkward kind self and actively deciding not to fit into the mold everyone wants him to be

Like they really peaked with cinema with hiccup and toothless huh

[howtoditchyourdragon]

Random Wiki Trivia pt.2 (S2)

I’m back babyyyy - my last post of this got a weirdly large number of likes so here’s season 2, I guess. My streak of finding random historical references in rtte continues apparently:

Returning for the random US history references is this: Astrid’s speech to the auxiliary riders in Team Astrid (2x1) is almost word for word of the Rifleman’s Creed, a WWII speech given my General William H. Rupertus of the U.S. Marine Corps so I guess the streak of US history related facts continue

The Twins hug each other for the first time ever on screen in the whole franchise in Bad Moon Rising (2x4)

In real life both Tuff and Snotlout would have died because of the events of Bad Moon Rising - Tuff from the wolf bite and Snotlout from his several bites one of which was a sea snake which are apparently VERY venomous and almost impossible to cure

Ruffnut’s middle name is Eugene

There are several references to classic movies in this season: the first is the ropes being soaked in nightmare gel in Edge of Disaster (2x9) while the Hunters are climbing up them is a reference to Home Alone when Kevin does this with kerosene

In the same episode Tuff says the line "We've been expecting you” while petting Chicken which is a direct copy of a scene and line in James Bond

In A Time to Skrill Hiccup (2x11) mentions the Dragon Hunters have a new net launcher which are exactly the same design as the one Eret uses in httyd2

[howtoditchyourdragon]

i really need more of them

[howtoditchyourdragon]

I love how the Dragon Legends shorts were entirely based off the premise of someone new joining the Dragon Riders as if this group of five teenagers weren’t the only known people on Berk who weren’t either very small or 30+