How to Train Your Dragon (animation): Difference between revisions

 

 

 

Then one night, during a raid, Hiccup manages to bring down the most elusive, feared dragon of all: a [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Night Fury]]. Of course, nobody believes him (no one's ever seen one, much less injured it), so Hiccup has to go alone to find the creature so he can kill it and prove his worth - only when he ''does'' find it, all he can see is a wounded, frightened animal. So begins a [[A Boy and His X|clandestine friendship]] between two sworn enemies, as Hiccup nurses Toothless back to health and becomes the first Viking ever to ride a dragon.

 

 

 

For the book series, go [[How to Train Your Dragon (novel)|here]].

 

'''Astrid:''' ...First to {{spoiler|ride one}}, though. }}

* [[Action Girl]]: Astrid and Ruffnut.

* [[Adaptational Badass]]: In the books, Toothless is essentially what the Terrible Terrors are in this film: an annoying, common pest. Here, he's part of a new species that's nicknamed "the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death." He lives up to that, to be sure.

* [[Adorkable]]: There's been plenty of fan gushing at how cute the geeky Hiccup is. This should really be expected when he's voiced by [[Jay Baruchel]].

* [[Aerith and Bob]]:

** Most of the Vikings have strange names, except Astrid, which is a real Viking name.

* [[All Animals Are Dogs|All Dragons Are Dogs]]: Toothless behaves much like a dog, but more like a cat, with the purring, the dragon-nip and pouncing. Physically, he looks like a salamander crossed with a cat, with bat wings. He also sleeps like a bat. The animators studied a number of animals to get his movements, including cats, dogs and birds. One of the animators confirmed that the choice to make Toothless's behavior and appearance catlike came after watching a screensaver of a black panther.

* [[Alliterative Name]]: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Of course, it's [[All There in the Manual|never said in full]].

* [[All There in the Manual]]: The Green Death's name, Hiccup's full name.

* [[Alternative Foreign Theme Song]]: The Japanese version uses a J-pop song called [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8k35k5OgTo "Emerald"] written by Becky♪♯.

** Also the running theme of the tie-in shorts, particularly [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnVwp5T9jKU& the] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm0yNMtCV4E Olympics] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ti0jRSeRg shorts] and the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZapnEiKdEu8 Dragon] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZpgqsIrEbw Training] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aNxELQVZ_Y Lesson] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uizSzFooXME teasers.]

* [[Anachronism Stew]]: Why are the Vikings Scottish?

* [[Arbitrary Skepticism]]: In a world that's populated by dragons, Gobber gets an odd look from Stoick when he mentions trolls that steal socks.

* [[An Arm and a Leg]]: Gobber certainly had this happen to him, several times. Surprisingly, also happens to {{spoiler|Hiccup.}}

* [[Artificial Limbs]]: Quite a few, though on the low-tech side.

** Gobber has a pegleg and a hook, [[Swiss Army Appendage|that can be changed out for a mace, hammer, tongs, paddle, or tankard]].

* [[Brief Accent Imitation]]: Hiccup uses this early on, describing his father's discontent in his son.

* [[Bring My Brown Pants]]: Gobber briefly mentions the "extra pairs of underwear" during the quiet before the Green Death battle.

'''Gobber:''' -in my undies. Good thing I brought extras! }}

* [[Book Ends]]:

** Hiccup's narration:

'''End:''' This is Berk. It snows nine months out of the year and hails the other three. The food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here are even more so. The only upside is the pets. You see, most people have ponies or parrots. We have... dragons. }}

** It begins with Hiccup opening his door, seeing dragons, and immediately slamming the door shut. {{spoiler|It closes with Hiccup slamming the door upon seeing dragons flying about outside. The difference is that by the end, the dragons have been integrated into the community of Berk.}}

* [[Calling the Old Man Out]]: When Hiccup tries to stop his father {{spoiler|from attempting to destroy the dragon's nest, which means the Green Death dragon would wipe them out.}}

* [[Cassandra Truth]]: No one believes Hiccup when he says he hit and downed a Night Fury. [[Crying Wolf|It seems like he may have said it before, though]].

* [[Catch Phrase]]:

'''Tuffnut:''' Oh, I'm hurt! I am very much hurt! }}

* [[The Cavalry]]: {{spoiler|Hiccup and his newly minted dragon rider corps.}}

* [[Chameleon Camouflage]]: According to the "Book of Dragons", the Change-wing can use its colorful scales to disappear into any environment.

* [[Chekhov's Gun]]: "A downed dragon is a dead dragon."

* [[Chekhov's Skill]]:

** Almost every dragon training scene either comes from an earlier one with Hiccup and Toothless, or gets used later.

* [[Colossus Climb]]: {{spoiler|Variant: Snoutlout, after falling off his mount and landing on the Green Death, switches to these tactics.}}

* [[Coming of Age Story]]: The focus of which is Hiccup.

* [[Curb Stomp Battle]]: The Vikings vs. {{spoiler|the Green Death. It had wiped out their rides home, their heavy weapons and was well on the way to wiping them all out as well -- cue Stoick's and Gobber's plan for a [[Heroic Sacrifice]] -- when the newly minted [[Dragon Rider|Dragonriders of Berk]] arrive and manage to take the fight to the monster.}}

* [[Curious as a Monkey]]: According to the "Book of Dragons", the Change-wing dragon often used its camouflage abilities to watch others and mimic their behavior.

** The main motif piece of the movie which is found in the track "Test Drive", is reprised near the end when {{spoiler|Hiccup discovers that he's lost his foot, and must get used to walking on a crude prosthetic limb.}}

** Both inverted and played straight with the Hiccup and Toothless friendship theme, heard most prominently in "Forbidden Friendship". The first time we hear it is in an ominous manner during the first encounter between the pair, and it then becomes lighter for the majority of the film. However, it is heard in a similar tone to the beginning when {{spoiler|Hiccup inadvertently betrays Toothless by revealing that he knows how to access Dragon Island. There is also a slower, sadder version that plays at certain moments, including when Toothless is captured in the Kill Ring, and when he is about to drown in the battle with the Green Death.}}

** Pretty much almost everyone with a speaking role in the movie at some point.

** Even ''Toothless'' gets into the act a couple of times. Watch him roll his eyes and shrug elaborately (mimicking Hiccup) during Hiccup's "Dehdehdeh, we're dead" scene. He also rolls his eyes at Hiccup's timid pacing during the Test Drive flight - you can practically hear him thinking, "Come on, this is fledgling stuff."

* [[Dragons Are Dinosaurs]]: The {{spoiler|Green Death}} looks like an unholy cross between a turtle, an ankylosaurus and a ''T. rex'', and is as big as Godzilla. ''And it can fly.'' That particular winged beastie really gives the feel of a {{spoiler|leftover ancient primordial dragon. Or maybe even a leftover dragon deity.}}

* [[Dumb Muscle]]: Gronckles may be stubborn and lazy, but they're as temperamental and direct as an angry rhino.

** Not to mention, it is also an allusion to the book where Hiccup is also left-handed.

* [[Everything Makes a Mushroom]]: The impact of {{spoiler|the Green Death}} into the ground results in a large mushroom cloud, which {{spoiler|Hiccup and Toothless}} have to [[Outrun the Fireball|outrun]]. While dodging {{spoiler|the Green Death's spikes.}}

* [[Incendiary Exponent]]: Monstrous Nightmares attack after ''setting themselves on fire''.

* [[Indy Ploy]]: Snotlout does this when {{spoiler|he jumps from the Green Death so the twins can catch him.}}

* [[Inferred Holocaust]]: Although not seen, it's heavily implied that the casualties for the Viking/Dragon war were really significant. It's very unlikely that everyone survived the battle with the Green Death.

* [[Ink Suit Actor]]: The producers tried to animate Hiccup as closely to Jay Baruchel as possible. Jonah Hill also bears some similarity to his character Snotlout. And while Stoick has [[Badass Beard|too much beard]] to look like [[Gerard Butler]], it's not too far off to see him playing the role in live action.

* [[Jerkass]]: Astrid starts out like this, before warming up to {{spoiler|Hiccup and Toothless.}}

* [[Jerk Jock]]: Snotlout still. But he gets better!

* [[Large Ham]]: Tuffnut.

* [[Leitmotif]]: Several, actually. John Powell did the soundtrack, and seems to have taken the approach of writing several melody leitmotifs (a "flying/Hiccup and Toothless" theme, a "holy shit, dragons!" theme, a "romance/Hiccup and Astrid" theme, and a theme for the Green Death, though the soundtrack calls it Green), as well as assigning each major character a signature instrument which tends to pop up in their scenes (warpipes for the Vikings, violins for Astrid, brass instruments for the dragons, etc). Hilariously, one of Hiccup's most recurring instruments is a tinwhistle. Our hero, ladies and gentlemen.

* [[Lightning Bruiser]]: Night Furies, described in the film as "the unholy offspring of Lightning and Death itself", of the Hard-hitting Speedster variety...

* [[Logo Joke]]: During the [[DreamWorks]] [[Vanity Plate]] at the very beginning. If you look closely, you can see {{spoiler|Toothless flying past near the bottom of the screen}}. Since {{spoiler|Toothless is a Night Fury}}, it's ''very'' hard to see unless you know it's there.

* [[Made of Explodium]]: {{spoiler|When the Green Death dies, she/it goes up in a (relatively!) minor mushroom cloud.}}

* [[Masculine Girl, Feminine Boy]]: Astrid and Hiccup

* [[Mass Hypnosis]]: Strongly suggested that {{spoiler|this is the mechanism that the Green Death dominates the dragons -- it sings an irresistible song to them. Even Toothless is not entirely immune. As the Green Death in the book is all about singing, this is a subtle [[Shout-Out]] to the original. When the singing '''[[Oh Crap|stops]]'''...}}

* [[Meaningful Echo]]: All over the place. Sometimes crossing over into [[Ironic Echo]].

* [[Meaningful Name]]:

* [[Multiple-Tailed Beast]]: The Zipplebacks.

* [[My God, What Have I Done?]]: Stoick, after {{spoiler|his [[I Have No Son]] moment}} right after he walks outside and the enormity of what he'd just done hits him. Another moment happens later, when he realizes that {{spoiler|Hiccup was right about the dragon nest, and he's led his people into a fight they can't win}}, and then ''again'' when {{spoiler|it appears Hiccup has died to save them.}}

"[[Meaningful Echo|I did this...]]" }}

* [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast]]:

** One of the funniest scenes from the trailer was Hiccup's "Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile." followed by Toothless smacking him with his ear. Both scenes happened, but were separate and unrelated to one another. {{spoiler|The line was issued when Toothless tried his level best to throw Astrid off, but he'd whapped Hiccup earlier, when Hiccup made a mistake with his new flying rig.}}

** Gobber's line "Welp, there go my undies" was never in the film. He has two lines that mention his undies earlier in the film, but never that particular one.

** Not to mention commercials for it on Nickelodeon try to imply that Hiccup tries to [[Batman in My Basement|hide Toothless in his house]]. However, the scenes shown for this were actually {{spoiler|at the end, when the Vikings had already accepted dragons.}}

** Averted by the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1huZhKwhIQc&feature=channel_video_title final trailer], which did a pretty good job of conveying the film's dramatic aspects.

* [[Now Let Me Carry You]]: Hiccup takes care of Toothless for a majority of the story, from bringing him food to helping him fly after losing part of his tail. By the end of the story, it's Toothless's turn to help Hiccup when {{spoiler|Hiccup loses his left foot and hasn't adjusted to walking with an artificial foot yet}}.

* [[Not So Different]]: Hiccup and Stoick, shown subtly throughout the entire movie, and highlighted in their [[Meaningful Echo|Meaningful Echoes]] (each quoting the other without having heard the line from them). Gobber is aware of this from listening to them complain about one another, and eventually [[Lampshade Hanging|points it out to Stoick]] near the end of the film.

* [[No, You Go First]]:

'''Hiccup:''' Oh man, I should have gone first. }}

* [[Number Two]]: Astrid's role in the climatic battle, directing the rest of Hiccup's flying corps in the fight against the Green Death while Hiccup tries to free Toothless.

** There's a minor one when Hiccup brings Toothless into the village. A sheep notices and goes wide-eyed.

** Stoick's face upon seeing the absolutely ''huge'' Green Death.

** The Green Death itself gets one a few minutes later.

* [[One Dialogue, Two Conversations]]: Stoick appears to have discovered Hiccup's friendship with Toothless and asks why his son has been keeping it a secret from him. Hiccup tries to apologize, Stoick says he's actually ''proud...'' and Hiccup then realizes that his dad is talking about Hiccup doing a good job in Dragon Training.

* [[Organ Autonomy]]: The two heads of a Hideous Zippleback are distinct and do not share each other's thoughts. If the heads start arguing, the dragon can stall out, leaving it completely vulnerable to attack.

* [[Outrun the Fireball]]: Commonly done, and Astrid once [[Unflinching Walk|outwalked]] the fireball. Also notable, at the climax, ''[[Crazy Awesome|along the back of a humongous dragon]]''. {{spoiler|Subverted in that Hiccup doesn't make it out unscathed.}}

* [[Papa Wolf]]: Twice in one scene! Hiccup is in the arena with one of the biggest and most dangerous dragons--the Monstrous Nightmare. On hearing Hiccup tell the entire village that they don't have to kill dragons, Stoic the Vast erupts in fury and slams his hammer on one of the metal bars, denting it. Then {{spoiler|when the noise startles the dragon into attacking Hiccup, Toothless hears the boy's scream of fear from miles away, and although he can't fly at this point, claws and tears his way through the forest, breaks through the metal of the arena's cage, then attacks and successfully drives off a dragon ''three times his size''. Stoick also charges in to rescue Hiccup from the Monstrous Nightmare as well, pulling Astrid to safety but unable to rescue Hiccup before Toothless does.}}

* [[Parental Bonus]]: When the boys accidentally attack Ruffnut and Astrid during training:

'''Snotlout:''' Of course, there's nothing wrong with having a [[Hartman Hips|"dragon-esque"]] figure... }}

* [[Peek-a-Bangs]]: Astrid.

* [[Picky Eater]]: A dragon which happily devours fish won't touch a smoked eel, probably what made it such an almighty stink to dragons. This gets a bit silly as, in the tie-in video game, there are certain items that some of the breeds won't eat. And in the game, a Night Fury (which is the breed of dragon Toothless is) will not eat fish.

* [[Pint-Sized Powerhouse]]: The Terrible Terror looks small and harmless, and it can actually be quite friendly. But that doesn't mean that it's any less dangerous than the other dragon species; Tuffnut discovers this the hard way.

* [[Poor Communication Kills]]: Hiccup and his father are having two different conversations before his final exam, and only Hiccup is aware of this. This leads to misery later when Stoick discovers the truth about Hiccup and the dragons.

* [[Positive Discrimination]]: Astrid is established from the get-go as not only the most competent trainee, but the ''only'' competent trainee. The others (almost all of whom are boys) can barely swing their axes in the dragons' general direction.

* [[Recycled Soundtrack]]: "Battling the Green Death" features elements from "Dragon Battle," "Focus, Hiccup!" "Test Drive," and "The Downed Dragon" mixed into the song. Possibly a [[Boss Remix]].

** This pours over into a musical version of [[Meaningful Echo]] as the themes that are reused reflect parallels between when they were used. For example the falling section of "Test Drive" is used when Hiccup and Toothless have to catch someone out of midair.

* [[Redheaded Hero]]: Hiccup.

* [[Redhead in Green]]: Stoick and Hiccup.

* [[Reptiles Are Abhorrent]]: Played straight by everyone's feelings towards dragons, ultimately subverted.

* [[RPG Mechanics Verse]]: Fishlegs spouts these.

* [[Running Gag]]: Several.

** A random viking crying out "NIGHT FURY!" whenever Toothless is sighted. {{spoiler|Even at the end, when there's clear there is no danger from him -- except being stampeded out of enthusiasm to get to Hiccup.}}

** Astrid saying, "That was for [''insert crime here'']. [[Slap Slap Kiss|And that's for everything else]]."

'''Hiccup:''' You just gestured to ''all of me!'' }}

* [[Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl]]: {{spoiler|Hiccup and Astrid.}}

* [[Say My Name Trailer]]: Some of the advertising spots were Say "Dragons" Trailers.

** Toothless looks a lot like [[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|Stitch]].

** Gobber talks about how trolls [[Lilo and Stitch (Disney film)|will steal everyone's left sock]].

** Tuffnut suddenly getting yanked into the [[Ominous Fog|fog]] by a then-hidden Hideous Zippleback was rather evocative of Stephen King's [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0884328/ The Mist]. Promptly lampshaded when {{spoiler|Tuffnut runs back out of the fog, unharmed, yelling about how badly hurt he was.}}

** A double-[[Shout-Out]] to both the original book and ''[[Beowulf (film)|Beowulf]]'' occurred when Tuffnut called {{spoiler|The Green Death}} "Bride of Grendel". The young Vikings had to read ''Beowulf'' in the original book series.

** The scene when Hiccup first tries to put the saddle on Toothless looks like the scene when Little Creek tries to put the saddle on [[Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron]]. He even says the same thing Little Creek did: "Today, dragon/horse, I am going to ride you".

** Gobber's advice to during dragon training, "[[300|Your most important piece of equipment is your shield! If you must make a choice between a sword or a shield, take the shield]]" Also [[Gerard Butler|Stoick]] says "Form your ranks! Hold together".

* [[Shown Their Work]]:

** All the writing in the movie is in real Younger Futhark runes. The runes are used to spell out English text, though, and it almost never matches what the characters say it says.

** The dragons exhibit many behaviors found in real-life animals. Hiccup's confrontation with and subsequent rapport with Toothless are almost entirely consistent with real animal behavior, though Toothless turns out to be much smarter then your average beast.

* [["Shut Up" Kiss]]: {{spoiler|Astrid to Hiccup.}}

* [[Slap Slap Kiss]]: {{spoiler|Astrid}} quite literally to Hiccup, twice.

* [[Sleeper Hit]]: Even though the film debuted at #1 in the box office, its premiere weekend take was judged a disappointment and people hastily wrote it off as a de facto failure. However, the film developed such ecstatic word of mouth that the film just kept going and going until it arguably regained #1 in week 4 and definitely in week 5; it's a box office performance path that almost ''never'' happens nowadays! So, the "disappointment" became the spring pop culture sensation in 2010, finishing a shade under half a billion dollars worldwide when all said and done.

* [[Stout Strength]]: All the adult Vikings are rather large in the midsection, especially Stoick the Vast. Of the children only Fishlegs is like this.

** Lampshaded by Hiccup early on.

'''Hiccup:''' Well, between you and me, the village could do with a little ''less'' feeding, don't you think? }}

* [[Stuff Blowing Up]]:

** Zipplebacks can create explosions when one head breathes gas and the other head generates sparks that ignite it.

* [[Suggestive Collision]]: Between Astrid and Hiccup in the training ring while fighting the Deadly Nadder.

* [[Super Speed]]: The defining characteristic of the Night Fury species it seems. It never actually fought the vikings head-on. Rather, it dive-bombed their village with fireballs and flew away just as quickly.

* [[Squick]]: [[In-Universe]], Hiccup's reaction upon discovering his helmet's origins. Also see [[Tastes Like Friendship]], below.

* [[Teleport Spam]]: Courtesy of cloud cover, fireballs, and super speed.

* [[Tertiary Sexual Characteristics]]: A minor detail, but one of the heads of the Zippleback has more noticeable red lips than the other, reminiscent of lipstick.

* [[Tomboy]]: Astrid and Ruffnut. Possibly every other woman on Berk too, by our standards.

* [[Tsundere]]: Astrid is a Type A but becomes more "deredere" as the plot progresses.

** Toothless also likes to switch among affectionate, aloof, and hostile at the drop of a hat.

* [[Theme Twin Naming]]: Ruffnut and Tuffnut.

* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: Everything about this film, from the trailers to the promotional artwork and even the ''title itself'' spoil the fact that they're going to be riding dragons. The film is essentially a [[How We Got Here]] plot for the viewer.

'''Fishlegs:''' I'm really beginning to question your teaching methods! }}

* [[Triumphant Reprise]]: As with the [[Dark Reprise]] above, the main motif of the movie is reprised in the scene and track entitled [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKLJpH2g5_k "Battling the Green Death"] (around 4:50), and in the end song ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbbsCTafRNw&feature=related "Coming Back Around"]).

** Considering Hiccup's status as a complete snarker, it's not too much of a leap to assume he was exaggerating for dramatic purposes.

* [[Walking Disaster Area]]: Hiccup whenever he tries to join a battle.

* [["Well Done, Son" Guy]]: Stoick to Hiccup, at least at first. He never really quits wanting his father's respect, but as the story progresses he's able to put other priorities first.

* [[What Could Possibly Go Wrong?]]: Said word for word by Gobber when convincing Stoic to let Hiccup join dragon training instead of staying in the blacksmith shop. Subverted in that it works.

* [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?]]: Hiccup and Toothless' first maneuver in Test Drive is a left turn.

* [[What Happened to the Mouse?]]: The "a wet dragon head can't light its fire" dragon lesson is pretty much the only dragon-related [[Chekhov's Gun]] that doesn't get fired.

* [[Who Names Their Kid "Dude"?]]: Hiccup points out how ridiculous his name is, but explains the reasons for awful names (scaring off gnomes and trolls) and says that there are other people with worse ones.

* [[The World Is Just Awesome]]: Toothless' flight scene. That is all.

* [[Wronski Feint]]: Used against {{spoiler|the Green Death, after shooting its wings full of holes so it can't pull up.}}

----

=== Tropes for the DVD short film ''Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon'': ===

* [[Anticlimax]]: Gobber's treasure the Boneknapper has been chasing him for years for is {{spoiler|a bone he uses as a belt buckle.}}

** The Boneknapper looks utterly terrifying, [[Vocal Dissonance|but it can not roar]].

* [[Artificial Limbs]]: Gobber not only sports his normal hammer and such, but also a broom, eggbeater, and guitar.

* [[Art Shift]]: Gobber's flashback stories are told in 2D animation.

** The ship Gobber managed to wreck in ''Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon'', no less.

* [[Christmas Episode]]/[[Christmas Special]]: See [[You Mean "Xmas"]].

* [[Genki Girl]]: Astrid seems to be developing into this.

* [[Gilligan Cut]]: Hiccup says it's a good thing that the {{spoiler|the explosive eggs won't hatch on Berk.}} Guess what happens next.

* [[Happiness in Slavery]]: {{spoiler|Toothless rejects and ''smashes'' Hiccup's gift of a new tailfin that lets him fly on his own.}}

* [[Made of Explodium]]: {{spoiler|Hatching Gronckle eggs}} explode rather violently. The adult dragons offset this by pushing them into pools of water.

* [[Mind Control Eyes]]: All the dragons' eyes shrink as they leave for an inexplicable mass migration, reacting almost similarly to when they were controlled by the Red Death. Even Toothless gets them suddenly {{spoiler|even though he was only flying away to find Hiccup's helmet.}}

* [[Mundane Utility]]: Turns out Nadder spines are great for hanging Snoggletog decorations!

* [[Oh Crap]]: Astrid's reaction when {{spoiler|the dragon eggs start exploding.}}

* [[Ridiculously Cute Critter]]: {{spoiler|The baby dragons are ''adorable.''}}

* [[Say My Name]]: Three of the teens' dragons are named here: Fishlegs' Gronckle is Meatlug, Astrid's Nadder is Stormfly, and Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare is Hookfang.

* [[Trailers Always Spoil]]: The dvd cover gives away the {{spoiler|baby dragon reveal.}}

* [[You Mean "Xmas"]]: The Vikings call it "Snoggletog."

[[Category:All CGI Cartoon]]

[[Category:Hugo Award]]

[[Category:Western Animation]]