It seems this is an opportune moment
To reenter the blogging world, not that I was ever much a part of it. But with the Great Purge apparently happening, not like I have much choice, mm? It has been almost two years to the day since I last scrawled something on this forsaken journal. Why? The future is now, that sort of thing. It seems like the thing to do.
Anyway, here's a favorite article I wrote a while back for the online newspaper I'm now amazingly co-editor-in-chief of. Coincidentally, it's about my favorite movie, or one of them, at least.
Despite the pseudo-sexual undertones in the title, How to Train Your Dragon was perfectly kid-friendly, with enough spice to appeal to an older crowd (although I admit I may have been the oldest in the theater, not counting harried parents). It was also, in my eyes, a perfect movie. I could have watched it again immediately after I saw it the first time, and I could have watched it again after that. I could watch it right now, today, and tomorrow, and the day after.
How to Train Your Dragon has two species in it: Vikings with thick vaguely-Scottish accents, missing limbs, and greasy hair, or with clear eyes and clean skin and leather jerkins, or with bones through their beards and spears in their hands; and dragons. Cute dragons, scary dragons, awesome dragons, wimpy dragons, REALLY REALLY BIG DRAGONS, really really small dragons, clever dragons, two-headed dragons, fire-breathing dragons, flatulent dragons, toothless dragons (namely the main dragon, Toothless, who befriends the main Viking, Hiccup) pink-green-black-purple-orange-red-blue-yellow dragons. Oh, and there were sheep.
Toothless, Hiccup’s dragon companion, can disappear and reappear when he wants to, has retractable teeth, a smooth black body, and moves with lithe and sinuous decisiveness. He also eats mostly fish. He’s like a large stray cat that could accidentally eat you. And who finds this stray dragon and takes him home? Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), the Viking version of a village idiot. He’s small and scrawny, with freckles and gray eyes and neatly kempt hair. Naturally, he’s picked on by all the other big and burly leather-wearing Vikings. Naturally, he’s smarter than all of them, with an inventive streak centuries ahead of its time.
Other notable characters include Hiccup’s father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who is actually the chieftain of the village and has always been disappointed by his son’s lack of Viking strength, and Gobber, the one-legged blacksmith of the village who took Hiccup under his stump and saw that what he lacks in strength, he makes up in spirit. Of course, where would the movie be without it’s cute girl Viking counterpart? Astrid (America Ferrera) proves that killing dragons isn’t just a man’s game, and kills the Viking boys’ hearts at the same time.
For at last I have arrived at describing the point of the story: Vikings vs. Dragons. It’s not an athletic competition, it’s a deadly war that has been going on as far back as Vikings and dragons can remember. Dragonkind has been raiding Viking villages for sheep, virgins, and to cause general mayhem, while all Vikingkind can do is kill the dragons and protect themselves as best they can-until Hiccup met Toothless, and learned that dragons are not just mindless eating and ravaging machines. They can be taught, and trained, and even befriended.
The movie’s moral message is basically that: accept those who are different, because you never know what they can do for you, and more importantly, what you can do together. But if you think this movie is as simple and predictable as that, you are underestimating DreamWorks. Didn’t they bring us Shrek? Or, if you’re remember how many flops DreamWorks has also had, have faith in the directing team of Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who also co-directed Disney’s Lilo and Stitch. And, if you’re very hard to please, they consulted heavily with cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has worked on many of the Coen brothers’ movies, and who is mostly likely the one to thank for the amazing quality of the animation.
It was both realistic and cartoonish, with anatomically sensible human bodies, if not exactly proportionate. The landscapes were breathtaking, and the details incredible-but not overwhelming. And as someone who grew up mostly without 3D movies, let me just say, they are a GREAT invention. The 3D quality added an entirely new dimension of enjoyment to the movie-I really did feel like I was actually there with the Vikings! I felt like I could reach out and pet a dragon! And oh, how I wanted to. The dragons were lovably sweet and round looking at times, spiky and intimidating at others, and overall so original. I’ve never seen dragons quite like that-there was a lot of thought put into the origin, design, and abilities of each dragon. If you stay and watch the credits, which I did, there are pictures and brief descriptions of all the dragons mentioned in the movie-plus more.
If you’re really just interested in this story, (which I certainly am), it was based on Cressida Cowell’s 2003 children’s book, How to Train Your Dragon, which was only changed slightly for the film version, to make it more suitable for an older audience. I imagine that’s what I’ll be spending my summer doing-since I cannot actually fly with dragons, I’ll just have to pretend.
Anyway, here's a favorite article I wrote a while back for the online newspaper I'm now amazingly co-editor-in-chief of. Coincidentally, it's about my favorite movie, or one of them, at least.
Despite the pseudo-sexual undertones in the title, How to Train Your Dragon was perfectly kid-friendly, with enough spice to appeal to an older crowd (although I admit I may have been the oldest in the theater, not counting harried parents). It was also, in my eyes, a perfect movie. I could have watched it again immediately after I saw it the first time, and I could have watched it again after that. I could watch it right now, today, and tomorrow, and the day after.
How to Train Your Dragon has two species in it: Vikings with thick vaguely-Scottish accents, missing limbs, and greasy hair, or with clear eyes and clean skin and leather jerkins, or with bones through their beards and spears in their hands; and dragons. Cute dragons, scary dragons, awesome dragons, wimpy dragons, REALLY REALLY BIG DRAGONS, really really small dragons, clever dragons, two-headed dragons, fire-breathing dragons, flatulent dragons, toothless dragons (namely the main dragon, Toothless, who befriends the main Viking, Hiccup) pink-green-black-purple-orange-red-blue-yellow dragons. Oh, and there were sheep.
Toothless, Hiccup’s dragon companion, can disappear and reappear when he wants to, has retractable teeth, a smooth black body, and moves with lithe and sinuous decisiveness. He also eats mostly fish. He’s like a large stray cat that could accidentally eat you. And who finds this stray dragon and takes him home? Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), the Viking version of a village idiot. He’s small and scrawny, with freckles and gray eyes and neatly kempt hair. Naturally, he’s picked on by all the other big and burly leather-wearing Vikings. Naturally, he’s smarter than all of them, with an inventive streak centuries ahead of its time.
Other notable characters include Hiccup’s father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who is actually the chieftain of the village and has always been disappointed by his son’s lack of Viking strength, and Gobber, the one-legged blacksmith of the village who took Hiccup under his stump and saw that what he lacks in strength, he makes up in spirit. Of course, where would the movie be without it’s cute girl Viking counterpart? Astrid (America Ferrera) proves that killing dragons isn’t just a man’s game, and kills the Viking boys’ hearts at the same time.
For at last I have arrived at describing the point of the story: Vikings vs. Dragons. It’s not an athletic competition, it’s a deadly war that has been going on as far back as Vikings and dragons can remember. Dragonkind has been raiding Viking villages for sheep, virgins, and to cause general mayhem, while all Vikingkind can do is kill the dragons and protect themselves as best they can-until Hiccup met Toothless, and learned that dragons are not just mindless eating and ravaging machines. They can be taught, and trained, and even befriended.
The movie’s moral message is basically that: accept those who are different, because you never know what they can do for you, and more importantly, what you can do together. But if you think this movie is as simple and predictable as that, you are underestimating DreamWorks. Didn’t they bring us Shrek? Or, if you’re remember how many flops DreamWorks has also had, have faith in the directing team of Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who also co-directed Disney’s Lilo and Stitch. And, if you’re very hard to please, they consulted heavily with cinematographer Roger Deakins, who has worked on many of the Coen brothers’ movies, and who is mostly likely the one to thank for the amazing quality of the animation.
It was both realistic and cartoonish, with anatomically sensible human bodies, if not exactly proportionate. The landscapes were breathtaking, and the details incredible-but not overwhelming. And as someone who grew up mostly without 3D movies, let me just say, they are a GREAT invention. The 3D quality added an entirely new dimension of enjoyment to the movie-I really did feel like I was actually there with the Vikings! I felt like I could reach out and pet a dragon! And oh, how I wanted to. The dragons were lovably sweet and round looking at times, spiky and intimidating at others, and overall so original. I’ve never seen dragons quite like that-there was a lot of thought put into the origin, design, and abilities of each dragon. If you stay and watch the credits, which I did, there are pictures and brief descriptions of all the dragons mentioned in the movie-plus more.
If you’re really just interested in this story, (which I certainly am), it was based on Cressida Cowell’s 2003 children’s book, How to Train Your Dragon, which was only changed slightly for the film version, to make it more suitable for an older audience. I imagine that’s what I’ll be spending my summer doing-since I cannot actually fly with dragons, I’ll just have to pretend.