Critique: How to Train Your Dragon (Film)

Hiccup, a Viking of Berc, shoots down a nightfury, one of the most fearsome dragons. As a result, this dragon that he names Toothless is unable to fly by himself. Despite this, and the fact that dragons and Vikings kill each other, Hiccup and Toothless form a close bond.

 

*****SPOILERS*****

 

Good

 

The animation was largely good.

The irises of the dragons were animated so well, in particular showcasing colour and pattern. Also, the pupils changed shape which beautifully expressed the dragon’s feelings.

My favourite small detail was that Toothless would burn the ground before lying down to sleep. Dragons are famed for being able to breathe fire yet most creators don’t think how dragons would incorporate that detail in their everyday lives. The fact the creators of this film did is commendable.

Vikings in real life didn’t wear helmets with horns on them. However, this choice is acceptable here because it’s faithful to the books. Furthermore, there’s no reason why these fictional Vikings couldn’t have developed helmets with horns on them.

When the Vikings prepare to go to Dragon Nest Island, they throw lots of weapons onto the ships. It’s a nice shot from underneath, seeing the weapons fall with the glint of the sun above. Also, this view is in the shade of the weapons, blocking the sun from the perspective of the viewer.

The characters have legs that are so thin that they are extremely out of proportion with the rest of the body. Also, Stoic’s head is absolutely tiny compared to the rest of his body. The fact that it is so exaggerated shows it isn’t a mistake but rather a creative choice, one that brings levity.

 

At the end of the film, all the Viking ships were burnt and only five dragons were left on the Dragon Nest Island.

So how did all the people get back home to Berc? Maybe the dragons did relays. Maybe the kids went back to Berc and they brought the leftover boats back (there were some adults left on the island to sail these spare boats).

Now, Hiccup blacked-out so he doesn’t know how everyone got home. The film is from Hiccup’s perspective. So it’s a fun decision for the audience not to know because Hiccup doesn’t know.

 

 

Problems

 

Unfortunately, much in the film simply did not make sense.

Toothless is stuck in a crater, unable to gain enough altitude to escape. He has lost one half of his tail sail, meaning he’s unable to fly. But a tail fin would be more to do with fine control and balance rather than creating life off. So being stuck in the crater due to a lost tail fin is not sensible. (Also, we see Toothless gain a lot of altitude just by flapping his wings; it doesn’t make sense that he can’t get any higher through this method.)

Toothless does a really quick dive, making the Queen Dragon follow. She had holes in her wings but as she dived they grew bigger really quickly. The only explanation for this was that the wing membrane was weakened. But to be weak enough to rip so easily, the membranes wouldn’t have been strong enough to lift the Queen Dragon into the air in the first place.

 

In particular, the behaviours of the Vikings were utterly bizarre.

The Vikings watch Hiccup defeat the dragons in nonviolent ways. Plus they know how weak he is. Why then do they expect him to kill the fire-covered dragon? Defeating dragons in nonviolent ways doesn’t mean he can defeat them in a violent manner.

In the arena with all the Vikings watching, Hiccup deals with this fire-covered dragon in a nonviolent way. So why would they be shocked or worried now that his methods remain the same? He was the talk of the town so even if someone didn’t watch him train, they’d know his methods. It makes no sense. (Other than his father, for obvious reasons.)

When the Vikings prepare to go to Dragon Nest Island, they throw lots of weapons onto the ships. Despite it being a nice shot, no warrior would ever treat their weapons like that. So for the Vikings, whose whole life is fighting, this is doubly wrong.

The dragons pour out of the hole the Vikings made. The Vikings cheer, thinking they’ve won. But dragons flying away means they’ll be going somewhere else. Like Berc. Considering the point of the trip was to eliminate the dragons so they couldn’t go to Berc, letting them fly away is clearly a loss, not a win.

 

 

Humour

 

The best humour plays around with basic expectations.

            Hiccup says they have a problem with pests. What kind of pests? Dragons. Considering ‘pest’ is most usually used for small creatures that cause a nuisance, and dragons are large creatures that cause death and destruction, the disjointedness between word and specimen is brilliant.

            Gobber (the Viking with a peg leg) says trolls steal your socks, “But only your left one.” This explains why socks go missing in the wash. Also, right socks and left socks are identical, so specifying only the left is funny. Most importantly, Gobber’s right leg is a peg leg, meaning his only socked-foot is the left one: if only the left socks are stolen, Gobber has no socks at all. This is the line in the film that has the most staying power for me.

 

Call backs/refrains are used well throughout.

The running refrain throughout the film of people gesturing the entirety of Hiccup when pointing out what’s wrong with him. Such as Hiccup being told, “That’s it, stop being you,” or “It’s not about what you look like. It's the inside he can’t stand.”

There are several other call back jokes throughout. Call backs are close to the original instance, meaning that different call back jokes don’t overlap. This increases how funny they are. By themselves without a call back, these jokes would have been merely smiles rather than full-on giggles.

 

There were so many simple yet good one-liners in this film that I simply couldn’t include all my favourites. But here are some.

When describing where Berc is, Hiccup uses words like ‘Hopeless… Death… Misery.’

Gobber calls a dragon an “overgrown sausage.” Objectively it’s not the best joke. However, of all the simple one-liners in this film, it’s definitely my favourite.

All the kids do a forward roll whilst holding their shields. Hiccup follows but the weight of the shield pulls him backwards instead of the momentum carrying him forward.

Fishlegs declares he’s okay then when a dragon lands on him, he says, “Less okay.”

Toothless mimics Hiccup, whether it’s smiling or drawing in the dirt. It really lets the dragon’s personality shine through.

Stoic thanks Toothless for saving Hiccup. Gobber, noticing Hiccup’s missing leg, says, “Well, most of him.”

Hiccup learning his helmet was made from his mother’s breast plate was hilarious.

 

 

 

At the end of the film, dragons and Vikings coexist on Berc. Enemies to friends. A sweet message for children. The film is clearly aimed at kids yet none of the humour was silly, making it a good watch for adults, too.

 

Most of the accents on Berc are Scottish. Now, Vikings controlled a lot of areas in Scotland. However, during Norse rule, would these places have retained a Scottish accent? Maybe an accent from Scandinavia would’ve been more appropriate?