Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.
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With the release of the live action version of How to Train Your Dragon, it`s would be perfectly appropriate to talk about the predecessor who started the franchise...
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| Humans are friends, not food :) |
During more than a decade, Disney have exploited most of their animated
library and turned many of their animated properties into live action
remakes. A corporate choice that has been mostly made for two reasons:
For the pure sake of how Hollywood is essentially out of original ideas
(yes, it`s true) and also for turning into profit. However, this trend
who`s now lasted more than fifteen years has also turned out to be
extremely lucrative, as it has turned most of these remakes into a
profit (well, at least some of them). However, if there`s been another
staple of the Disney remakes, is how they`re essentially made to improve
and fix the errors of their animated predecessors (well, at least some
of them). 
But
regardless of that staple, there`s no denial how this trend is
essentially a double edged sword, since even the mere thought of
remaking a classic is essentially something that would irk purists. But
Hollywood is essentially what Hollywood is: Rebooting classics for the
sake of commercialism. But following the trend is DreamWorks and
Universal Pictures, who`s essentially seen the lucrative market of
remakes and have now turned one of their animated franchises into a live
action property. And that is none other than How to Train Your Dragon. General Information About How to Train Your Dragon
To take consideration to the remake, we`ll have to take consideration of the original. Released in March 2010 and
loosely based on the 2003 novel by Cressida Cowell, How to Train Your Dragon was directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch, who`s also received it`s live action remake), who co-wrote the screenplay. Produced by Bonnie Arnold (Tarzan, Toy Story) and Tim Johnson (Antz, Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas). Staring Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson (Brave), America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller (his first voice acting job), and Kristen Wiig. John Powell (Antz, Kung Fu Panda) was the composer, his first gig alone. Kathy Altieri (Aladdin, The Lion King) was the production designer. Kristof Serrand and Fabio Lignini (The Prince of Egypt) were among the animators.
Thom Enriquez (The Little Mermaid,Hercules ) and Todd Kurosawa (The Lion King, Pocahontas) were among the story artist. James Baxter (Beauty and the Beast) and Kathy Zielinski (The Hunchback of Notre Dame were among the animators. Lorna Cook (Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron) also worked on it. The sound were from Skywalker Sound. Dave Metzger (Wish, Mufasa) was among the orchestrators. Technical Services was provided by Hewlett-Packard. And since Dragon was released at a time when 3D in Theaters was fairly new (right after Avatar was released), it was of course a gimmick to promote the movie. Both critically and commercially, Dragon was a success. Grossing $217,581,231 Domestically and $494,879,860 Worldwide. And it was the first of three animated releases for DreamWorks in 2010, before Shrek Forever After in May and Megamind in November.
The Reception and Staple of How to Train Your Dragon
Regarding the reception of How to Train Your Dragon, the truth is that it`s essentially a good one. Whether it should be regarded as a milestone in animation, is another case. But it was a movie that received praise and made
it`s impact. And has it`s fanbase. Arriving at a time where mainstream
animation was slowly changing again and where the zingy, zappy and zany Shrek-formula with celebrity names that made most American, animated movies homogenous was slowly making it`s exit.
So while 
Dragon wasn`t perhaps the movie that broke out of that
formula, at least it still served as a departure from it. So it was
somewhat a part of a new, more refined DreamWorks (despite how Kung Fu Panda was somewhat a part of that trend, too). Sure, Dragon
has it`s snark and features a celebrity voice cast, but frankly, it
doesn`t come as zany. But it was a deliberate choice to be less frantic
and zany with it`s tone. The Story and The Trademarks
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| Yes, I`ll give ya a treat for not wanting to eat me :) |
The first 
How to Train Your Dragon was not essentially a premise that was
credited with originality. In fact, it`s plot was pretty derivative and
formulaic in the regard of being about a forbidden friendship between
adversaries. And also a pet and an owner story (which makes it instantly
comparable to Stitch).
It`s also a story about a guy who wants to destroy the species of his
adversaries at first, but learns to befriend it. It`s also portrays a
stereotypical parent/child conflict, of a bigoted, stern parent and the
child who wants to prove his father`s worth. But end up chosing the
wrong path that his father has chosen for him. And a protagonist who`s a
rookie and has to go on a mission. But it`s also a story about how the
protagonist essentially learns to do the opposite as his herd.
How to Train Your Dragon was not essentially a premise that was
credited with originality. In fact, it`s plot was pretty derivative and
formulaic in the regard of being about a forbidden friendship between
adversaries. And also a pet and an owner story (which makes it instantly
comparable to Stitch).
It`s also a story about a guy who wants to destroy the species of his
adversaries at first, but learns to befriend it. It`s also portrays a
stereotypical parent/child conflict, of a bigoted, stern parent and the
child who wants to prove his father`s worth. But end up chosing the
wrong path that his father has chosen for him. And a protagonist who`s a
rookie and has to go on a mission. But it`s also a story about how the
protagonist essentially learns to do the opposite as his herd.  |
| The orange color behind me is a symbol of my fire :) |
remarkable of having a human cast story, a rarity in DreamWorks
at the time. But it`s also remarkable for having a Viking setting,
something that`s been rarely seen in full-length animation. But for what
it`s worth, it has many of the characters speak in Scottish (which
makes it instantly comparable to Pixar`s Brave). And yes, it`s
remarkable how the younger characters are the only ones who speak in
standard American accents, as opposed to the older characters (which was
a deliberate choice, to distinguish them). But Dragon also has a
character loosing his foot and getting a disability. Which is a rarity
in animation. But it was also a choice that resonated with the adults in
test screenings.Behind the Scenes Information
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| Don`t get fooled, there are invisible people who lives here :) |
In 2004, the book series came to DreamWorks Animation. Finishing Over the Hedge (2006), Arnold became interested in adapting them. Earlier versions of the film followed the novel closely, directed by Peter Hastings (Pinky and the Brain, Animaniacs), but DreamWorks decided that the story skewed too much to younger
viewers, which could negatively impact it`s grossings. It was a small and personal story, without older characters and ambitious action. DreamWorks
Animation co-president Bill Damaschke hired Chris Sanders
to take over, who called DeBlois. Damaschke thought Sanders would be a good replacement for Hastings. Sanders didn`t knew about the story, but still had a good feeling about it. But was intrigued by the flying sequences and wanted to do a film with flying characters. What attracted DeBlois was a teenaged protagonist in a larger-than-life
fantasy action-adventure.
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| Unfortunately, this is the evolution of animation :) From hand drawn to CGi :) |
But the crew found out that the most resonant way was to tell a origin story about the conflict between the humans and dragons. Originally the dragons and humans were getting along and the kids collected dragon eggs and raised them to do tricks. But the screenwriters changed it, to give it peril. While the crew retained many of the characters and their voice actors, they changed the age of the leads. So Hiccup was aged up from a child and was the first DreamWorks animated feature where the lead was a teenager. Toothless
grew from a small and cuddly pet to a formidable, flyable beast. And the early designs of the
characters survived in cameos. The father/son story became more integral. And the story was made into an action-adventure genre.  |
| I didn`t have a huge ego to let my animator show an unfinished sketches of me where I`m looking imperfect :) |
The dragons' designers made dragons that were comical
and innovative compared
to other dragon. Toothless combined many dragon traits in a black
panther-inspired design, that had large ears and eyes to convey emotion
better. The actors for the secondary characters recorded together for
ad-libbing. America Ferrera was chosen for the warmth in her voice. The crew had just 12 months to remake their film. How to Train Your Dragon was moved from November 2009 to March 2010, to not collide with Avatar
and how many theaters at the time didn`t have 3D. But they worried that
the movie would slip to 2011. Jeffrey Katzenberg was angry over Clash of
the Titans being released in 3D at the time, preventing Dragon from being released. The
hesitation Toothless shows during the "touch" scene was an animation error. But the directors still kept it. The
Night Fury dragon species was going to be more wolf-like
in appearance. A employee's computer screen saver of
a black leopard inspired the crew to make Toothless feline. As for
changes to the book, Hiccup is given a love interest. And Toothless is
small and green and red. But Cowell approved that Toothless could be
bigger. Franchise
Due to DreamWorks` policy of turning every movie to a franchise, it`s not strange that How to Train Your Dragon eventually became a franchise. There were some shorts released between the two first movies, Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010), Book of Dragons (2011) and Gift of the Night Fury (2011). There was also a TV series released in between, DreamWorks Dragons, airing on Cartoon Network in September 2012. The first sequel was released How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), where Hiccup meets up with his long lost mother Alka (Cate Blanchett) and his father dies. It was a success, grossing $177,002,924
Domestically and $621,537,519
Worldwide. Followed by the short Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014). After the two seasons, DreamWorks Dragons was titled Dragons: Race to the Edge. Where the characters are older and served as a prequel to the second film, running from June 2015 to February 2018. 
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
(2019) was the second sequel, giving Toothless his own love interest and
where both he and Hiccup gets their children. It grossed $160,945,505 Domestically and $539,987,993
Worldwide. How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming and How to Train Your Dragon: Snoggletog Log (both 2019) were two shorts released afterwards. A second series, Dragons: Rescue Riders, aired on Netflix
in 2019 and features a completely different cast and setting, but set in the same universe. A
third series, Dragons: The Nine Realms, streamed on Hulu and Peacock in December 2021.The Live Action Remake
But as for the purpose of this entry, How to Train Your Dragon has now followed the Disney mold and been turned into a live action remake. Released by Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. Of course, to even remake Dragon to live action is
questionable, since the movie is only fifteen years old. And how
DreamWorks essentially have other and more successful films in their
legacy that could be turned into live action, even their Hand Drawn
pictures (since they were made to compete with Disney). What`s remarkable is how this remake is how was directed by DeBlois
himself. But he deliberately wanted to direct it, for having creative
control. And to have some things be better in live action. Gerard Butler reprised his role of Stoick. John Powell also returned as the composer. 
2024 in Belfast, Northern Ireland and wrapped in May. Many
scenes from the predecessors were re-created shot-for-shot in
live-action. Puppets were used to have the actors act against as the
dragons. As for myself, did I like the remake? Yes, despite how it was even more of a carbon copy of it`s predecessor than most of the Disney remakes. Mason
Thames as Hiccup certainly looked the part and did a fine job, as did
the other young actors. However, a gripe that I had with it is how Toothless` cartoony design (which was very similar to his animated predecessor) looked a little out of place and therefore seemed misplaced with the humans. However,
the critics have approved it and so-far it`s done well at the Box
Office. And yes, there will be a sequel released two years from now on.
Epilogue
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| Since I`m (Astrid) the girl, I needed to outshine the guy :) Because of girl power :) |
At the end, How to Train Your Dragon is a honorable entry into the field of
animation and DreamWorks libraby of franchises. And it is one of
DreamWorks more respected franchises. As for my personal opinion about
the first movie, frankly I liked it, but
I thought it was a good film, but not a great one. I didn`t mind the
derivative story, but frankly, I found the character designs too generic
and cartoony. And otherwise there was little to elevate this movie from
good to great.  |
| I`m the Vawe dragon :) Which is better than breathing fire :) |
Which
could be said about the score, the animation and the cinematography. As
for the remake, it is a perfectly adequate remake, despite how it is a
carbon copy and there`s little to differentiate it from it`s
predecessor. But
as for expecting DreamWorks and other animated studios to turn their
previous animated properties into remakes, we`ll have to accept that
Hollywood is what Hollywood is: Corporate and always rebooting movies or
franchises, no matter. Still, while this entry was synergized to center
around the remake, the truth is that Dragon also happens to have it`s 15th Anniversary this year. So therefore there`s nothing left than to wish Dragon Happy 15th Anniversary and may you continue to have many more.  |
| Well, at least it`s faster than flying on a plane :) |
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