New, Human-Acted Movie How to Train Your Dragon will Impress All
The new human-acted movie How to Train Your Dragon is a movie companion to the book series How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell. The newly released movie follows the storyline of the animations, and the movie follows a familiar journey with Hiccup, the protagonist, and Toothless, his pet dragon. This new movie is directed by Dean DeBlois. I would rate the movie 4/5 stars.
The movie is compelling and relatable, showing the theme of battling the desire to fit in, and instead choosing to be yourself. It shows how the influence of one person can affect a whole group. It teaches that people don’t have to follow customs and traditions– they can follow themselves. Sometimes, one has to keep going even if they aren’t getting support from relatives and friends.
Hiccup, the son of Stoick the Vast, fights between the standards and expectations of being a Viking and his friendship with Toothless, a dragon. While Toothless is a dragon and Hiccup is a human, that doesn’t stop them from meeting each day and spending time together. At one point, Hiccup helps Toothless fly. Later, Toothless sacrifices his freedom to save Hiccup’s life, and later, Hiccup’s father frees Toothless. Later, Toothless saves Hiccup’s life a second time. This strengthens the bond between Hiccup and Toothless, showing that they are inseparable friends who would risk their own lives for each other. This deeply contrasts with the way the other people in Hiccup’s tribe feel toward dragons. A snowball effect is symbolically shown when, because of Hiccup, the rest of the tribe also accepts dragons as friends.
One issue, that could also be perceived as a strength, were the vast gaps that differed between the movie and book. In the book, the people train dragons from the start across the archipelago, but the movie starts with humans and dragons being enemies. Also, the movie only focuses on Berk, the island in which they live, while the books explain the interactions between the different tribes across the archipelago. In the book, Astrid doesn’t exist, but Astrid is seemingly based off of Camicazi, who meets Hiccup in the third book. Astrid is clearly an adaptation of the Old Norse word Ástríðr, meaning “godly strength” or “divine beauty.” While Camicazi is a friend of Hiccup, she isn’t the same as Astrid, who seemingly was made as a strong leading female role that the books lacked- instead of a friend like Camicazi, Astrid is used as Hiccup’s love interest.
In the books, the dragons are used for battles, like steeds, but the movie replaces them for a more peaceful purpose in the end. They are shown to help move around materials, rather than fighting other Viking tribes. There also are a number of differences in Toothless. In the book, he is a greenish brown Seadragonus Maximus as small as a cat and rides on Hiccup’s shoulder. In the movie, he is a powerful Night Fury with sleek black scales, and Hiccup rides on him. The physical differences come alongside personality differences. Toothless is self-important and stubborn, in a funny way, in the book, contrasting the way he is in the movie: compassionate and playful. This further contributes to the symbolism, showing the ending harmony between dragons and mankind. The changes made in the movie make Toothless a protector of Hiccup, and the overall role of dragons more peaceful. This reflects the peace the world needs today, as many wars rage around the world. The changes help show an idealized and peaceful world at the end of the movie, depicting harmony found after the end to battle.
Not all differences are bad. The constructive “issues” help strengthen the symbolism and morals, and give a more peaceful tone than the books. This also allows entry of gender neutrality, making the movie appealing to a wider audience. I would recommend this movie for children and adults ages 8 and above, due to its slightly scary moments, and the initial depiction of dragons as beasts. Overall, I think the movie gives a very beautiful story, with many familiar characters from the book.