[STOICK] I'll swim and sail on savage seas With ne'er a fear of drowning And gladly ride the waves of life If you will marry me No scorching sun Nor freezing cold Will... [GOBBER] Will stop me on my journey! Sorry... [STOICK] If you will promise me your heart And love... [VALKA] And love me for eternity My dearest one, my darling dear Your mighty words astound me But I've no need of mighty deeds When I feel your arms around me [STOICK] But I would bring you rings of gold I'd even sing you poetry (Oh, would y'?) And I would keep you from all harm If you would stay beside me [VALKA] I have no use for rings of gold I care not for your poetry I only want your hand to hold [STOICK] I only want you near me [STOICK & VALKA] To love and kiss, to sweetly hold For the dancing and the dreaming Through all life's sorrows and delights I'll keep your laugh inside me I'll swim and sail on savage seas With ne'er a fear of drowning And gladly ride the waves of life If you will marry me! [GOBBER] Me-eee-e I'm still goin' I'm done This just hits differently even after all of this time.
Rewatched the movie a couple months ago with my wife, just a few weeks after our wedding. We just about bawled our eyes out. Now we crave movies with long-married couples who have a deep romance.
I worry about the live action too though. It could get same amount of attention as James Cameron's avatar to bring the beauty of the world come to life, but I would miss tiny things like even the expressions of the sheep
One point I love about the animation that not too many people talk about is the variety of fire animations the movies use. Most of the dragons have their own distinct style of fire, rather than just using the standard, propane style flame burst.
HTTYD2 is one of the few movies to make me cry in the theater. That beautiful scene where Stoic and his wife are reuniting after so many years apart, rekindling their romance and realizing that they never lost their love for each other, and in the back of my mind a voice whispered, "one of them is gonna die," and I got really sad....
HTTYD is one of my favourite comfort franchises. As someone with a leg disability due to a injury seeing disabled characters in the same vain means a lot to me. Im so glad you enjoyed it. If you ever want more material in this world the books the movie is based off are good and the shows are good as well.
You've probably come across her, but in the off-chance you haven't, FootlessJo is a really fantastic content creator who talks about a lot of the various struggles of having a prosthetic leg.
plus, Hiccup having a disability, ads for a lot of gags in the franchise. such as Toothless trying to chew on his prosthetic, like most dogs do with shoes. but it also adds a lot of high stake moments, such as a RTTE episode, where hiccup had to go without it, to try to kill Krogan. disability representation is probably the only good, and actually useful rep out there. it gives the characters both unique struggles, and advantages. for disability rep, I also mean things like Autistic characters such as Tech from bad batch, Dyslexic and ADHD like percy jackson, ect. whereas with skin rep, its just useless, and unneeded.
@@kilian-one-l you heard me. unlike skin rep, which is useless to the story, and just forced. disability rep, be that physical or mental, it actually gives the characters interesting struggles and advantages to go through, but that's just my opinion.
@@dragonsman4733 lmao skin rep is useless to the story? Only if a shit writer is handling it. Which can happen with any kind of rep, including disability rep. Just say you're racist and get on with it
I ran into one of the animators on the second one at PAX East one year. He said they fought the studio to keep the alpha death on screen to drive home how important moment was
The romance between Hiccup and Astrid is one of the best in fiction. I love that it's never a main plot point, but that it always supports and improves them and allows them to be stronger as they deal with life and hardship.
This is something sooo few people mention. It's set up from the first movie, gets some very natural progression in the second, and shows them at the end as rock solid. It never really feels contrived or like it 'has' to happen from a movie point. . .its a natural progression that you would see from childhood friends and it works beautifully.
Yeah the natural romance building is really underappreciated in the series and movie 2 and 3 The first one... not so much, it's quite forced and it's my only major problem with the first movie, Astrid really shouldn't have kissed him they kinda shot themselves in the foot with that one
I am autistic and how to train your dragon was my special interest as a kid. I memorized all the dragons classes and stats, played all the games, watched all three of the TV shows, and read all of the books. It was really awesome! The disability rep in this franchise is awesome, so many of the characters are disabled, Hiccup, Gobber, and Toothless, but it is never hidden, nor is it a big deal. It is just a normal thing the viking society lives with and that's so awesome for a kids movie.
same!! I ended up writing full versions of the book of dragons for years, and was always talking about dragons to my friends. I don't as much now, obviously since the franchise has ended, but its still my main fixation. the disability rep was actually caused by Alvin in the books, because he had to keep on getting prosphetics, every time he lost. Gobbers lost leg and hook hand was a reference to that. Hiccups though was more to have an impacting consequence, so that the audience could see how high the stakes were.
@@dragonsman4733 I also remember in the books liking how fish legs was disabled. He had asthma and so did I, and his berserker heritage seemed pretty neurodivergent to me. I think dagur is definitly neurodivergent in race to the edge. It's almost as I'd with the berserker it's neurodivergent to be neurotypical.
As much as I love Star Wars, I have to admit, this was my Star Wars. When I hear people talk about how magical and incredible it was to see the first Star Wars on the big screen in 1977, that was what How to Train Your Dragon was to me in 2010. Watching this in 3D as a kid is most likely what sparked my love for film and interest in filmmaking. For me, this is definitely up there for one of the best trilogies.
I am a bit more partial towards 1st movie, but 2nd does top my list too. I also love how Hiccup remains Hiccup throughout. A lot of times people who get an upgrade like dragon loose their other strengths, but Hiccup remains a tinkerer and inventor. Hell, he doubles down on that and adds being an explorer too. His growth from trying to be something to please others, to embracing his own way and then to accepting faults in his way too and become what others need from him while maintaining his true self was so well done
The soundtrack in all of them is just so beautiful and the variations of a reoccurring theme that is so well developed and emotional. Makes the movie in my mind. Romantic flight from the first movie is still one of mostly beautiful pieces of music that still haunts me year's later.
10:44 you know it's funny, knowing the movies are based of a book, and that the show gets more into details you can actually see that village isn't so pro dragons, but they couldn't put everything in one movie, there is much more story to how to train your dragon
Another point for the third film is the whole “There we’re dragons when I was a boy” monologue at the end, as that is the classic monologue from the books as it was at the very start of the first book, and it was almost identical to it, which was just a perfect ending for me as a fan of the books and the franchise
It also made me tear up just watching the trailer lmao. And when I saw the actual movie I was just bawling. The combination of that line with the score just gets me every time
If you ever read the books, I’d highly recommend the audiobooks read by David Tenant. The man is my favorite actor because of his performance in an audiobook. The series is definitely for a younger audience, but then the last couple books have, just, incredibly high stakes, and it almost seems a bit inconsistent in that regard. Toothless does get less annoying as the series progresses.
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you" - I cry every time. Also there's also a series which takes place between movie 1 and movie 2 with a lot of adventures of that 5 year time skip period, which honestly for a cartoon, is absolutely brilliant imo.
I also really loved how the movies showcases different kinds of parallels between Hiccup and Toothless, as well Drago and his Alpha. In the beginning of the first movie, Toothless loses the left part of his tail, and at the end, Hiccup loses the lower part of his left leg. And of course the movie also explicitly states how Hiccup and Toothless are in similar circumstances, being loners in their respective packs and being exceptions to their kinds respective "always go for the kill" mentality. Then in the second movie, we see that Drago has lost his left arm to a dragon, and at the end, his Alpha loses its left tusk, mirroring its master, and making this villanous pair and their physical trauma parallel Hiccup and Toothless! It's quite neat.
@@jon_with_no_n3065 I love that one! Go Do and Sinking Friendships are probably my two favorites from that album, but Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros) might be my absolute favorite from him. I even use the title (means ‘jumping into puddles’) for some usernames hah that’s even what it was here before I changed it to my actual name
The only potential good I could see coming from a live action HTTYD is if they actually made a point of doing a more faithful adaptation of the novels. What DreamWorks did with the franchise is amazing but SOOOOO different from the actual books. But if they were more faithful, then a live action adaptation could potentially stand more on its own as opposed to adapting the first adaptation.
Having read the books, I’m not sure how well it would work in live-action. The changes between the animated movie and the book were because things weren’t meshing right, and they even consulted with Cressida Cowell (the author) about changing things. If the want more book elements in the live action, it may work a bit better since Toothless and the other kids’ dragons are smaller than their movie counterparts so that’s less animation to work on and less worry on making the flying scenes look good. Character design wise, a lot of the charm in the books comes from its exaggerated illustrations (my personal favorite being Big Boobie Bertha’s sketch and an arrow stating “these boobs have killed, and will kill again” 🤣🤣) and how the characters act. They would have to down play some of the zany or really put their actors and actresses through the wringer to get them to look right. Other issue is there’s so many important characters that one really can’t take one out and have the story stay the same. Everyone has their part to play, even some of the minor characters and those we only read about in a few sentences. Plus, the narrative tone of the book will probably be off. The way things are written and described is very unique and is what honestly sets the pace and tone for the series. The chapter after Hiccup wins the sword-fight and talks about freeing the dragons is so memorable. The narrator saying “breath, take some time, nimble on a snack” isn’t something easily replicable. Long post short 😅 I could accept a live action remake that takes more book elements and does it own thing apart from the movies. No re-telling, no same story beats. A new story and with familiar characters set in a different kind of world.
I've such a fond memory with each of these films. I don't quite know if its the nostalgia or my love for the genre but I absolutely adore the second installment in the trilogy although I do think the first one is absolutely superior to the final installment. Toothless is a precious baby and I want to pet him. So happy to see it get a review.
I will continue to emphasize the amazingness that is the soundtrack. There are many deep dives to the track Test Drive that shows the genius John Powell had in creating the music for the movies. Even years after the first movie, the score for the movie is played in film festivals. Jónsi, the artist who created the theme songs for the genre was asked to create a song while he was away from home and wrote Sticks and Stones on the plane ride back and it fit so well. Few people on the team knew of Jónsi but they were all on board after hearing the song. Then Jónsi and John Powell created Where No One Goes that combines Test Drive in the song to help bring the viewers back to the world right away in the second movie. Lastly, Astrid isn’t in the books at all which might be why she seemed so generic at first since that was the purpose the writers created her for.
The soundtracks from this trilogy are some of my favorites. For my wedding, my husband and I commissioned several songs (all from different movies) for the ceremony from his best man and best man's fiancée. We talked A LOT about the music from these movies and which we should choose or where we could fit them in into our ceremony. In the end, the song we chose from the HTTYD was "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" which is the song Hiccup's mom and dad dance to when they reunite!
I love these movies so much. I walked down the aisle to a cover of the song Hiccup's mom and dad dance to, "For the Dancing and Dreaming" I believe it's called. I love the score. It is beautiful.
The second movie is one of my favorite movies of all times. And I highly recommend to you the two HTTYD shows, that take place between the first two movies. They really flesh out some of the secondary characters and fills the gaps between the two films well
Netflix doesn't have the first one,or technically the first two seasons of Dreamworks Dragons. Which is a shame. They are a bit tough to get into but the series does get better and better. My husband and I binged it and Loved it. It kinda made watching the 3rd movie sad, because they built such a rich world in the show and then it was kinda just gone in 3.
I could not stop ugly crying. The besties had to split for safety, ugly cried and finally got it together just in time for them to reunite; cue ugly cry for a solid 30 minutes.
I personally think Grimmal just releasing the Lightfury is fantastic for his character. It shows how much he knows about Nightfuries and how to exploit their behaviour.
I'll never forget the first time I saw the first HTTYD. I watched it at the local drive-in and in the scene where Stoick launched the flaming ball of pitch into the dragon's nest while standing at the opening with his touch aloft, the projector they had broke. So my first viewing just stopped there at the start of the final set piece. I still chuckle every time I watch it and that scene occurs.
So glad you liked it! Idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I actually kind of hate the ending of the trilogy, I get why people might like it but for me it just felt like the story needed to be wrapped up and with that the consistent theme of the first two films is thrown out of the window (humans can change for the better and friendship). You see this in the first film with hickup actually discovering that you can be friends with dragons and that they're not just ruthless monsters, in the second film you see this through hickup and the rest of the tribe actually being stronger together because they respect their dragons and the bond they have. But then in the third movie, the bond between hickup and thoothless is now seen as selfish, hickup is using toothless and he should let him go, even though we spent 2 movies describing how strong their bond is (also toothless just giving up his friendship with hickup for a female who is on screen for 3% of the trilogy and a land that he magically became the alpha of within 3 seconds of him being there). The tribe has decided to let the dragons go because it would be selfish to keep them even though it has been portrayed as an equal relationship before. Humanity is not good enough for dragons even though we spent two movies talking about how people can change their minds. It just feels inconsistent, Toon Ruins on youtube actually made a video about the ending which kind of sums up my thoughts, it's called "how dreamworks: how to train your dragons should've ended" highly recommend! Anyway those are my thoughts on the ending but I'm glad you did enjoy it, I also hope they don't ruin this series with the live action :)
I honestly recommend the tv series, especially Race to the Edge, which although they dont have the budget of the movies, they expand incredibly on the characters and even more on the world, showing different dragons that never appear in the movies.
I find it very interesting that Daniel liked the whole "humanity hasn't matured enough for dragons" thing in the third film given how controversial that decision seems to be among the others who watch it. I've rarely encountered anyone who thinks it made sense and many who felt it was the complete opposite message of integration and working together that the rest of the trilogy had been about, essentially turning around and saying "no, they're different and we need to live separate from each other" rather than the "we need to work hard to bridge the gaps between us" approach the others took. I personally liked the film but thought it was the weakest of the three. As for some of the other points Daniel had, I watched the TV series as a kid and that is what probably factors into addressing a lot of that. It takes place between the first and second film so most of the fans who viewed the side characters as more "hilarious" or "deep" than Daniel did likely watched it because obviously a television series gives a lot more time and focus to these characters than the films can (again, it is still a kids show, so it's not that deep but it at least gives them some more time to shine) and had pretty consistently good character comedy. First movie will always be my personal favourite. And I didn't have much issue with the vikings integrating too quickly with the dragons since I figured by the time Hiccup woke up, months have passed. And the tv series then addressed the issues of trying to adapt to living with these creatures, and some within the society - like Mildew - outright rejecting dragons and wanting to go back to the good old days of killing them which was a perspective I felt the movies sorely missed. Having said all that I honestly wouldn't recommend the first two seasons of the tv series unless you're a die hard fan as they have quite a young age demographic in mind and the animation is VERY rough. When Netflix stepped up to fund the back six seasons it definitely took a step up (aging the characters up to their second film appearances) and having much more compelling storylines and villains - with the reformed Dagur the Deranged and the machiavellian Viggo Grimborn easily rivaling Drago in my mind as the most engaging villains of the franchise.
I personally agree with Daniel's take on the 3rd film. And this is due to how I view the series overall, including the messages of the 1st and 2nd film. While the theme of integrating the dragons with people always was a theme, I don't view it as the actual message of any of the movies. If it was, I don't think the impact of these films would have been nearly as strong, as it is not a universal message, only one that is particular to the world of HTTYD. One could perhaps make that argument for the TV series, but anyways... To me, the actual message of the movies has always been about maturity, growing into who you are and accepting who that person is. The actual message of movie 1 was that what makes you different is what makes you strong, even if that is not in the traditional sense. The message of movie 2 was accepting responsibility and taking on the roles you were meant for. The dragons and Toothless are wonderful characters that helped support the main theme in this particular setting, but this movie trilogy has always ultimately been about Hiccup becoming an adult. So while it is sad, the theme of the third movie of letting go of a dear friend simply because you are both grown people who have different life paths, seemed natural and very in-keeping with the maturity arc for Hiccup. And Hiccup has Toothless to thank for the majority of this growth in helping him become the person he is at the end of the trilogy. The dragons leaving was definitely sad and hard to accept, but if you view the theme of the movies as being about Hiccup and his maturity, and not actually about dragons, then I think more people would view the 3rd film more as the evolution of the actual main theme.
@@kurisucosmo7954 That's a really fair interpretation. I do find it interesting that you liked it because you felt it fit the theme of responsibility while I disliked it because I feel like it went against that very same theme. Shows how different two viewer's take on a work can be. I think your opinion is reasonable and wish I could see it that way too because I want to like HTTYD 3. However, I think there was a marked lack of responsibility and maturity in ALL the dragons leaving, not just Toothless. It feels very childish to say Hiccup made the active choice to not kill this dragon, not wage war on them or harm them, and just because some people are going to continue to be cruel to them he just sends them all away. He opened Pandora's Box, he exposed dragons to interaction with humans, and he gets a free pass and the opportunity to absolve himself of the consequences because a magical hidden world exists he can just hide them all in. To me it feels like someone domesticating dogs and then telling them to live in the world again because people might mistreat them. And then there is the horrible effect this must've had on all the other people of Berk. On a personal level you have people like Gothi whose quality of living has been drastically improved by dragons - an old woman whose tiny little dragons flew her around and helped her with tasks - she basically had to sacrifice her wheelchair and service dogs all because Toothless got a girlfriend. Even moreso, these films showed that this society has made HUGE leaps of innovation in technology, weaponry, and infrastructure with the assistance of dragons. It was always really fascinating to see how their clothing and buildings were changing to accomodate dragons, and how dragons were making daily tasks easier. Losing that in one fell swoop would be like us losing the internet in the modern day. Or if we could never use planes, cars, or roads again, going back to sailing ships, horses, and walking. I personally find it really irresponsible that Hiccup does all that because he's not willing to be confronted with how the wider world might react to dragons. Rather than be a guide in those early years to try to prevent abuse, he just hides them away and hopes it'll all work out in some distant future. I know I'm taking a more wider-perspective approach to the issue in what is meant to be - at it's core - entertainment for kids and that's probably stupid of me. I guess I've just always hated the "we are not ready; future generations will do better" trope because it feels like it's teaching people it's okay to push responsibility down the line. Wouldn't it rather be a better message to tell people to own up to their responsibilities and do everything in their power to fix the problems now rather than assume someone else will fix them later? And, again, this is just my personal take on that film and why it feels thematically jarring to me. People have many reasons for which movies they like and don't like and my reasons probably don't match up with them. I like your take and wish I felt the same way because then a franchise I loved growing up would have a ending which would be more satisfying for me.
@@FictionRaider007 THANK YOU! On the contrary, I come across a lot more people who like it more than don’t. I am also in the “don’t like” category, though maybe a bit more into the “I hate this film with every fiber of my being” 😅. I just cannot understand how any fan can enjoy it when it spits on its own themes. The main characters make decisions contrary to their nature because of Plot. Toothless shows no intention to return to Berk or his best friend after becoming “king” because of Girl (which begs its own questions: how did he even become the leader of the Hidden World so quickly? Did he have to fight the previous alpha to do so? Who was it? Etc etc). The villain kills night furies specifically because of Reasons. It’s just pathetic and weak storytelling for such a beloved series, and it’s such a shame because the first and second movies were gems that deserved recognition for their brilliance. Honestly I’m convinced these RUclipsrs who praise the snot out of HTTYD 3 are paid by DreamWorks. Nearly every popular RUclipsr I’ve seen who reviews it likes it.
yay! glad you finally listened, watched, understand. love these characters sooooooo much - esp toothless. I used to reward myself with an episode of the tv series each night - basically knew them by heart, but still joyful to watch.
You should check out the book series as well since they’re soooo different than the films! They start very episodic/adventure of the week type stories, but build into a massive, beautiful story in the last four books. Honestly my favorite book series I’ve ever read!
Everything about the movies are great (especially the music), but surprisingly the first movie was GOD-LIKE in 3d. For example the shot where the camera moves in behind Toothless as they're careening down the mountainside left me breathless, completely different feeling from the 2d version.
The second movie is still my favorite western animated movie off all time. It is also my favorite cinema experience of all time. I was so blown away after I saw the 2nd movie I bought a second ticket next day. I never had the urge to see a movie 2 times in a cinema since HTTYD 2
Honestly this episode felt like a birthday present! I love HTTYD and it's the childhood show I grew up with. I understand for other people that grew up reading Eragon, this is like my Eragon. So happy Danniel watched it
I would love for you to compare them to the books, I only read the the first one but its so different from the film its debatable that the films should even be seen as adaptations.
This story REALLY doesn't need a live action adaptation. The personality and exaggeration (in movement, color, character design, etc.) that animation can showcase is one of its strongest aspects imo.
The shows that take place between movies 1 and 2 are also great, and deal a bit more with the transition of these people from hunting dragons to riding them (riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, and Race to the Edge). I still think the first movie is the best one, I was surprised he said the 2nd and 3rd were better (though I absolutely love them as well).
I suppose I have to give these another try. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the books these films are named after (I won’t say based on because they aren’t) and the first film came out when I was still enamoured with them. What I saw was a completely different story in plot, tone, character, etc that just happened to have some characters with the same names. It felt to me like what Gibli did to Earthsea: just a complete betrayal. More than a decade on, as an adult, I’m glad these movies were able to tell a great story even if it wasn’t what kid me wanted from them.
I've seen a couple of people in the comments recommending the spinoff shows (which, I agree are pretty good) but nobody, that I have seen, has mentioned the books these films are (albeit quite loosely) based off. There's quite a few of them but they were of of the major book series of my childhood, particularly the audiobooks, read by David Tennant. Cressida Cowell is a genius childrens author Edit: scrolling though the comments a bit further, there were a few more fellow book fans than I had realised!
I don't know if you know this but there were 2 tv series which I believe is why the logic in the 3rd movie is the way it is. The reason for why they are searching and for what is explained in the tv show.
Hey man thanks for all the content you've put out through the years. Thanks for being one of the first youtubers I found where I could enjoy WoT and Dresden in a new and awesome way ;-)!
There's also a short 20 or so min film called How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming which takes place right before the end of the 3rd movie and it also shows how the children of both Hiccup and toothless were curious about their parents' friend and partner. Which leads into the end scene with Hiccup taking his kids to meet Toothless
Oh that brings me back. I always found myself smiling everytime I watch the trilogy and most of the tv shows. Even got myself crying by the third movie. So many feels, goblin lord. So many feels.
Glad you finally watched it! It's the best trilogy I've ever watched. (No I haven't seen LoTR movies yet). I also recommend the series, Dragons riders of berk, which takes place after the 1st movie, and Dragons race to the edge, which happens after the 2nd movie.
this is the most welcome unexpected surprise upload from you possibly ever, its probably one of my favourite animated trilogies and was a really formative franchise for me
Super looking forward to your review of the holiday special (and snoggletog log) of how to train your dragon. Again surprisingly good and I think it’ll be a worthy holiday spirit addition next winter :)😊
I personally would highly recommend the HTTYD series Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge (all three are part of one story that bridges the gap between HTTYD 1 and 2) if you want to see development of the side characters like Fishlegs, Snotlout, etc. I am also going to recommend, as a different brand of fantasy, the manga and anime JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It's wacky like One Piece but serious like Berserk, and I think you'd find it quite interesting
How did it talked me this long to watch this? HTTYD is possibly my favorite film trilogy of all time, so it made me really happy to see Daniel give it a glowing review.
Was not expecting you to review this series! The first movie was one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever had. Saw it three years after it released in theaters and this was the first movie ever that drew me in with the soundtrack above all else. I still enjoyed the characters, but from moment that dialogue-free scene between Toothless and Hiccup started I said to myself "This might be a new favorite!"
Yeah, this trilogy made my childhood. A thing I did love was that inbetween waiting for the 2nd movie there was this pretty fun TV series based on the 1st movie. Mainly revolves around discovering new dragons and different ways of how to the village adjust and sustain life with all the dragons. It had some banger episodes and dragon concepts, but I don't think it's actually canon since Hiccups Dad actually had a very specific dragon that he started riding that was not there in the 2nd movie so it was mainly just there for fun. They made another TV series for the 2nd movie prior to the events that took place in it, but still had the time skipped characters which is not as good.
One thing I only got years later after the first movie was (it's highly implied) that Toothless actually bit off Hiccup's foot when he rescued him. I mean how else could it have come clean off like that? It's a mirror to when Hiccup shot Toothless and cost him his tail fin. Now they both complement each others' disabilities, especially when flying. It's such an amazing full circle.
Actually, Drago does not die in the second movie. There's an unreleased, but still canon comic called The Fire Tides that has a final confrontation between Hiccup and Drago. It's really cool and you should look up Audrie Graywind sometime. She has an interview with the writer of the book.
I’m so glad you loved it! The only thing I would add is how incredible the score is. God the music is incredible. But I agree with u overall and love that u talked about hiccup and toothless needing to let each other go and be happy apart from each other
Okay if anyone is a fan of the movies I strongly recommend the books. I absolutely love the movies, but the books are totally different and just as good. Honestly it's more like they're the same genre of story not the same story at all. And if you even remotely like audiobooks I strongly recommend listening to them. They are narrated by David Tennant, and have a beautiful soundtrack, and theme for each book. They're the most high quality/best audio books I've ever listened to.
I actually also recently watched these movies for the first time. They were amazing. The score was amazing. Hiccup's story was developed so well and is so relatable. Toothless was awesome! Toothless' arc was also awesome. The whole thing was just awesome.
I decided like 4 days ago to get a how to train your dragon tattoo because I love these movies and the art and music style so much. Thanks for reading my mind
HTTYD second movie is the best of the trilogy and one of the best-animated movies. As a D&D fan, I saw the villain controlling the dragon by screaming and immediately thought; that is real animal handling. and of course, " I thought I would have to die before we could have that dance again"... The foreshadowing in the second movie.
John Powell’s contribution with the score is underrated and undersold - absolutely one of the best in ages! “Test Drive” is one of the better pieces of movie scoring, just generally, I love it so much
What a great review! As a fan of both Daniel and the series I can say that I feel he did it justice!! And I love that he enjoyed it, as I take many of his other recommendations, and so I always enjoy seeing proof that my taste aligns with his!
The first HTTYD movie was probably the first movie I saw where I actively praise the score. I didn't know it at the time but I remember thinking "I like this sound"
Your late, but you're very welcome to the club. One of the best animated series out there. In fact, I'd say the first film is the runt of the litter, with two and three being among the absolut best the genre has to offer.
I grew up reading the books and loved them for so many reasons! I didn’t like how the movie changed so many aspects at first but have grown to love it more so then the books
So fun to relive this trilogy through your review! My wedding song was the reunification song from the second film!! Fun fact: It was written by Shane MacGowan, who I have long loved as lead singer of the Pogues
Hey Daniel I really appreciate you taking a look at these movies. I did think man he's missing all the animated TV and then nexflix show context that helps flesh out the story between specifically movie 1 and 2 but I realised in order to see how the trilogy holds up as a trilogy you need to discount that additional material. Otherwise, you can't really evaluate the trilogy standing on its own. But hey if you felt like you wanted to know more about the chaotic transition to human dragon partnership society the original animated TV show would definitly help and the nextflix show give hiccup more development along with the expanded world and the trappers and how they become such a problem in the later movies. Anyway thanks for your review keep up the good work!
I'd also recommend watching the Netflix show Race to the Edge, which is a half-canon prequel to the second movie that expands EVERYTHING from the Dragons series. Berk, the world outside of Berk, the characters we already know like Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut as well as characters that do not appear in the movies like Dagur, Heather and easily the best villain of the series and also one of the best villains I've ever seen Viggo Grimborn. It is an amazing world building series that explains ALOT of the background that makes the movies MUCH, MUCH better.
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
The reunion scene between Hiccup's mom and dad, and the subsequent line "You're as beautiful as the day I lost you." will always, always make me cry
That really just rips your heart out, it's so good
Thanks for making me cry again
How to train your dragon 2 should just be called how to make everyone cry
[STOICK]
I'll swim and sail on savage seas
With ne'er a fear of drowning
And gladly ride the waves of life
If you will marry me
No scorching sun
Nor freezing cold
Will...
[GOBBER]
Will stop me on my journey!
Sorry...
[STOICK]
If you will promise me your heart
And love...
[VALKA]
And love me for eternity
My dearest one, my darling dear
Your mighty words astound me
But I've no need of mighty deeds
When I feel your arms around me
[STOICK]
But I would bring you rings of gold
I'd even sing you poetry (Oh, would y'?)
And I would keep you from all harm
If you would stay beside me
[VALKA]
I have no use for rings of gold
I care not for your poetry
I only want your hand to hold
[STOICK]
I only want you near me
[STOICK & VALKA]
To love and kiss, to sweetly hold
For the dancing and the dreaming
Through all life's sorrows and delights
I'll keep your laugh inside me
I'll swim and sail on savage seas
With ne'er a fear of drowning
And gladly ride the waves of life
If you will marry me!
[GOBBER]
Me-eee-e
I'm still goin'
I'm done
This just hits differently even after all of this time.
Rewatched the movie a couple months ago with my wife, just a few weeks after our wedding. We just about bawled our eyes out.
Now we crave movies with long-married couples who have a deep romance.
John Powell brought his A-game with the score for the whole trilogy. Glad he's coming back for the live-action film.
Wait what?! There’s gonna be a live action?!?!
We didn't need a live action. Unless they're making it absolutely Rated R.
I worry about the live action too though. It could get same amount of attention as James Cameron's avatar to bring the beauty of the world come to life, but I would miss tiny things like even the expressions of the sheep
@@nikgokuhil if they do something interesting with it rather than just making the entire thing with better graphics it could be great
@@bendover7841 they won’t. Gotta sell merch.
One point I love about the animation that not too many people talk about is the variety of fire animations the movies use. Most of the dragons have their own distinct style of fire, rather than just using the standard, propane style flame burst.
HTTYD2 is one of the few movies to make me cry in the theater.
That beautiful scene where Stoic and his wife are reuniting after so many years apart, rekindling their romance and realizing that they never lost their love for each other, and in the back of my mind a voice whispered, "one of them is gonna die," and I got really sad....
It must be kismet because I also thought that one of them would die after they met. I was so sad to see it actually happen.
Yeah, my favourite of the series.
HTTYD is one of my favourite comfort franchises. As someone with a leg disability due to a injury seeing disabled characters in the same vain means a lot to me. Im so glad you enjoyed it. If you ever want more material in this world the books the movie is based off are good and the shows are good as well.
You've probably come across her, but in the off-chance you haven't, FootlessJo is a really fantastic content creator who talks about a lot of the various struggles of having a prosthetic leg.
plus, Hiccup having a disability, ads for a lot of gags in the franchise. such as Toothless trying to chew on his prosthetic, like most dogs do with shoes. but it also adds a lot of high stake moments, such as a RTTE episode, where hiccup had to go without it, to try to kill Krogan. disability representation is probably the only good, and actually useful rep out there. it gives the characters both unique struggles, and advantages. for disability rep, I also mean things like Autistic characters such as Tech from bad batch, Dyslexic and ADHD like percy jackson, ect. whereas with skin rep, its just useless, and unneeded.
@@dragonsman4733 "disability representation is probably the only good, and actually useful rep out there"...what
@@kilian-one-l you heard me. unlike skin rep, which is useless to the story, and just forced. disability rep, be that physical or mental, it actually gives the characters interesting struggles and advantages to go through, but that's just my opinion.
@@dragonsman4733 lmao skin rep is useless to the story? Only if a shit writer is handling it. Which can happen with any kind of rep, including disability rep. Just say you're racist and get on with it
I ran into one of the animators on the second one at PAX East one year. He said they fought the studio to keep the alpha death on screen to drive home how important moment was
Absolutely the right call! 100%
The romance between Hiccup and Astrid is one of the best in fiction. I love that it's never a main plot point, but that it always supports and improves them and allows them to be stronger as they deal with life and hardship.
This is something sooo few people mention. It's set up from the first movie, gets some very natural progression in the second, and shows them at the end as rock solid. It never really feels contrived or like it 'has' to happen from a movie point. . .its a natural progression that you would see from childhood friends and it works beautifully.
@@hallaloth3112 I agree. It feels more true to life. it's an adult relationship, not an all-consuming teenage crush. I'd like to see more like it.
@@oliverdemille8388 Me too! Its a good example of a healthy relationship. . .younger individuals would benefit from seeing more of them.
Yeah the natural romance building is really underappreciated in the series and movie 2 and 3
The first one... not so much, it's quite forced and it's my only major problem with the first movie, Astrid really shouldn't have kissed him they kinda shot themselves in the foot with that one
When they finally got together in the series after Astrid was blinded it was a really great moment.
I am autistic and how to train your dragon was my special interest as a kid. I memorized all the dragons classes and stats, played all the games, watched all three of the TV shows, and read all of the books. It was really awesome!
The disability rep in this franchise is awesome, so many of the characters are disabled, Hiccup, Gobber, and Toothless, but it is never hidden, nor is it a big deal. It is just a normal thing the viking society lives with and that's so awesome for a kids movie.
Didja ever read the books? 😭
@@Rowan_A_Boat yes I liked them a lot
same!! I ended up writing full versions of the book of dragons for years, and was always talking about dragons to my friends. I don't as much now, obviously since the franchise has ended, but its still my main fixation. the disability rep was actually caused by Alvin in the books, because he had to keep on getting prosphetics, every time he lost. Gobbers lost leg and hook hand was a reference to that. Hiccups though was more to have an impacting consequence, so that the audience could see how high the stakes were.
@@dragonsman4733 I also remember in the books liking how fish legs was disabled. He had asthma and so did I, and his berserker heritage seemed pretty neurodivergent to me. I think dagur is definitly neurodivergent in race to the edge. It's almost as I'd with the berserker it's neurodivergent to be neurotypical.
what do you think of 9 realms if you have seen it?
if not: dont
As much as I love Star Wars, I have to admit, this was my Star Wars. When I hear people talk about how magical and incredible it was to see the first Star Wars on the big screen in 1977, that was what How to Train Your Dragon was to me in 2010. Watching this in 3D as a kid is most likely what sparked my love for film and interest in filmmaking. For me, this is definitely up there for one of the best trilogies.
I am a bit more partial towards 1st movie, but 2nd does top my list too.
I also love how Hiccup remains Hiccup throughout. A lot of times people who get an upgrade like dragon loose their other strengths, but Hiccup remains a tinkerer and inventor. Hell, he doubles down on that and adds being an explorer too. His growth from trying to be something to please others, to embracing his own way and then to accepting faults in his way too and become what others need from him while maintaining his true self was so well done
The soundtrack in all of them is just so beautiful and the variations of a reoccurring theme that is so well developed and emotional. Makes the movie in my mind. Romantic flight from the first movie is still one of mostly beautiful pieces of music that still haunts me year's later.
10:44 you know it's funny, knowing the movies are based of a book, and that the show gets more into details you can actually see that village isn't so pro dragons, but they couldn't put everything in one movie, there is much more story to how to train your dragon
Another point for the third film is the whole “There we’re dragons when I was a boy” monologue at the end, as that is the classic monologue from the books as it was at the very start of the first book, and it was almost identical to it, which was just a perfect ending for me as a fan of the books and the franchise
It also made me tear up just watching the trailer lmao. And when I saw the actual movie I was just bawling. The combination of that line with the score just gets me every time
If you ever read the books, I’d highly recommend the audiobooks read by David Tenant. The man is my favorite actor because of his performance in an audiobook.
The series is definitely for a younger audience, but then the last couple books have, just, incredibly high stakes, and it almost seems a bit inconsistent in that regard. Toothless does get less annoying as the series progresses.
you telling me i can listen to Spitelout reading the httyd books??? Now i imagine him reading them to Snotlout when he was a child lmao
"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you"
- I cry every time.
Also there's also a series which takes place between movie 1 and movie 2 with a lot of adventures of that 5 year time skip period, which honestly for a cartoon, is absolutely brilliant imo.
And Stoics ship ?
Cry every time.
I also really loved how the movies showcases different kinds of parallels between Hiccup and Toothless, as well Drago and his Alpha. In the beginning of the first movie, Toothless loses the left part of his tail, and at the end, Hiccup loses the lower part of his left leg. And of course the movie also explicitly states how Hiccup and Toothless are in similar circumstances, being loners in their respective packs and being exceptions to their kinds respective "always go for the kill" mentality.
Then in the second movie, we see that Drago has lost his left arm to a dragon, and at the end, his Alpha loses its left tusk, mirroring its master, and making this villanous pair and their physical trauma parallel Hiccup and Toothless! It's quite neat.
Jónsi's vocals in the soundtrack are so amazing. I can't imagine the movies without him.
Sticks and Stones is one of my favorite songs ever, just such a warm, nostalgic, almost melancholic, all the emotions-sounding-song
@@hoppipolla0 highly recommend his album “Go.” It’s my current favorite album at the moment and it has a similar vibe to the HTTYD songs I feel.
@@jon_with_no_n3065 I love that one! Go Do and Sinking Friendships are probably my two favorites from that album, but Hoppipolla (Sigur Ros) might be my absolute favorite from him. I even use the title (means ‘jumping into puddles’) for some usernames hah that’s even what it was here before I changed it to my actual name
The only potential good I could see coming from a live action HTTYD is if they actually made a point of doing a more faithful adaptation of the novels. What DreamWorks did with the franchise is amazing but SOOOOO different from the actual books. But if they were more faithful, then a live action adaptation could potentially stand more on its own as opposed to adapting the first adaptation.
Can you imagine what reactions little snarky asshole popping-in-people's helmats Toothless would get? xD
Having read the books, I’m not sure how well it would work in live-action. The changes between the animated movie and the book were because things weren’t meshing right, and they even consulted with Cressida Cowell (the author) about changing things.
If the want more book elements in the live action, it may work a bit better since Toothless and the other kids’ dragons are smaller than their movie counterparts so that’s less animation to work on and less worry on making the flying scenes look good.
Character design wise, a lot of the charm in the books comes from its exaggerated illustrations (my personal favorite being Big Boobie Bertha’s sketch and an arrow stating “these boobs have killed, and will kill again” 🤣🤣) and how the characters act. They would have to down play some of the zany or really put their actors and actresses through the wringer to get them to look right. Other issue is there’s so many important characters that one really can’t take one out and have the story stay the same. Everyone has their part to play, even some of the minor characters and those we only read about in a few sentences.
Plus, the narrative tone of the book will probably be off. The way things are written and described is very unique and is what honestly sets the pace and tone for the series. The chapter after Hiccup wins the sword-fight and talks about freeing the dragons is so memorable. The narrator saying “breath, take some time, nimble on a snack” isn’t something easily replicable.
Long post short 😅 I could accept a live action remake that takes more book elements and does it own thing apart from the movies. No re-telling, no same story beats. A new story and with familiar characters set in a different kind of world.
I've such a fond memory with each of these films. I don't quite know if its the nostalgia or my love for the genre but I absolutely adore the second installment in the trilogy although I do think the first one is absolutely superior to the final installment. Toothless is a precious baby and I want to pet him. So happy to see it get a review.
The music in the first film is iconic, one of the best scores I’ve ever heard
0:36 wow, he’s so excited from the premise alone 😊
Httyd really formed my childhood and who I am today. The soundtrack is honestly to amazing to even exist
I will continue to emphasize the amazingness that is the soundtrack. There are many deep dives to the track Test Drive that shows the genius John Powell had in creating the music for the movies.
Even years after the first movie, the score for the movie is played in film festivals.
Jónsi, the artist who created the theme songs for the genre was asked to create a song while he was away from home and wrote Sticks and Stones on the plane ride back and it fit so well. Few people on the team knew of Jónsi but they were all on board after hearing the song. Then Jónsi and John Powell created Where No One Goes that combines Test Drive in the song to help bring the viewers back to the world right away in the second movie.
Lastly, Astrid isn’t in the books at all which might be why she seemed so generic at first since that was the purpose the writers created her for.
The soundtracks from this trilogy are some of my favorites. For my wedding, my husband and I commissioned several songs (all from different movies) for the ceremony from his best man and best man's fiancée. We talked A LOT about the music from these movies and which we should choose or where we could fit them in into our ceremony. In the end, the song we chose from the HTTYD was "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" which is the song Hiccup's mom and dad dance to when they reunite!
The comparison to what it would feel like to ride Saphira made my day! Love those books...
I love these movies so much. I walked down the aisle to a cover of the song Hiccup's mom and dad dance to, "For the Dancing and Dreaming" I believe it's called. I love the score. It is beautiful.
The second movie is one of my favorite movies of all times.
And I highly recommend to you the two HTTYD shows, that take place between the first two movies. They really flesh out some of the secondary characters and fills the gaps between the two films well
Netflix doesn't have the first one,or technically the first two seasons of Dreamworks Dragons. Which is a shame. They are a bit tough to get into but the series does get better and better. My husband and I binged it and Loved it. It kinda made watching the 3rd movie sad, because they built such a rich world in the show and then it was kinda just gone in 3.
Isn't there also a collection of shorts to go along with this?
@@raininglaser5695 yea! the Christmas special makes me tear up everytime
The first one is easily one of my favorite movies of all time
HTTYD is such a beautiful story I was in tears at the end of the 3rd one and I mean ugly cry
I could not stop ugly crying. The besties had to split for safety, ugly cried and finally got it together just in time for them to reunite; cue ugly cry for a solid 30 minutes.
I personally think Grimmal just releasing the Lightfury is fantastic for his character. It shows how much he knows about Nightfuries and how to exploit their behaviour.
A franchise that I swear I'll never forget.
🥺😭
I'll never forget the first time I saw the first HTTYD. I watched it at the local drive-in and in the scene where Stoick launched the flaming ball of pitch into the dragon's nest while standing at the opening with his touch aloft, the projector they had broke. So my first viewing just stopped there at the start of the final set piece. I still chuckle every time I watch it and that scene occurs.
So glad you liked it! Idk if this is an unpopular opinion but I actually kind of hate the ending of the trilogy, I get why people might like it but for me it just felt like the story needed to be wrapped up and with that the consistent theme of the first two films is thrown out of the window (humans can change for the better and friendship). You see this in the first film with hickup actually discovering that you can be friends with dragons and that they're not just ruthless monsters, in the second film you see this through hickup and the rest of the tribe actually being stronger together because they respect their dragons and the bond they have. But then in the third movie, the bond between hickup and thoothless is now seen as selfish, hickup is using toothless and he should let him go, even though we spent 2 movies describing how strong their bond is (also toothless just giving up his friendship with hickup for a female who is on screen for 3% of the trilogy and a land that he magically became the alpha of within 3 seconds of him being there). The tribe has decided to let the dragons go because it would be selfish to keep them even though it has been portrayed as an equal relationship before. Humanity is not good enough for dragons even though we spent two movies talking about how people can change their minds. It just feels inconsistent, Toon Ruins on youtube actually made a video about the ending which kind of sums up my thoughts, it's called "how dreamworks: how to train your dragons should've ended" highly recommend!
Anyway those are my thoughts on the ending but I'm glad you did enjoy it, I also hope they don't ruin this series with the live action :)
The reason it ended like that was because they were trying to mimic the book ending, without any of the set up and it just ends up falling flat
@@Eas697ahh I didn't know that, I was so confused why they chose to go down that path but it did indeed end up falling flat (for me atleast)
I agree with all of your thoughts. 3rd movie was definitely a huge step down from the others for me.
YES! I'm always so happy when more people get to experience this franchise. Glad you and your partner enjoyed it! ^_^
Saw the first in 3D on the big screen, the flying scenes were pure magic.
I honestly recommend the tv series, especially Race to the Edge, which although they dont have the budget of the movies, they expand incredibly on the characters and even more on the world, showing different dragons that never appear in the movies.
* Clarification, evade the Nine Realms like the black plague
I find it very interesting that Daniel liked the whole "humanity hasn't matured enough for dragons" thing in the third film given how controversial that decision seems to be among the others who watch it. I've rarely encountered anyone who thinks it made sense and many who felt it was the complete opposite message of integration and working together that the rest of the trilogy had been about, essentially turning around and saying "no, they're different and we need to live separate from each other" rather than the "we need to work hard to bridge the gaps between us" approach the others took. I personally liked the film but thought it was the weakest of the three.
As for some of the other points Daniel had, I watched the TV series as a kid and that is what probably factors into addressing a lot of that. It takes place between the first and second film so most of the fans who viewed the side characters as more "hilarious" or "deep" than Daniel did likely watched it because obviously a television series gives a lot more time and focus to these characters than the films can (again, it is still a kids show, so it's not that deep but it at least gives them some more time to shine) and had pretty consistently good character comedy.
First movie will always be my personal favourite. And I didn't have much issue with the vikings integrating too quickly with the dragons since I figured by the time Hiccup woke up, months have passed. And the tv series then addressed the issues of trying to adapt to living with these creatures, and some within the society - like Mildew - outright rejecting dragons and wanting to go back to the good old days of killing them which was a perspective I felt the movies sorely missed.
Having said all that I honestly wouldn't recommend the first two seasons of the tv series unless you're a die hard fan as they have quite a young age demographic in mind and the animation is VERY rough. When Netflix stepped up to fund the back six seasons it definitely took a step up (aging the characters up to their second film appearances) and having much more compelling storylines and villains - with the reformed Dagur the Deranged and the machiavellian Viggo Grimborn easily rivaling Drago in my mind as the most engaging villains of the franchise.
Oooo yeah, loved Viggo
Yep, Dagur the Deranged was so much fun!
I personally agree with Daniel's take on the 3rd film. And this is due to how I view the series overall, including the messages of the 1st and 2nd film. While the theme of integrating the dragons with people always was a theme, I don't view it as the actual message of any of the movies. If it was, I don't think the impact of these films would have been nearly as strong, as it is not a universal message, only one that is particular to the world of HTTYD.
One could perhaps make that argument for the TV series, but anyways... To me, the actual message of the movies has always been about maturity, growing into who you are and accepting who that person is. The actual message of movie 1 was that what makes you different is what makes you strong, even if that is not in the traditional sense. The message of movie 2 was accepting responsibility and taking on the roles you were meant for. The dragons and Toothless are wonderful characters that helped support the main theme in this particular setting, but this movie trilogy has always ultimately been about Hiccup becoming an adult.
So while it is sad, the theme of the third movie of letting go of a dear friend simply because you are both grown people who have different life paths, seemed natural and very in-keeping with the maturity arc for Hiccup. And Hiccup has Toothless to thank for the majority of this growth in helping him become the person he is at the end of the trilogy. The dragons leaving was definitely sad and hard to accept, but if you view the theme of the movies as being about Hiccup and his maturity, and not actually about dragons, then I think more people would view the 3rd film more as the evolution of the actual main theme.
@@kurisucosmo7954 That's a really fair interpretation. I do find it interesting that you liked it because you felt it fit the theme of responsibility while I disliked it because I feel like it went against that very same theme. Shows how different two viewer's take on a work can be. I think your opinion is reasonable and wish I could see it that way too because I want to like HTTYD 3.
However, I think there was a marked lack of responsibility and maturity in ALL the dragons leaving, not just Toothless. It feels very childish to say Hiccup made the active choice to not kill this dragon, not wage war on them or harm them, and just because some people are going to continue to be cruel to them he just sends them all away. He opened Pandora's Box, he exposed dragons to interaction with humans, and he gets a free pass and the opportunity to absolve himself of the consequences because a magical hidden world exists he can just hide them all in. To me it feels like someone domesticating dogs and then telling them to live in the world again because people might mistreat them.
And then there is the horrible effect this must've had on all the other people of Berk. On a personal level you have people like Gothi whose quality of living has been drastically improved by dragons - an old woman whose tiny little dragons flew her around and helped her with tasks - she basically had to sacrifice her wheelchair and service dogs all because Toothless got a girlfriend. Even moreso, these films showed that this society has made HUGE leaps of innovation in technology, weaponry, and infrastructure with the assistance of dragons. It was always really fascinating to see how their clothing and buildings were changing to accomodate dragons, and how dragons were making daily tasks easier. Losing that in one fell swoop would be like us losing the internet in the modern day. Or if we could never use planes, cars, or roads again, going back to sailing ships, horses, and walking. I personally find it really irresponsible that Hiccup does all that because he's not willing to be confronted with how the wider world might react to dragons.
Rather than be a guide in those early years to try to prevent abuse, he just hides them away and hopes it'll all work out in some distant future. I know I'm taking a more wider-perspective approach to the issue in what is meant to be - at it's core - entertainment for kids and that's probably stupid of me. I guess I've just always hated the "we are not ready; future generations will do better" trope because it feels like it's teaching people it's okay to push responsibility down the line. Wouldn't it rather be a better message to tell people to own up to their responsibilities and do everything in their power to fix the problems now rather than assume someone else will fix them later? And, again, this is just my personal take on that film and why it feels thematically jarring to me. People have many reasons for which movies they like and don't like and my reasons probably don't match up with them. I like your take and wish I felt the same way because then a franchise I loved growing up would have a ending which would be more satisfying for me.
@@FictionRaider007 THANK YOU! On the contrary, I come across a lot more people who like it more than don’t. I am also in the “don’t like” category, though maybe a bit more into the “I hate this film with every fiber of my being” 😅. I just cannot understand how any fan can enjoy it when it spits on its own themes. The main characters make decisions contrary to their nature because of Plot. Toothless shows no intention to return to Berk or his best friend after becoming “king” because of Girl (which begs its own questions: how did he even become the leader of the Hidden World so quickly? Did he have to fight the previous alpha to do so? Who was it? Etc etc). The villain kills night furies specifically because of Reasons. It’s just pathetic and weak storytelling for such a beloved series, and it’s such a shame because the first and second movies were gems that deserved recognition for their brilliance. Honestly I’m convinced these RUclipsrs who praise the snot out of HTTYD 3 are paid by DreamWorks. Nearly every popular RUclipsr I’ve seen who reviews it likes it.
yay! glad you finally listened, watched, understand. love these characters sooooooo much - esp toothless. I used to reward myself with an episode of the tv series each night - basically knew them by heart, but still joyful to watch.
Watched the first movie when it first came out I was literally a kid and then bawled my eyes out when I watched the last. Truly a piece of art.
You should check out the book series as well since they’re soooo different than the films! They start very episodic/adventure of the week type stories, but build into a massive, beautiful story in the last four books. Honestly my favorite book series I’ve ever read!
It was a big part of my childhood. The first movie is my favorite childhood movie. And I just couldn’t stop watching the shows.
Everything about the movies are great (especially the music), but surprisingly the first movie was GOD-LIKE in 3d. For example the shot where the camera moves in behind Toothless as they're careening down the mountainside left me breathless, completely different feeling from the 2d version.
One of my great regrets is not seeing it in 3D, it is my favorite movie of all time.
I would love if they re-release these movies in 3D. So bummed I didn’t see them.
Idk what is happening at 0:35 but i love that it is happening
I fully agree with your movie ranking, and yes, I watched the whole video.
The second movie is still my favorite western animated movie off all time. It is also my favorite cinema experience of all time. I was so blown away after I saw the 2nd movie I bought a second ticket next day. I never had the urge to see a movie 2 times in a cinema since HTTYD 2
Honestly this episode felt like a birthday present! I love HTTYD and it's the childhood show I grew up with. I understand for other people that grew up reading Eragon, this is like my Eragon. So happy Danniel watched it
I would love for you to compare them to the books, I only read the the first one but its so different from the film its debatable that the films should even be seen as adaptations.
Now you need to read the books!! They're small books but man it is so emotionally resonate!!
This story REALLY doesn't need a live action adaptation. The personality and exaggeration (in movement, color, character design, etc.) that animation can showcase is one of its strongest aspects imo.
The shows that take place between movies 1 and 2 are also great, and deal a bit more with the transition of these people from hunting dragons to riding them (riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk, and Race to the Edge).
I still think the first movie is the best one, I was surprised he said the 2nd and 3rd were better (though I absolutely love them as well).
Gosh darn it I'm so happy you enjoyed this series. It's a top favorite of all time.
I suppose I have to give these another try. Growing up, I was a huge fan of the books these films are named after (I won’t say based on because they aren’t) and the first film came out when I was still enamoured with them. What I saw was a completely different story in plot, tone, character, etc that just happened to have some characters with the same names. It felt to me like what Gibli did to Earthsea: just a complete betrayal. More than a decade on, as an adult, I’m glad these movies were able to tell a great story even if it wasn’t what kid me wanted from them.
I've seen a couple of people in the comments recommending the spinoff shows (which, I agree are pretty good) but nobody, that I have seen, has mentioned the books these films are (albeit quite loosely) based off. There's quite a few of them but they were of of the major book series of my childhood, particularly the audiobooks, read by David Tennant. Cressida Cowell is a genius childrens author
Edit: scrolling though the comments a bit further, there were a few more fellow book fans than I had realised!
I also was gasping when you said you had not seen it. Great video. Haven’t even watched it. Thank you!
Wait, I had no idea you hadn't seen these yet, they're easily some of my favorite animated movies ever, fun surprise of a video here!
Also, I saw the first one in 3D and it was up there with Avatar for the flying scenes. Absolutely perfect.
I don't know if you know this but there were 2 tv series which I believe is why the logic in the 3rd movie is the way it is. The reason for why they are searching and for what is explained in the tv show.
Hey man thanks for all the content you've put out through the years. Thanks for being one of the first youtubers I found where I could enjoy WoT and Dresden in a new and awesome way ;-)!
There's also a short 20 or so min film called How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming which takes place right before the end of the 3rd movie and it also shows how the children of both Hiccup and toothless were curious about their parents' friend and partner. Which leads into the end scene with Hiccup taking his kids to meet Toothless
i literally went back and rewatched the first movie after a decade and it still holds up
Oh that brings me back. I always found myself smiling everytime I watch the trilogy and most of the tv shows.
Even got myself crying by the third movie. So many feels, goblin lord.
So many feels.
Something that I feel I need more is
More variety of dragon xD
The book in itself gave us so many dragon worthy of seeing
Glad you finally watched it! It's the best trilogy I've ever watched.
(No I haven't seen LoTR movies yet).
I also recommend the series, Dragons riders of berk, which takes place after the 1st movie, and Dragons race to the edge, which happens after the 2nd movie.
Race to the Edge is also between the first and second movie, covering the 5 years between the two.
Daniel: *praises animation of the third movie*
Also Daniel: *shows a picture of the second movie*
I just remember the "oh no he's haaawwtttttt" / "look at dat glo-up" panic which ensued around Hiccup as he aged up.😅😅🙃🤦♀️🤣
Idk, the more I think about it the live action remake might have some potential.
this is the most welcome unexpected surprise upload from you possibly ever, its probably one of my favourite animated trilogies and was a really formative franchise for me
I loved these films too. Glad you also were a fan.
I would say that the best animated trilogy award for me goes to Kung fu panda, Toy Story or how to train yo dragon
Super looking forward to your review of the holiday special (and snoggletog log) of how to train your dragon. Again surprisingly good and I think it’ll be a worthy holiday spirit addition next winter :)😊
I personally would highly recommend the HTTYD series Riders of Berk, Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge (all three are part of one story that bridges the gap between HTTYD 1 and 2) if you want to see development of the side characters like Fishlegs, Snotlout, etc.
I am also going to recommend, as a different brand of fantasy, the manga and anime JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. It's wacky like One Piece but serious like Berserk, and I think you'd find it quite interesting
How did it talked me this long to watch this? HTTYD is possibly my favorite film trilogy of all time, so it made me really happy to see Daniel give it a glowing review.
When he said he hadn't watched this series I was floored. Glad he took the time to check it out.
Was not expecting you to review this series!
The first movie was one of the most pleasant surprises I've ever had.
Saw it three years after it released in theaters and this was the first movie ever that drew me in with the soundtrack above all else. I still enjoyed the characters, but from moment that dialogue-free scene between Toothless and Hiccup started I said to myself "This might be a new favorite!"
Yeah, this trilogy made my childhood. A thing I did love was that inbetween waiting for the 2nd movie there was this pretty fun TV series based on the 1st movie. Mainly revolves around discovering new dragons and different ways of how to the village adjust and sustain life with all the dragons. It had some banger episodes and dragon concepts, but I don't think it's actually canon since Hiccups Dad actually had a very specific dragon that he started riding that was not there in the 2nd movie so it was mainly just there for fun. They made another TV series for the 2nd movie prior to the events that took place in it, but still had the time skipped characters which is not as good.
One thing I only got years later after the first movie was (it's highly implied) that Toothless actually bit off Hiccup's foot when he rescued him. I mean how else could it have come clean off like that? It's a mirror to when Hiccup shot Toothless and cost him his tail fin. Now they both complement each others' disabilities, especially when flying. It's such an amazing full circle.
Actually, Drago does not die in the second movie. There's an unreleased, but still canon comic called The Fire Tides that has a final confrontation between Hiccup and Drago. It's really cool and you should look up Audrie Graywind sometime. She has an interview with the writer of the book.
I’m so glad you loved it! The only thing I would add is how incredible the score is. God the music is incredible. But I agree with u overall and love that u talked about hiccup and toothless needing to let each other go and be happy apart from each other
Okay if anyone is a fan of the movies I strongly recommend the books. I absolutely love the movies, but the books are totally different and just as good. Honestly it's more like they're the same genre of story not the same story at all.
And if you even remotely like audiobooks I strongly recommend listening to them. They are narrated by David Tennant, and have a beautiful soundtrack, and theme for each book. They're the most high quality/best audio books I've ever listened to.
Not sure if it was on purpose or not, but it's fitting that there's a little hiccup around 0:36
I actually also recently watched these movies for the first time. They were amazing. The score was amazing. Hiccup's story was developed so well and is so relatable. Toothless was awesome! Toothless' arc was also awesome. The whole thing was just awesome.
I decided like 4 days ago to get a how to train your dragon tattoo because I love these movies and the art and music style so much. Thanks for reading my mind
The first movie has so much nostalgia for me, the other movies just can't get close.
Man do I love this franchise to bits.
HTTYD second movie is the best of the trilogy and one of the best-animated movies.
As a D&D fan, I saw the villain controlling the dragon by screaming and immediately thought; that is real animal handling.
and of course,
" I thought I would have to die before we could have that dance again"...
The foreshadowing in the second movie.
John Powell’s contribution with the score is underrated and undersold - absolutely one of the best in ages!
“Test Drive” is one of the better pieces of movie scoring, just generally, I love it so much
What a great review! As a fan of both Daniel and the series I can say that I feel he did it justice!! And I love that he enjoyed it, as I take many of his other recommendations, and so I always enjoy seeing proof that my taste aligns with his!
Watching Daniel speak about this incredible trilogy, that i love so much, brings me so much joy. I'm happy you loved it so much 🙌😄
The first HTTYD movie was probably the first movie I saw where I actively praise the score.
I didn't know it at the time but I remember thinking "I like this sound"
Now read the books! (A lot different, but they are short)
Your late, but you're very welcome to the club. One of the best animated series out there. In fact, I'd say the first film is the runt of the litter, with two and three being among the absolut best the genre has to offer.
Now it’s time to fully dive in a watch the excellent show set between the first and second movie
I saw all 3 in theaters one of my favorite trilogies
I grew up reading the books and loved them for so many reasons! I didn’t like how the movie changed so many aspects at first but have grown to love it more so then the books
This video sparked joy.
Glad you enjoyed it!
So fun to relive this trilogy through your review! My wedding song was the reunification song from the second film!! Fun fact: It was written by Shane MacGowan, who I have long loved as lead singer of the Pogues
Hey Daniel
I really appreciate you taking a look at these movies. I did think man he's missing all the animated TV and then nexflix show context that helps flesh out the story between specifically movie 1 and 2 but I realised in order to see how the trilogy holds up as a trilogy you need to discount that additional material. Otherwise, you can't really evaluate the trilogy standing on its own.
But hey if you felt like you wanted to know more about the chaotic transition to human dragon partnership society the original animated TV show would definitly help and the nextflix show give hiccup more development along with the expanded world and the trappers and how they become such a problem in the later movies.
Anyway thanks for your review keep up the good work!
Test drive is one of the best pieces of movie music ever produced.
I'd also recommend watching the Netflix show Race to the Edge, which is a half-canon prequel to the second movie that expands EVERYTHING from the Dragons series. Berk, the world outside of Berk, the characters we already know like Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut and Ruffnut as well as characters that do not appear in the movies like Dagur, Heather and easily the best villain of the series and also one of the best villains I've ever seen Viggo Grimborn. It is an amazing world building series that explains ALOT of the background that makes the movies MUCH, MUCH better.
Now review all 12 books pls.