Speak Now Storyteller

Summary: As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.

I saw this with one of my besties in 4DX, with the moving chairs and environmental stuff, and it was so fun. We were flying, which definitely upped my enjoyment of the movie.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen the animated original, so I won’t be comparing.

Pros:

Cast and Characters.

• Mason Thames as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Hiccup is the awkward son of Stoick. He wants to make his mark on his village and slay a dragon and while he seems to be likable by most people, everyone knows how clumsy he is, and they don’t particularly believe in him. Especially his dad. He has a crush on Astrid but because she’s so cool and the best at dragon stuff in the younger group, he doesn’t believe they’ll ever actually connect. He thinks he’s gonna make his mark when he manages to hit a mysterious Night Fury out of the sky. With the intention to kill it, he’s unable to. Hiccup is a very kind character and while he wants to make his father proud, he quickly learns what kind of person he is and he stays true to that, even when everyone begins to expect different of him. Mason Thames was a great choice for Hiccup. I feel like he emulates the character well, but he doesn’t try to copy what was already done before in the animated movie. He has good comedic timing, his sweet and you wanna root for him. If they decide to make the other two, hopefully with a couple of years between each so he can grow up since Hiccup isn’t really a teen after the first one. They could do 2 and 3 at the same time.
  • Toothless is so cute! He has his own distinct personality, and I love the bond he allows to be created with Hiccup. Fun fact, Chris Sanders who co-directed the animated HTTYD, also co-directed Lilo & Stitch (animated) and voiced Stitch in all versions. Toothless and Stitch have very similar designs.
• Nico Parker as Astrid Hofferson. Astrid is part of the fire brigade at the beginning of the movie, meaning that she’s one of the young Vikings who help put out fires in the village during the raids. Hiccup has a crush on her which is easy to tell. She’s beautiful, smart and fierce. She’s the best of them and works hard at her skills. She wants to shine and show she’s the best, but she gets frustrated with Hiccup because he’s shining in the dragon training but not by fighting the way she does. Nico Parker does a great job in the role. She’s strong, smart, beautiful and I think she embodies the strength that Astrid has. She supports Hiccup once she gets the chance, but it doesn’t dampen her spirit or make her look weak in comparison. In fact, Hiccup looks to her for leadership during the climax.
• Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast. Stoick is the Chief of Berk and Hiccup’s father. He’s strong and the most well-known Viking as a dragon slayer. Everyone looks to him to lead the charges and he does, head first. He’s embarrassed a lot by Hiccup due to his clumsiness and his ability to suck when it comes to trying to help fight dragons. When things seem to look up for Hiccup, he gets excited that his son is strong and will follow in his footsteps. He has a nice arc by the end. Gerard Butler reprises his role and he’s great. He’s such a fun actor and very dynamic to watch on screen, even with all that costuming. When he has emotional moments, it’s felt. He has great chemistry with Mason, and they feel like family.

Supporting Characters. We’re gonna speed run these lol.

• Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch. Berk’s blacksmith, close friend to Stoick and almost like an uncle figure to Hiccup. He also oversees training the young recruits. He’s supportive of both Stoick and Hiccup, especially as he sees the transformation of Hiccup in real time. Nick Frost is good in the role. I almost forgot it was him with the costume lol.
• Gabriel Howell as Snotlout Jorgenson. Snotlout is the type to have a lot of extreme bravado but doesn’t actually live up to it most times. He does when the moment counts though. He’s a funny guy and also has a crush on Astrid as well but it doesn’t work for him. He wants to impress his dad so bad. Gabriel reminds me of someone, but I thought he was good. Jonah Hill played his character in the animated film, and I think he does a good job of making the character his own without trying to copy Jonah’s delivery of humor.
• Julian Dennison as Fishlegs Ingerman. Fishlegs is the nerd of the group. If he could collect trading cards with the dragons on them, he would. He knows all the information and is so excited to be in the action, even if he can be a bit cowardly but he’s always willing to try. He and Hiccup connect the fastest. I like Julian Dennison in the role, he’s cute and has a sweetness to him that’s necessary for Fishlegs.
• Bronwyn James as Ruffnut Thorston. Ruffnut is exactly as her name says, a little rough around the edges but she’s fun. At one point I was like “Hey! It’s ShenShen from Wicked!” lol but she has good comedic timing. I definitely would like to see more of her friendship with Astrid if they continue with more movies.
• Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut Thorston. He’s Ruffnut’s twin brother and similar to Snotlout he has bravado but he’s also kind of dumb so it’s funny in a different way. He often has a snarky comment and is definitely comedic relief. I thought Harry Trevaldwyn was good in the role. It is funny that he and Bronwyn don’t really look alike at all, but it gives them different silhouettes that it’s okay.

Character Chemistry/Depth. Sure, this movie has dragons and flying, but the character relationships are the most important in this story. The bond that’s created between Hiccup and Toothless being at the forefront and them nailing it. Even though Mason Thames is clearly not acting next to a real dragon, he sells it. I love their friendship. I love the shot at the end where Toothless is trying to catch Hiccup as he’s falling. Hiccup and Stoick also really works because you feel the rift between them that comes to a head by the end. The acting between both Gerard and Mason is great. Hiccup with Belch and Belch with Stoick is all good, funny and strong bonds. Then Hiccup with Astrid and the others, works really well. I also loved how quickly Hiccup realized what kind of person he was and that he just had to get everyone else to see it too. It was handled very well.

Dragon CGI. They look fantastic. When I saw the first trailer, I thought Toothless looked amazing. In the movie, all the dragons keep their original design, but they fit into the live actionness of this movie. I always believed that Mason Thames was riding on Toothless and interacting with him.

Emotional Beats. The scene where Hiccup and Toothless become friends for the first time always gets me. When Hiccup notices that Toothless seems to have lost part of his tail, is such a great scene. When Astrid gets involved. The last 20 minutes are great. I think the movie does a great job with keeping these scenes and maintaining their emotion. When Hiccup sees what’s happened to him at the end, I thought it was very well acted. Strong moment.

The Score. It’s great.

Cons: I didn’t have many issues with the film to be honest lol. I haven’t seen the original animated film so I can’t discuss if it did anything new in particular. I think there’s a meeting scene that was added but that’s it.

Dark Night Scenes. I feel like this is a common thing lately, along with sound issues but I think the night scenes are too dark at times. I know we’re not supposed to be see Toothless when he’s first show because Night Furies blend into the sky, but there are times where I thought it was a little hard to see. Night scenes can be dark but still visible.

Overall, I thought the movie was very good outside of it being a remake. It stands well as its own movie. I thought the acting was good across the board, the dragon CGI was very good, and it felt very seamless into the film. There are strong emotional beats, and the characters have great chemistry and depth as the movie continues. The score is also great and helps build on the moments throughout. My only gripe was that the night scenes could have been brighter. I haven’t seen the original in a while so I can’t comment on if it adds anything new but whether or not it did, it’s still very good.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars.

I highly recommend How To Train Your Dragon!

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