#Viking action

[theimaginationstationpodcast]

Leif's Thunderous Quest: Viking Raid on England | Epic Norse Saga & Saxon Battles [2024 Historical Fiction]

Dive into Leif’s Thunderous Quest, a gripping historical fiction novel of Viking raids, Saxon battles, and Norse heroism. Follow Leif, a fearless Viking warrior, as he leads a daring expedition to conquer England’s riches. Facing storms, vengeful enemies, and the wrath of the North Sea, this epic saga blends fierce combat, Norse mythology, and the struggle for glory. Perfect for fans of Viking…

[nokkiart]

As a long time httyd fan who has been heavily involved in the fandom since the first movie and who has spent years working in the animation industry, I’d like to share my thoughts on the new httyd movie. Keep in mind, this is just my personal opinion and it's completely fine if you disagree with me. I just want to say a little something about all this that really bothers me.

The core reason that Dreamworks and Universal made this film is that it’s a quick and easy cash grab for them. Thats it. They don’t care about telling a good story or making a “better” version of the original movie for fans or even having an accurate portrayal of the characters/story. It’s purely about money. They know that fans of the original film will go see this movie, whether it’s good or bad. And those guaranteed ticket sales are all that matter to the studios. And with Universal, it has the added bonus of being a cheap promotional and merchandising opportunity for the new HTTYD land in Orlando that opens around the same time that the film is premiering in theaters.

And to help the studios make even more money out of this, they are using non-unionized VFX companies around the world to make this film, so that they can get cheaper labor and push the artists to do more that would be against American union standards. The same thing has probably happened with the costuming and fabrication for the filming, hence why the costumes look un-weathered and the sets look cheap. They don’t want to pay for the extra time and effort that it would take to make the practical bits of the production look good.

On top of all this, Dreamworks has already announced that they’re shutting down all their in-house animation projects in favor of using AI and outsourcing projects to cheaper international non-union studios.

With all this in mind, I just can’t support this film and I will not be seeing it in theaters. And I hope that others will do the same.

The only way to stop all these horrible “live action” remakes (which are actually just realistically animated remakes) is to not buy tickets to see them. Money is all that matters to these studios, and if they don’t make any money off of it, then they will stop and try something different. Maybe they'll even go back to focusing on original stories!

That’s the power that we hold as audiences. Our wallets help drive the decisions that the executives make. So support unique storytelling and gorgeous cinematography in movies. Support indie films. Support animators as they're fighting for fair pay and better contracts. But don't support a mediocre shot-for-shot remake riding on the coattails of an already successful film.

And I just want to wrap all this up by saying I have absolutely no hate towards anyone that has worked on the new film. Toothless looks incredible and I know the artists and creatives involved in this project did the best they could with what they were given.

But I also know that those same artists have so many more brilliant ideas that they would’ve loved to be given the creative freedom to do. I just wish hollywood would be willing to take a chance and let them do it.

[borgialucrezia]

"Godwin, you are just the man I wish to see."

DAVID OAKES as GODWIN, EARL OF WESSEX VIKINGS: VALHALLA Season 3 (2024) — 3.03 'Lost'

[null-entity]

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[writingoddess1125]

Welcome Request: CLOSED

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Hello My name is JC and I'm a beginner writer and just fanfiction fanatic. I love writing and just like to have fun and make stupid stuff!

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[platinumink]

Lazy producers too cheap to invest in wigs!!

It's official. These lazy sacks did not even bother with acquiring wigs. Fuck this, I won't even watch this movie in the cinema. If anyone wants a review, they are going to have to wait until this comes out on streaming services and for me to feel the need to watch a movie while drunk.

They are milking this IP for money, not for the enjoyment and the nostalgia it would bring to those who grew up with the books/audios/movies. I already know this is going to be a disaster.

They have got to be kidding me.

[gaylactic-fire]

I NEED a trailer for live action HTTYD to drop right now so I can finally see "This.. is Berk" [most obvious shot in the world of The Giant's Causeway, Belfast, Ireland]

[sem24]

The whole discourse over the casting of Astrid in the How to Train Your Dragon remake is insane.

What do you mean you’re upset because she’s Black? The argument of “I’m not racist, it’s just that it’s not historically accurate to have a Black woman in a movie about Vikings” is absurd.

Let’s pretend for a moment I’m actually taking the argument about historical accuracy seriously. Looking at it in good faith, the argument is still just as obviously a a thinly veiled excuse to be a bigot.

First of all, the HTTYD movies are as “historically accurate” as Lord of the Rings is to real medieval Europe, Mulan (the Disney movie, obviously not the real Chinese legend it’s based on.) is to ancient China, or Bridgerton is to the Regency period. In other words, not even close.

And that’s fine! HTTYD isn’t even trying for historical accuracy, just as those other projects aren’t. They all take a justifiable amount of artistic license, aiming more for the general vibe of the period than for actual historical realism. It’s a broad-strokes interpretation.

I’m no historian, but even a quick search will show you that Viking women didn’t dress anything like Astrid does in the movies anyway.

What they actually wore:

Here’s where I found this image—it includes more information on how Vikings dressed. (And for the pedantic history nerds out there, yes, I know “Viking” is technically a verb, not a noun. I’m just using it because it’s the general term most people associate with what I’m talking about.) The article describes layers of long, cotton dresses and covered hair—styles that are a far cry from this:

Shockingly, Viking women weren’t actually wearing mini-skirts and skin-tight leather. And again, that’s okay! For the most part, I actually like Astrid’s designs—they suit her character and fit the unique Viking-inspired aesthetic of the movies.

Plus, the skull belt is admittedly a slay, both literally and fashion-wise.

But let’s not pretend for a second that these movies were meticulously accurate to the (vague) time period they drew inspiration from.

Also, if I’m remembering correctly (I think the creators mentioned this in a featurette I saw a few years ago), they were fully aware that Vikings didn’t actually wear helmets with horns on them, as depicted in the movies.

But they used it anyway as shorthand since horned helmets have become such a staple of Vikings in pop culture. It was simply economical storytelling. Even the creators admit that historical accuracy wasn’t their main priority. The How to Train Your Dragon movies aren’t trying to be historically accurate at all. I haven’t even brought up the most obvious argument… the fucking DRAGONS.

The entire “historical accuracy” argument also falls apart when you consider evidence of the Vikings’ far-reaching explorations and interactions with other cultures. Scholars suggest that Vikings traveled widely, interacting with people across Europe, the Middle East, and even parts of Africa. So while HTTYD isn’t grounded in reality, a more diverse Viking community wouldn’t even be ahistorical.

What’s more improbable: someone of a darker complexion getting on a boat and sailing to Scandinavia, or fire-breathing lizards? And yet no one’s complaining about the dragons. I wonder why.

(Even the books How to Train Your Dragon is based on—yes, if you didn’t know, the movies are based on a series of children’s books—aren’t historically accurate, (or even trying to be). I haven’t read them, but I hear that in the books, Hiccup can actually speak to dragons in their own language, and they have steam-powered machinery centuries before it existed.)

But we all know why they’re making such a fuss about this casting—it’s the same reason they whined about Halle Bailey as Ariel. They’re just looking for an excuse to be racist. This poor actress is simply a casualty of their bigotry, and it’s both disgusting and awful.

I wasn’t actually planning on seeing the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. The franchise is one of my all-time favorites. I distinctly remember watching the first movie in theaters when it came out. And, honestly? I didn’t like it—because child me was an idiot. Let’s all boo younger me, the dumbass.

A few years later, though, I walked in on my younger siblings watching Race to the Edge (a spin-off show set between the first two movies). At first, I tried to play it cool and act like I wasn’t interested—that I was too cool for a “silly little cartoon.” But by the end, I was fully engrossed. (Race to the Edge holds up, by the way—highly recommend. It’s on Netflix and has six seasons.) I binged all the seasons that were out at the time, rewatched the first two movies (the third one wasn’t out yet), and inhaled every spin-off show and short I could find.

(For the record, while I think Race to the Edge is the best spin-off, the others are fun, too—the quality is pretty consistent across the whole franchise.) Look, I’m a completionist. Once I get into a fandom, I can’t stop until I’ve consumed everything. (What I wouldn’t give to have that kind of free time now!) My hyper-fixation with How to Train Your Dragon was strong.

All this to say, I really care about this franchise, and while I was sad to see it end, I was okay with how it concluded. And then they had to go and announce a live-action remake. It’s not exactly a hot take to say that a lot of the original’s charm came from its incredible animation and expressive designs. Why would I want to watch the exact same story, just less creative and slightly worse? I wasn’t about to spend money on the reheated leftovers of what was once How to Train Your Dragon. Honestly, I’ve been secretly hoping it would get canceled this whole time.

Until this controversy. Maybe this is exactly the kind of attention the marketing team wanted, but you know what? I’ll buy a ticket—if only to spite the racist assholes. I am nothing if not extremely, extremely petty. If your life is so empty that you’re on the internet complaining about the casting of a Black actress to play a CGI blonde woman riding a dragon, voiced by a Latina actress, I have only one thing to say to you:

In the wise words of Tuffnut, “The chicken is not amused.”

[st-just]

Viking Warrior by xiao董

[luxlightly]

This Just In: Internet shocked and appalled to discover group of human beings that encompassed many individuals and existed over an extended period of history can't be easily categorized as a binary "good" or "evil". More at 10!

[fulltimeviking]

the raucous over the live action httyd movie on every other platform as opposed to the eerie silence on my dashboard here is crazy 😭 like oof... we're not happy are we

[couldtheyescortelliewilliams]

[sunnyschristiancottage]

So, really quick, I wanna talk about my opinions on Nico Parker as Astrid. I am someone of Viking descent, and thus, I feel like my take on this situation holds a great amount of value. I find it a bit offensive that Hollywood would race-swap a character from a culture that is white specifically because her culture directly ties into her character. Like, I can excuse Ariel as there is no specific culture tied to her character. But this situation is incredibly different. Now, for the record, I hold no ill-will to Nico Parker. She is a talented actor and deserves lots of love. My problem is with the producers. Apparently, misrepresenting a white culture is 100% fine to them. Who cares about the people of that culture /sarc. To me, this would be like if they white washed Moana. Just as offensive

[null-entity]

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[theancientwise]

One of the few things of "Vikings: Valhalla" i truly appreciated (asides for Emma/Canute and William oc) is that at some point Harald faced the consequences of his actions.

[the-ember-island-players]

it just hit me but if we're really going to get this anal about how black people don't exist in a show about dragons because hey they're Vikings, gentle reminder to everyone that drago, you know the villain from movie 2 wasn't white, hence implying that even if the Vikings were homogenous in real life (I don't know if that's actually true and I don't really care enough to do the research cuz that's besides the point) they certainly made contact with black people in this universe specifically.

And I didn't see anyone complain about accuracy then. So if yall never cared about accuracy when the villain was black but the love interest being black is a problem, that's not looking too great for you guys ngl. Astrid's name was kamikaze in the book, a Japanese word. Krogan wasn't white. One of the maidens in the show wasn't white. Tuffnut occasionally speaks in Spanish. Trader Yohan wears middle eastern/ Eastern European garb. The kids all speak with American accents. Again, dragons. The barbaric archipelago already doesn't fit with the idea of homogenous Vikings so is Astrid's race such a big issue?

For the people complaining about appearance specifically, I sincerely doubt we’re going to get a one to one adaptation, even with the old director, so her appearance will probably be the least of your issues once the movie is out but i at least understand where you’re coming from. She kinda looks like her in terms of wide spaced eyes imo but look if you’re stuck on blonde hair (maybe hair dye?) and blue eyes(contacts?) that’s your opinion I’m not gonna go there with y’all I’m just gonna ask that no one send her hate.

Idk i don't care enough to be invested in it anyway, but as someone who's been in the franchise from the very beginning, check yourself. Look inwards, make sure your criticism isn’t coming from a place of hate.