#thanks for this! it's really nice to have a new httyd post on my dash again!

[tenebrius-excellium]

I hope it's ok for me to comment on this Niki...because

HARD AGREE on almost every point of this review. Agree that Astrid works, beautifully stated. Her girlboss personality is also a clear flaw and that's why she works.

Agree on the second movie being 'weakest', as well. It was epic, it was cool, it was creative, it was heartfelt, it had stakes - so what was the problem? I believe that it was because there was no logical justification of the plot beyond the first flying scene. You can literally pinpoint the moment where the plot halts, and it's where Hiccup asks Toothless to "Just keep going?" - "Nooooo." Everything that came afterwards had to be new and fresh, but it wasn't properly tied into the old plot. It wasn't an innate consequence of Hiccup's character, it had to be made up to externally produce plot. See my takes on backend vs. frontend motivation here and here, if you're interested.

I'm surprised but happy that you LIKE THW! Agreed! I also agree that Grimmel mirrors Hiccup in some fantastic ways. However, I'm equally surprised that you are able to overlook his childish stupidity which imo destroys his credibility as a villain (see W-W-W-West & co).

Textures, soundtrack, everything is just yassssss! Well said!

I also agree that Httyd was about loss from the start. I had just personally hoped that it would be more about moving on from that loss and not about losing even more in the end. (But you know how that's tied into our private conversations.)

Also AGREE that the poor Light Fury received way too much hate. It's not her fault that she was given a slightly unusual character design and no actual plot, context, or personality. She could have been amazing, had we been able to get to know her a little better. I too love that she is sparkly!

Ya girl's been SICK this week (my first time getting Covid, yaaaay), which sucked, but it did mean I finally had the time to properly binge the How to Train Your Dragon movies for the first time since The Hidden World released. I've never actually sat down and watched all three films back-to-back before, even though this was THE film franchise of my teenage years. But having finally done so, I have Thoughts™.

First movie is still arguably the best of the three, if only because it's an entirely self-contained narrative. The script is really tight and focused, and the whole thing is really well-paced. The animation actually looks way better than I remembered, but that might just be because this was my first time watching it on Blu-Ray instead of digital.

First movie also still has the best soundtrack of the three (which is saying a lot, considering John Powell was absolutely COOKING with all three movies). "Test Drive" is just too iconic to be outdone.

I really like Astrid's character arc in the first movie. I normally don't like tough-as-nails girlboss characters because they're so often one-dimensional and boring, but she works really well for me because her girboss-ness is as much a flaw as it is a strength. While she is athletic and competitive in her own nature, she's also under a lot of pressure to be a tough warrior, since that's what her society values. I love the way Hiccup brings out her softer side, how he shows her through Toothless that it's ok to be gentle, that compassion is a strength in its own right. I love the way she in turn becomes his pillar of support and comfort. Somehow I'd forgotten just how good Hiccstrid really is.

It's weird re-watching the second film as an adult, because I can still clearly remember a time when it was just the coolest thing ever. The second film was really what sold me on the series as a whole, to be honest. Like, don't get me wrong, I always loved the first one, but the second is where I really started getting into the worldbuilding and characters.

So it's weird to come back to it now and find out it's....actually the weakest of the three films (in my opinion, anyways). I can't quite put my finger on why, but the second film feels like it "drifts along" more than the other two. Like things "just happen" without as much input from the characters. Again, I'm not sure why it feels like that, because it's not like the characters aren't proactive and shaping the way the story unfolds.

None of that is to say that the second movie is bad by any stretch of the imagination. It introduces a bunch of really cool new concepts that do a great job of expanding the world and characters. It just had that weird drifty feeling to it that the other two lacked. Does anyone even know what I'm talking about here, or am I just crazy??

It's nuts how much of a touchstone "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" became in fandom culture. Ten years later, and I still see this song popping up in fics from every fandom under the sun. I think that's a testament to how beautiful Stoic and Valka's reunion was.

Unfortunately, Drago Bludvist is....not a very good villain, imo. He kinda just screams a lot, and that's it. His whole thing of imitating dragons in order to subdue them is cool, but it really needed to be backed up by a stronger personality. But it's not too much of an issue since really, his Bewilderbeast is the real obstacle for the heroes to overcome.

Now, The Hidden World is a weirdly controversial movie within the fandom. I still see people whose hatred for this film rivals that of the Tales of Arcadia fandom's hatred for Rise of the Titans. Which...I gotta admit, doesn't make a ton of sense to me. Like, I can understand not liking the bittersweet ending, but it's not as though THW went out of its way to ruin the entire series.

Looking at the series as a whole, I'd say THW feels like the most logical and organic conclusion to the series. Especially if you've read the books or seen the tie-in tv shows. I knew going into this movie that it would end with the dragons leaving--DeBlois even told us as much in an interview leading up to the film's release. And I'm okay with that.

The first movie touches on the theme of loss with Hiccup's leg. The second movie digs into that theme a bit more, with the loss of his parents (first Valka, who thankfully is found again, then Stoic). The Hidden World dives headfirst into the idea. Loss is no longer a mere consequence of the story's events, but the thematic backbone of the whole movie. And it's here that I realized the series has always been about loss, because the series has always been about growing up. You can't mature without losing something, whether it's a place, a person, or your childhood naivete.

HTTYD uses its fantastic premise to explore a painful reality of our own world, and it does so in a way that's entertaining, sincere, and encouraging. Hiccup has lost so much on his journey to adulthood, but he's also grown strong enough to be able to rise above it. He'll be okay. Toothless will be okay. And we'll all be okay too. Idk, maybe I'm reading too much into it, but that's my takeaway from the series, and it's definitely something that I've needed to hear more than once as I've grown up.

Grimmel is definitely a huge step up from Drago for me. He's essentially who Hiccup would have become if he'd lacked that compassion that caused him to spare Toothless in the first film. I also love his overall demeanor and presence. He's not a force of nature, or a feral war-lord. He's just a Guy who is very, very good at his job and knows it. Plus, F. Murray Abraham just has a really cool voice.

Unfortunately, as much as I like Grimmel as a villain, he's still outclassed by Viggo Grimborn from Race to the Edge.

I can't get over how insanely good the visuals are in this series. Especially the textures. Like, there's times in the first movie where the textures look so good that the actual models almost can't keep up. I can see what Toothless's scales feel like, the scratchy weave of Hiccup's tunic, the coarse fur of Stoic's cloak. HTTYD is the only series I can think of that seamlessly pulls off a "realistic" look with animation. The world feels real, without taking away from the suspension of disbelief that makes animation such a freeing medium. It's as if they came to the edge of the uncanny valley, then got into a hot air balloon and floated across without ever touching it.

Looking back, I think this was just the perfect series to be a teenager with. It's just the right blend of action, adventure, and emotion, all wrapped up in a wholesome and often heart-rending tale of a boy and his dragon growing up together. I really wish we could have more series like this.

(Edit) Also the Light Fury is my favorite dragon species in the entire series, no I will not take that back, she's super pretty and sparkly and I just want to pat her on her cute nubby head.

[chieftn]

⚌ ⚓ ☆ & ⚈

⚌  who  inspires  you ?

let me set the scene,   where it’s me,   on an awards stage,   accepting an award,   giving my speech   :    hi yes i’d like to thank the entire mamma mia soundtrack, you’ve really been there for me when things got rough, thank you, thank you  !!!    no but  !!   actually,  oh man.  so many people?  writing is.  hard ?  feeling is tough enough and putting those emotions of not only just ourselves but whole other characters entirely is so immensely incredible ?  like this is for FUN  ?  and the amount of dedication  &  effort that’s put into rping as a whole  &  separately among users is just. i’m speechless !!  constantly made speechless.but i’m also just going to take a whole stanza here to talk about my main gal   (   like i don’t do this in every post, but listen, listen  )   @warstrong ?  bc holy crow i’ve known lena ? for almost five years ? and since then,  &  constantly, she’s been such an active source of inspiration in my life ? the way she writes  &  connects so deeply to all of her muses is just. awe-inspiring. we tag-team a bunch of duo muses ? and honestly i am ……. SO BLESSED  ?   to consistently be in writing contact w/ her ?  bc she still  !  constantly,  continually without fail, surprises me ?  and encourages me and is overall just incredible ? i just … i owe her so much ? i live in perpetual gratitude that we’re best friends.but let’s go let’s go  :  @astroliability​, @loptdyr, @loneborne, @uselessreptiile, @machinre  &  everyone i follow ? on this blog  &  my others ? throughout all of my time writing the amount of content i have seen  &  read has been such a driving factor for inspiration ?  like wow !! wow look at all of these amazingly talented people ? look at them go ? it’s !! SO COOL I LOVE WRITING  &  READING W/ ALL OF YOU

⚓   are  there  any  small  details  you  tend  to  like  in  roleplays ?

okay i’m going to let you in on a secret/not so secret : i am completely, hopelessly,  &  utterly in love w/ full circle endings. repetition  /  alliteration are just so enticing for me  ?  i also love … proetry ? which is just prose/poetry but just the color ? that you can add into a reply, a meme, a drabble, you’re able to bring a character, an atmosphere, a fictional thing to life, before someone’s eyes, everyone’s eyes and just !! wow !!  that’s so much power ? and so beautiful ? absolutely incredible ? 

☆  what  are  some  of the  perks  with  the  fandom  you’re  currently  in ?

that @warstrong joined it with me, i mean, lbh, but  !  i think my favorite thing about the httyd fandom is that it’s … so old ? like we’re going on a decade in a few years here, and yet there is constantly new material to work with ? not even just canon material but new blogs, new videos, new fan-created material, the fandom is still thriving ? and just wait until the third movie comes out … we’ll all be dead, yes, but we’ll grow, too !

⚈  what  sweet  things  tend  to  happen  to  you  from  time  to  time  RP  wise ?

sometimes  !!   people will tell me they admire my ! writing and your girl …. melts ?  but other times there will be an influx of promos on my dash with the sweetest tags of support and i just   !!!  bc people supporting people !!  being kind  &  nice   &  making friends  !!  it’s wonderful  !