My thoughts on the new live action How to Train Your Dragon
Spoilers for below of my thoughts - both good and bad- on the live action! Saw it last night and have had almost 24 hours to digest so hopefully this is somewhat articulate instead of a rant at some points!!
Before I go into anything, I think it's important not to comment too much on the characterisation of those who don't get as much screen-time in the first movie as compared to the shows. I have devoured every aspect of this franchise multiple times, from the movies to the tv shows and the shorts. So I know a shit-ton about these characters, but it's important not to expect the characters and dragons to act the same way as they do in say RTTE. This leads more-so when I discuss some of the characters but just wanted to clear that up first.
Overall I really enjoyed it! I was smiling the majority of the time, thought a lot of the scenes were done fantastically, and one of the major things I loved was how beautiful the scenery and music was. John Powell did it again and absolutely slayed the soundtrack. Scenes like Forbidden Friendship, New Tail, See You Tomorrow and Romantic Flight were very very good, and I did tear up a couple of times.
I really liked Hiccup and Astrid's relationship too; they included a bit more backstory to why Astrid is so ambitious to do well and that scene in the Great Hall was pretty good. Their little 'come what may' moment was super cute and I just love hiccstrid so much that I'm down for anymore of that content.
Stoick and Hiccup's relationship was also pretty good, and relatively accurate. I did really enjoy how the screenwriters put in more about Snotlout and Spitelout, really the only thing from the shows that was added. Loved to see how Snotlout is constantly trying to be the best to get the recognition from his father, and we see Spitelout not really recognising that until Snotlout is literally on the Red Death. He's such a shit dad.
Toothless was adorable. I've seen some people say that he was made to be less intelligent which I can definitely see. He was treated more-so as a dog/pet than a very intelligent dragon but I think overall, I did like him. We obviously didn't see a lot of personality from the other dragons, but that's pretty similar to the first movie (except maybe Stormfly laughing at Snotlout). I did like the design of all the dragons, especially Hookfang who looked super badass.
That's not all I liked about the movie, but I want to get more into my grievances with it.
Firstly, my main source of contention with the film is how Berk came to be about. I don't mind that it was a bunch of different tribes who came together. What I didn't like is why they all came together. Instead of just sailing to Berk 300 years ago, all these tribes came together to purposely fight dragons. This in my mind, completely annihilates part of the first movie. In the original, both the Berkians and the dragons were unwilling participants in a centuries-old war; both were forced to fight and kill each other due to the Red Death. The Berkians didn't plan to move to Berk just because it was near a dragon nest; they probably moved there to establish a new land which just so happened to be right next to the nest, and so was the target of dragon who themselves were being controlled to satisfy the Queen. Making Berk the aggressors took away any sympathy I had for them, as they were the ones who moved in and attacked first it seemed. Bit of a rant but it just really irked me about the movie.
Second, the unexplained question over the chiefdom. In the original, it's not really a question that Hiccup will inherit the chiefdom of Berk, it is a hereditary thing. I think most httyd fans accept that. But, it seems like that isn't the case in the live action. And I say it seems because it's never really explained. Astrid says that she will be the next chief, but I was left wondering why she even thinks that's a possibility. Tuffnut even bloody says it and it's just never explained. I thought maybe that could have meant that whoever wins the Trial of Flame (stupid change imo), then they could become chief. But isn't that something that happens relatively commonly. Or at least every few years with the new generation. Maybe it's a democracy and they get to pick but who tf knows. I would have been more on board if it was just explained more.
Something that really pissed me off was the removal of some scenes and lines. The No So Fireproof scene being completely cut threw me off. That scene is so important, not just because it's when Hiccup really understands that all dragons (or not just Toothless) are not what they've been told all their lives, but it's also where he figures out that dragons aren't fireproof on the inside! I love that scene so much, so getting rid of it hurt me.
Also, they cut both of Hiccup and Stoick's shared lines: 'We're Vikings, it's an occupational hazard' and 'I did this'. Both are so important in their relationship and character arks and it was such a shame that they were cut. With the Viking line, I did notice there was less of an emphasis on the word viking. It was still used but I just noticed that it was used less, like when Stoick says 'You're not a Viking' it was changed to 'You're not one of us' (I think, or something like that). I don't know why it was changed and would like to hear more about that.
I also found some of the characters were changed a lot. I think Astrid, Snotlout and Fishlegs were good. Astrid was OP sometimes but it wasn't too terrible. The twins were mid. Tuff was fine but Ruff was just so out of character. She kept trying to be all 'girls stick together' to Astrid which I just never got from her character from any of the original franchise. Tuff and Ruff's relationship too was out of whack. It just lacked a lot of their competitiveness, fun and messing around chaos we all love from the twins. So that sucked tbh.
Hiccup was also different. I think Mason Thames did a fantastic job, and it is so hard to measure up to the Hiccup we all know and love because he was written to perfection and Jay Baruchel was the perfect voice actor for him. However, this Hiccup missed a lot of Hiccup's sarcasm, wit, sassiness and all that stuff that I love about him. He was more awkward in a worse way and just lacked that hiccup flare. Overall, he was a very good Hiccup but I'm anxious to see how they approach him in the second one. I didn't love how he so expressly just gave the general like position to Astrid because she's the strongest fighter, and then Astrid was the one who was giving the commands when they first start fighting the Red Death. They could have done it differently and it just takes away from Hiccup's strength.
So those are most of my thoughts! I've probably missed things or forgotten stuff, but I'm going to see it for a second time to try and catch things I didn't beforehand.
