How to Train Your Dragon: Animated Masterpiece

This is a modern classic of family cinema

The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon is releasing this week, and I thought now would be a good time to revisit the original. I haven’t been super excited about live-action remakes, so I’m not sure when or if I’ll get to the new release. I give massive props to the hardworking cast and crew of the remake for putting in immense work and commitment, but I’m disheartened by studio executives who push for these retellings. Remakes should have drastic reinterpretations of their sources; they should have new and interesting things to say, instead of just being content with mirroring the originals.

The 2010 How to Train Your Dragon (directed by Chris Sanders & Dean DeBlois, screenplay by Will Davies and DeBlois & Sanders, based upon the book series by Cressida Cowell) begins with a nighttime scene of a viking village built on a rocky island formation. Already, viewers are transported to a new world, but what sets this story apart from other adventure tales is the wry, darkly funny, and sarcastic narration of the teenage protagonist, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), who explains that this is his home, Berk. The opening does a fantastic job of introducing the film’s world, the characters, the tone, and also hinting at the themes of the story. Hiccup explains how his village is constantly attacked by dragons and how everyone is expected to kill them, while he has no aptitude in that regard. Instead he’s stuck helping the town swordsmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson) while everyone is off fighting, including teenagers his age like Astrid (America Ferrera). The opening also reveals that Hiccup’s father is Stoick (Gerard Butler), the leader of the village, in a scene in which Hiccup causes an accident that embarrasses Stoick. Already, the film skillfully slides between humor and pathos, which it continues to do throughout.

This story has so many layers, which resonate for different audience members depending on their experiences. Hiccup’s story is a coming-of-age tale about a young person trying to figure out who he is and what efforts he can devote himself to, while everyone around him thinks he’s useless. The feeling of figuring out one’s identity and purpose while facing social pressure from peers is acute during adolescence, and it continues to pop up again during transitional stages in life. The coming-of-age aspect is both fitting for audience members who are Hiccup’s age and also for anyone who’s ever faced moments of doubt.

An additional dimension to Hiccup’s journey is his fraught relationship with his father. The dialogue is so poignant and heartbreaking at times. Hearing Stoick talk with Gobber about how he wishes his son were different hit hard. Hiccup has the burden of his father’s expectations on his shoulders. Yet, Stoick has his own personal journey to undergo, one of acceptance; instead of forcing Hiccup to be someone he’s not, Stoick must accept Hiccup for who Hiccup is. This thread offers a very powerful lesson to parents.

On a broader thematic level, through how this film depicts a particular society, the movie illustrates really profound messages about beliefs and cycles of violence. Killing dragons is so deeply ingrained in the culture of Berk that no one questions it. Hiccup so badly wants to kill a dragon so that his social position could become less miserable. But, when he finally has the opportunity to kill a fearsome Night Fury dragon after injuring him with a projectile weapon, Hiccup realizes that he cannot do this. He lets the dragon go. He does what no one else in his village would do. This encounter changes both his and the dragon’s lives forever.

Before Stoick finally does accept who Hiccup truly is, he sends Hiccup to train in combating dragons with his peers under the guidance of Gobber. Once again, Hiccup cannot demonstrate prowess fighting dragons, so he instead decides to learn as much as he can. He realizes that the dragon that he has set free cannot fly because Hiccup has injured him; the shot from Hiccup’s weapon has removed part of the dragon’s tail. The dragon is sadly stuck in a meadow, unable to climb out.

During his observations of the dragon, Hiccup eventually names him Toothless because of the dragon’s retractable teeth. They initially have friction and distrust between them, but they slowly come to feel less weary around each other when Hiccup offers gestures of trust and kindness, and Toothless reciprocates.

I adore how this film celebrates kindness and empathy. Hiccup’s goodness allows him to reject everything he has been told his whole life about how dragons are vicious and violent. He accepts the truth of his own eyes and ears.

This open-heartedness leads Hiccup on his path to finding his calling. He learns about how dragons behave from Toothless and applies these lessons to the training program. He quickly de-escalates all confrontations with the dragons that Gobber has let out on the teenage vikings.

Hiccup also develops a prosthetic to make up for the missing part of Toothless’s tail. However, the way the prosthetic is designed, it requires someone who is riding Toothless to adjust its position as Toothless flies. In order for Toothless to fly again, he and Hiccup must work together.

In the film’s most breathtaking sequence, Hiccup and Toothless burst into the sky, shoot past clouds, and skim the water’s surface. They learn to follow each other’s instructions and guidance, and when they separate mid air, they find their way back to each other. This scene, beyond being exhilarating and gorgeous to behold, depicts how, through trust and mutual understanding, obstacles that had once existed can be overcome.

As life-changing as his relationship with Toothless is, Hiccup keeps the newfound friendship secret, rightfully fearful that his fellow villagers would not accept Toothless as a gentle and thoughtful creature.

The first person whose mind Hiccup changes is Astrid’s, and this happens by chance. Astrid, too, has the weight of expectations on her shoulders. Though Hiccup has been seen as the unfortunate failure as the son of the village’s chief, Astrid has envisioned herself as an excellent warrior against dragons. This is evident in how successful she is early in the training. However, when Hiccup ends up upstaging her, not because he means to but just because he ends up applying what he learns from Toothless to easily make it through training, she follows him to the spot where Hiccup spends time with Toothless and discovers the dragon. Astrid and Toothless almost fight before Hiccup intervenes. He asks Astrid to give him the chance to show her the new truth he has found. He takes Astrid on a flight on Toothless, and at one point they are above the clouds as the moon casts a magical glow around them. He shows her what he sees and how he feels, and she ends up understanding him.

In one of my favorite scenes in the film, Astrid asks Hiccup out of genuine curiosity why he couldn’t kill Toothless in their first encounter. Hiccup says that he would not kill because he realized that Toothless wasn’t at all different from Hiccup; the dragon was just as scared as Hiccup was. When he looked at Toothless, Hiccup says, he saw himself.

This film depicts a society that can change for the better by choosing acceptance and empathy over fear, hatred, and violence. Without giving too much away, the climax of the film shows the people of Berk and various dragons working side by side for a common goal.

The theme of acceptance runs through the film: acceptance of one’s self, acceptance of the truth of one’s eyes even and especially when it opposes deeply ingrained beliefs, acceptance of one’s peers and families for who they are when they are able to pursue what fulfills and enriches them and the people around them.

In addition to all of this, the film is so well-executed. I love the art style, with the viking era clothing and technology. I love the character designs, how Stoick is so exaggeratedly massive compared to Hiccup, which reflects the emotional and psychological differences between the differences between them. The designs of the dragons are so cool and colorful and imaginative. They appear as beings from fairy tales. Toothless himself as such big, beautiful green eyes and an adorably awkward grin that he learns from mirroring Hiccup. The score is phenomenal; John Powell’s compositions are magical, poignant, epic, and heroic.

This film has the human relatability of a character drama, the humor and energy of a youthful coming-of-age story, the visual and aural splendor of an adventure epic, and the wisdom of a myth.

My one criticism is that I wish some of the supporting cast had time to shine. I’ve heard that the various television series that spun out of this movie help flesh out the whole cast before the story continues in the film sequel to this movie. After revisiting this film this week, I am definitely interested in watching the animated companion series.

How to Train Your Dragon more than stands up to the test of time. It soars, and while that’s a pun, I also think it’s the right descriptor. I hope audiences who are first learning of this series through the remake do check out the original.