Genre
Action/Comedy
Written By
William Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Logline
Having dreamed of being a dragon hunter his entire life, a clumsy young Viking learns there's more to the creatures than meets the eye after he strikes up an unlikely friendship with a fire-breathing Night Fury.
Why break it down?
I'll be honest…
How To Train Your Dragon is my favorite film of all time. The soundtrack is in my top two. I have plans to name my first dog Toothless, and my second John Powell. It's the one film I'm almost completely incapable of being objective about. And guess what? For all its brilliance, the script follows classical three-act structure right down to the very last beat.
'HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON' IS AN EXAMPLE OF TWO PLOTLINES BEING WEAVED AROUND A SINGLE PROTAGONIST AT ONCE (see the
Analysis section below), which can teach us how to keep Act 2 exciting and build satisfying arcs for our characters. And as an added bonus,
IT CAN SHOW US HOW TO USE THE 'ROLL DOWNHILL' TO DRIVE OUR CHARACTERS TOWARD A LOW POINT, which will make our climaxes ten times more intense (which, my friend Colton has just informed me, is what she said).
So read up, keep an eye out for the beats, and we'll look at the film's structure after the jump. (Click the
[+] button for a summary of each scene.)
ACT I
00:00 - 08:30 (8.50 pages) [+]EXT. VILLAGE OF BERK - NIGHT
HICCUP (Jay Baruchel), our main character, narrates an introduction to his hometown.
A giant action scene ensues as the town fends off a dragon attack. All of the characters are introduced while shit blows up (and people wonder why I love this movie).
Hiccup works for the town blacksmith, because he's small and he likes to invent things. He's in love with a girl named ASTRID (America Ferrerra), but she'll never notice him because the whole town - including his Viking father STOICK (Gerard Butler) - looks at him as a pussy. His dream is to kill a
Night Fury, the most dangerous dragon in the world, so that people will respect him and stop treating him like a child.
Hiccup shoots a net into the sky, and by some wild stroke of luck, actually hits a Night Fury. The only problem is…nobody is there to see it. Another dragon attacks Hiccup, and Stoick (his father) comes to the rescue.
Hiccup tries to tell his dad that he caught a Night Fury, but it's no use. Stoick sends him back to the house, disappointed.
08:30 - 09:30 (1.00 pages) [+]EXT. BERK - MOMENTS LATER
Hiccup and GOBBER (Craig Ferguson), the town blacksmith, walk back toward Hiccup's house. Hiccup is sad that his father doesn't respect him, and Gobber tries to make him feel better.
⇡⇣ OPENING EXPOSITION
09:30 - 11:30 (2.00 pages) [+]INT. MEETING HALL
Stoick (Hiccup's father, leader of the Viking Army) tries to convince everybody to set sail with him to the dragons' nest. He wants to kill the dragons once and for all, but everyone is too scared to go with him. He dismisses the meeting, frustrated.
Stoick and Gobber (the town blacksmith) sit down to discuss Hiccup. Stoick is scared to put Hiccup into dragon training, because he thinks Hiccup is weak, but Gobber convinces him otherwise.
11:30 - 15:15 (3.75 pages) [+]EXT. FOREST - DAY
Hiccup walks through the forest searching for the Night Fury (aka "the most dangerous dragon in the world") that he caught. He finds it, and walks up to it with a knife, ready to kill it. But when he looks into the dragon's eyes, he realizes he doesn't have the balls to do it, so he sets the dragon free. It flies off, clearly injured.
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INCITING INCIDENT #1: THE BOY AND HIS DOG
15:15 - 17:00 (1.75 pages) [+]INT. HICCUP'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Hiccup tries to sneak to his room, but Stoick (his father) stops him, saying that if it's what Hiccup wants, he can go to dragon-fighting school.
INCITING INCIDENT #2: THE FLEDGLING WARRIOR
17:00 - 20:00 (3.00 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - DAY
The first day of dragon training. Hiccup, Astrid (the girl he loves), SNOTLOUT (Jonah Hill), FISHLEGS (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), TUFFNUT (T.J. Miller) and RUFFNUT (Kristen Wiig) are the students. From here on, we'll call this group THE GANG.
Gobber (the town blacksmith) is the teacher. He releases a dragon into the practice arena and The Gang tries to fight it. Hiccup almost gets killed, but Gobber saves him at the last minute.
20:00 - 22:00 (2.00 pages) [+]EXT. FOREST - DAY
Hiccup looks around for the Night Fury (aka "most dangerous dragon in the world") that he let go earlier. He finds it in the forest, injured and unable to fly. He studies the dragon and realizes it's missing part of its tail, which is why it can't fly away. He drops his pen and the dragon sees him. They stare at each other without moving.
22:00 - 24:45 (2.75 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - NIGHT
The Gang eats dinner, but nobody wants to sit at Hiccup's table with him. Gobber gives them a book about dragons. Everyone goes to sleep, but Hiccup stays up to read it. He comes to the chapter about Night Furies (the breed of dragon he caught and let go), and realizes that no Viking has ever seen one before.
24:45 - 25:30 (0.75 pages) [+]EXT. OCEAN - DAY
Stoick (Hiccup's father) and his army float along the ocean, looking for the dragons' nest. They float into a dense fog, where a giant dragon attacks them.
25:30 - 27:45 (2.25 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - DAY
Action scene, as The Gang fights against a group of dragons in an obstacle course. Hiccup almost gets killed, because he's asking too many questions about Night Furies and not concentrating on the fight. In the chaos that ensues, Astrid (the girl Hiccup loves) and Hiccup end up lying on top of each other. It's awkward for a moment, but there's no time to think about it…a dragon attacks, and Astrid punches it in the face. She turns around to scold Hiccup.
27:45 - 33:15 (5.50 pages) [+]MONTAGE
Hiccup brings the injured Night Fury a fish to eat. It's scared of him at first, but eventually takes the fish. For the first time, it actually seems to
like Hiccup. He notices the dragon has retractable teeth, and starts to call it TOOTHLESS.
We then enter a montage, during which Hiccup and Toothless bond and become friends. Toothless is shy at first, but as they interact with each other more, he eventually warms up. At the end of the scene, Toothless shows Hiccup the ultimate sign of trust by allowing him to touch his nose.
(SIDE NOTE: This scene is the reason why my first two dogs will be named Toothless and John Powell.)
| PLOT POINT #1
ACT II
33:15 - 34:30 (1.25 pages) [+]EXT. DRAGON SCHOOL - NIGHT
The Gang (Hiccup, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut) sit with Gobber (their teacher) around a campfire. He tells them how to kill a dragon:
Hiccup sneaks away from the group to start working, and Astrid (the girl he loves) sees him run off...
34:30 - 35:00 (0.50 pages) [+]INT. HICCUP'S ROOM - NIGHT
30-second montage: Hiccup works all night, making a brand new tail for Toothless.
35:00 - 37:15 (2.25 pages) [+]EXT. FOREST - DAY
Hiccup brings Toothless a bag of fish. Toothless gets scared of something in the bag: An eel, which Hiccup throws to the side.
As Toothless eats the fish, Hiccup sneaks behind him and attaches the new tail. Suddenly, Toothless perks up, realizing he has a new tail, and shoots straight into the air. Hiccup hangs on for dear life, and realizes he can control Toothless' trajectory by manipulating the tail.
Toothless kicks Hiccup off, but immediately crashes; without Hiccup controlling the tail, it doesn't work (and Toothless can't fly).
37:15 - 39:15 (2.00 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - DAY
The Gang fights a dragon in the arena. But just as they're about to be killed, Hiccup pulls out an eel (which he noticed Toothless was scared of in the previous scene). He scares the dragon back into its cage, and everybody stares at him, dumbfounded.
39:15 - 41:45 (2.50 pages) [+]MONTAGE
Hiccup builds a saddle that will help him ride Toothless.
While training Toothless to fly, he finds out that Toothless loves to roll around in the grass. He brings some grass to dragon school, and controls the dragons with grass. The Gang starts to love him, but Astrid (the girl he loves) is suspicious…
While scratching Toothless' belly, Hiccup finds out that dragons have a "sweet spot" that makes them instantly fall asleep. He tries it out at dragon school, and everyone wonders how the hell he did it.
While playing with Toothless, Hiccup finds out that dragons will chase light around on the floor (the same way dogs chase flashlights). He tries it out at dragon school, and everyone marvels at his ingenuity. Astrid, though, is pissed...
Astrid sees Hiccup run off into the forest. She tries to follow him, but loses him in the trees.
Meanwhile, Hiccup perfects his saddle design and practices more flying with Toothless. But a piece of the saddle breaks, and he realizes he needs to take Toothless to dragon school to fix the part.
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⇡⇣ FUN AND GAMES
41:45 - 42:30 (1.25 pages) [+]EXT. DRAGON SCHOOL - NIGHT
Hiccup sneaks Toothless into dragon school and quickly fixes the broken piece of saddle. But Astrid shows up, and Toothless has to hide behind a door.
Hiccup and Toothless escape by the skin of their teeth, inches from being discovered by Astrid.
42:30 - 43:30 (1.00 pages) [+]EXT. BERK - DAY
Stoick (Hiccup's father) and his troops return from their mission (24:45 - 25:30). Everyone runs up to Stoick and tells him how awesome Hiccup is:
43:30 - 46:00 (2.50 pages) [+]EXT. SKY - DAY
Hiccup and Toothless practice ACTUALLY flying for the first time. They soar over the island of Berk, using the saddle and tail to control their speed/direction. They fly way up into the sky…
But suddenly, things take a turn for the worse. Hiccup comes loose from his saddle and the two enter a free-fall, scrambling to saddle back up and gain control of their flight. At the last second, they manage to pull it off, and Hiccup learns how to really fly Toothless with accuracy and precision.
46:00 - 47:15 (1.25 pages) [+]EXT. ISLAND - DAWN
Hiccup and Toothless sit together, eating fish and watching the sunset. A gaggle of mini-dragons runs up to eat fish with them. Hiccup marvels at how misunderstood the dragons are:
47:15 - 49:45 (2.50 pages) [+]INT. HICCUP'S ROOM - NIGHT
Stoick (Hiccup's father) bursts into Hiccup's room and congratulates him for his success at dragon school. He gives him a helmet and they try to talk, but they don't really relate on anything and it's awkward. Stoick leaves and Hiccup goes to sleep.
49:45 - 51:00 (1.25 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - DAY
The Gang's final test: They fight a dragon while the Elder Viking Woman watches. Out of all the students, she chooses Hiccup, meaning he's the most promising warrior in his class. His reward: He gets to be the first person in the group to actually kill a dragon. Everyone celebrates, but Hiccup isn't thrilled…
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MIDPOINT REVERSAL #2: THE FLEDGLING WARRIOR
51:00 - 60:00 (9.00 pages) [+]EXT. FOREST / EXT. SKY / INT. DRAGON'S NEST - DAWN
Hiccup goes to his hideout with Toothless, but to his surprise, Astrid is waiting for him there. She sees Toothless and gets scared, running away to tell the rest of the village. But Hiccup catches up to her, and asks her to give Toothless a chance.
Astrid reluctantly hops on Toothless' back and they fly over the island. It's romantic, and Astrid realizes how amazing Hiccup's relationship with Toothless really is.
But suddenly, hundreds of other dragons show up. To keep the group safe, Toothless has to blend in and fly with the dragons, meaning Hiccup and Astrid have to duck down and not be seen. The dragons fly toward a giant volcano and go inside, entering…
THE DRAGONS' NEST (which Hiccup's father has been looking for since the beginning of the film).
Hiccup and Astrid watch as the dragons feed sheep (00:00 - 08:30) to a giant super-dragon called THE RED DEATH. This reveals the true motivation behind the dragons' constant raids of Hiccup's village…they need to feed the Red Death and keep it happy.
Hiccup, Toothless, and Astrid make a daring escape from the dragons' nest, narrowly avoiding being eaten by the Red Death. They land back in the forest, where they argue about what to do next:
But surprisingly, Astrid understands. She kisses Hiccup on the cheek, thanking him for the dragon ride, and runs back to the village.
| MIDPOINT REVERSAL #1: THE BOY AND HIS DOG
Midpoint
60:00 - 64:45 (4.75 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - DAY
The entire village gathers to watch Hiccup kill his first dragon. Stoick gives a rousing speech about how proud he is of Hiccup. But Hiccup has other plans…
He enters the arena to massive cheers from the crowd. When the dragon shows up, however, he throws down his shield, choosing instead to pet the dragon and show everybody it's harmless.
But Stoick bangs his hammer on the metal cage --
-- scaring the dragon and causing it to attack Hiccup.
Then, out of nowhere, Toothless shows up to protect Hiccup. Action scene, as the two dragons battle it out. Stoick orders his troops to capture Toothless. They pounce, holding Toothless down while Hiccup screams for them to let his dragon go.
64:45 - 66:30 (1.75 pages) [+]INT. HICCUP'S HOUSE - MOMENTS LATER
Hiccup argues with his dad about what just happened:
Hiccup begs Stoick to reconsider. But Stoick's mind is made up, and he tells Hiccup one more thing:
⇡⇣ ROLL DOWNHILL
66:30 - 67:30 (1.00 pages) [+]EXT. ISLAND - DAY
The Viking army readies its fleet of ships. Hiccup watches as they strap Toothless down to one of the ships, forcing him to lead them to the dragons' nest.
67:30 - 69:30 (2.00 pages) [+]EXT. ISLAND - MOMENTS LATER
Astrid approaches Hiccup and they talk about how terrible everything is. She motivates him:
She convinces Hiccup to come up with a plan to save Toothless and keep the Vikings out of danger. A lightbulb turns on above Hiccup's head, and he runs to get the rest of The Gang...
| PLOT POINT #2
ACT III
69:30 - 70:30 (1.00 pages) [+]EXT. OCEAN - DAY
The Viking army floats toward the dragons' nest, preparing to attack. Toothless struggles against his chains, but it's no use...
70:30 - 71:00 (0.50 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - SAME TIME
Hiccup meets with The Gang (Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut) to tell them the plan. They're all down to roll before they even hear what it is...
71:00 - 71:45 (0.75 pages) [+]EXT. ISLAND OF THE DRAGONS - SAME TIME
The Viking army finds the dragons' nest. Toothless is scared.
71:45 - 72:45 (1.00 pages) [+]INT. DRAGON SCHOOL - SAME TIME
Hiccup and The Gang round up a group of dragons, and Hiccup teaches them how to ride.
72:45 - 83:30 (10.8 pages) [+]EXT. ISLAND OF THE DRAGONS - SAME TIME
The Viking army shoots cannon balls at the dragons' nest. But instead of fighting back, the dragons just fly away, terrified. The Vikings look around, confused. Then --
THE RED DEATH (the giant dragon from 51:00 - 58:45) BURSTS OUT OF A MOUNTAIN, AND ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE.
The Vikings fight back, but it's no use. A huge action scene ensues as the Red Death destroys everything in its path. It sets their ships on fire, which is a problem, because
Toothless is still chained down to one of the ships. The fire rages around him as he struggles to break free.
Meanwhile, Stoick (Hiccup's father) and Gobber (the town blacksmith) try to distract the Red Death. They're about to be killed, when suddenly --
HICCUP AND THE GANG SWOOP IN TO SAVE THE DAY, RIDING ON THE BACKS OF DRAGONS.
The Vikings watch, amazed, as The Gang battles the Red Death. Meanwhile, Hiccup rides off to save Toothless from the burning ship.
(NOTE: This is a solid example of how to do an action scene, because two things are happening at once. On one end, The Gang is fighting the Red Death, and on the other, Hiccup is racing against the clock to save Toothless. This gives us two exciting plotlines to cut back and forth between.)
Hiccup continues to help Toothless, but the ship sinks, and they strugge to break free underwater. Hiccup starts to drown, but at the last second, Stoick saves him. He rushes Hiccup back to the surface, then dives back in to save Toothless.
Stoick breaks Toothless free, and Hiccup hops on Toothless' back. But before they fly off, Stoick grabs Hiccup by the arm:
Hiccup and Toothless fly off, joining The Gang in the battle against the Red Death. They save Astrid's life, and the Red Death starts chasing them into the sky. They fly straight up into the air and the Red Death follows, setting the tables for a final showdown.
The Viking army watches as the sky lights up above them. It's an epic battle between Hiccup/Toothless and the Red Death. Toothless' tail catches on fire, and they fly straight down toward the ground, killing the Red Death. But a giant explosion happens, and Hiccup gets separated from Toothless. He free-falls into a massive fireball and Toothless chases after him...
| CLIMAX
83:30 - 85:30 (2.00 pages) [+]EXT. ISLAND OF THE DRAGONS - MOMENTS LATER
Stoick searches desperately for Hiccup, but only finds Toothless lying injured on the ground. Toothless opens up his wings, revealing Hiccup, safe and sound. Stoick rushes to him:
85:30 - 88:00 (2.50 pages) [+]INT. HICCUP'S HOUSE / EXT. BERK - DAY
Hiccup wakes up to find Toothless licking his face. He steps out of bed and realizes that he lost one of his legs in the fight. He and Toothless step outside the house to find...
...the entire village, riding around on the backs of dragons! Hiccup has changed the world; dragons and people now live arm-in-arm.
Astrid kisses him, and Gobber gives him a brand new tail for Toothless. Hiccup looks out at the village of Berk, and book-ends the film with a rehash of his opening monologue:
RESOLUTION
Analysis
One of the most interesting things to observe in
How To Train Your Dragon is the way it weaves two parallel plotlines around its main character, Hiccup. To make this easier to follow, we'll give each of these plotlines a name:
PLOTLINE #1: THE BOY AND HIS DOG [+]This is the plotline in which Hiccup and Toothless become friends and learn how to fly. They meet each other, come to trust each other, and eventually take to the skies.
PLOTLINE #2: THE FLEDGLING WARRIOR [+]This is the plotline in which Hiccup goes to dragon school. He starts out as a bad student, but as he learns more about dragons (in Plotline #1), he becomes a dragon master and starts making new friends.
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So because we're following Hiccup down these two different roads in the Second Act, take note that the Inciting Incident and the Midpoint both show up twice - once for each plotline. After the Inciting Incidents, the two threads split apart and run parallel to each other until the latter part of Act 2, where they collide back together (during the Roll Downhill) and set us up for the Climax. So without further ado, let's take a look at where these plot points show up and briefly talk about why they are where they are:
Flash-Bang Open [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 00:00 - 08:30
Alright, we've been here before. Remember how in
The Road To El Dorado, the Flash-Bang Open served as part of the Opening Exposition? Well, same deal here; in
How To Train Your Dragon, Hiccup introduces us to himself and the rest of the film's characters during a massive dragon attack on the village of Berk.
Opening Exposition [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 00:00 - 11:30
As in all openings, the first twelve minutes of
How To Train Your Dragon introduce us to the characters and their relationships with each other. Really, it all happens in the first three scenes: The Flash-Bang Open (scene 1), Hiccup's discussion with Gobber about his dad (scene 2), and Stoick's discussion with Gobber about his son (scene three). In this short span of time, here's the information we get:
• Introduction to Hiccup (he invents things, he's in love with Astrid, he wants to kill a dragon).
• Introduction to Stoick (he leads the army, he wants to find the dragons' nest, he's disappointed by Hiccup).
• Introduction to the village of Berk (it gets attacked by dragons a lot).
Notice how these introductions take place
while crazy things are happening to the characters, as opposed to while they just sit around and talk to each other. It would have been just as easy to have Hiccup go to work in the blacksmith shop, then talk to Gobber about his father, and talk to Gobber about Astrid, and talk to Gobber about dragons...but why do that when you could get the same information across during a battle sequence?
Inciting Incident #1 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 11:30 - 15:15
The Boy And His Dog: The Inciting Incident for our first plotline happens when Hiccup finds Toothless tied up in the forest. Instead of killing him, he lets Toothless go (and Toothless does the same exact thing for him), which sets the two toward really meeting each other for the first time in Plot Point #1.
Inciting Incident #2 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 15:15 - 17:00
The Fledgling Warrior: The Inciting Incident for our second plotline happens when Hiccup's dad signs him up for dragon training. For the next fifteen pages, Hiccup will suck at fighting dragons, until he meets Toothless in Plot Point #1 and starts to become a better student.
Plot Point #1 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 27:45 - 33:15
In what might be my favorite Plot Point ever, Hiccup and Toothless actually meet for the first time. We then enter a montage where they get comfortable with each other, and it ends with Toothless finally letting Hiccup touch him. With this, Act 1 is officially over and the two can start learning from each other (in the "Fun and Games" section).
NOTE: There is only one Plot Point #1, because this individual scene pushes both of our plotlines into Act 2. In The Boy And His Dog, Act 2 will consist of Hiccup and Toothless learning to fly (which couldn't happen until they met each other), and in The Fledgling Warrior, Act 2 will consist of Hiccup becoming a better student (which couldn't happen until he and Toothless met each other).
Fun and Games [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 33:15 - 51:00
The Fun and Games in
How To Train Your Dragon is neat to look at. Basically, we bounce back and forth between our two plotlines,
The Boy And His Dog and
The Fledgling Warrior, developing each thread for about
nine minutes apiece:
• The Boy And His Dog: Hiccup "trains" the dragon, Toothless. They learn to fly and become best friends.
• The Fledgling Warrior: Hiccup becomes the best student in dragon school (because of what he's learning in The Boy And His Dog).
Midpoint Reversal #1 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 51:00 - 60:00
The Boy And His Dog: Two important things happen in the Midpoint for Plotline #1. First, Astrid meets Toothless (causing her to fall in love with Hiccup), and second, we meet the Red Death (aka the giant super-dragon). With this, we're officially done watching Hiccup and Toothless get to know each other, and things will start going wrong for them until they have to fight the Red Death in the Climax.
Midpoint Reversal #2 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 49:45 - 51:00
The Fledgling Warrior: The Midpoint for Plotline #2 actually takes place before the first plotline, but that doesn't matter much. Forget I even mentioned it.
The Midpoint for The Fledgling Warrior happens when Hiccup is chosen as the best student in his class. Now, he has to kill a dragon - which he's obviously not going to do - and everything will start going wrong for him until he can finally prove himself in the Climax.
Roll Downhill [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 60:00 - 67:30
Right away, the two plotlines smash together when Toothless shows up at dragon school (because suddenly, Toothless and "dragon school" each know the other exists), and things immediately start going wrong for everybody. Toothless is captured, and the Vikings set sail to find the dragons' nest (because they don't know about the Red Death yet).
Plot Point #2 [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 67:30 - 69:30
Astrid convinces Hiccup to go after the Vikings and save the day.
There really couldn't be a better example of Plot Point #2 than the one in
How To Train Your Dragon. It's the definition of the final scene in Act 2; it marks the hero's
lowest point in the script, which we know because Astrid pretty much says those exact words:
But more importantly, this is the scene during which
Hiccup decides to fight back. From here forward, we'll spend about three pages getting ready for the Climax (the Vikings find the dragons' nest / Hiccup tells The Gang his world-saving plan), and then the big showdown will get underway.
Climax [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 72:45 - 83:30
The Climax in How To Train Your Dragon is the final fight between the Vikings and the Red Death. It's a crazy action scene where Hiccup saves Toothless, patches things up with his dad, and saves the entire island of Berk from near certain devastation.
Resolution [+]WHERE IT HAPPENS: 85:30 - 88:00
Like everything else in How To Train Your Dragon, the Resolution is impressive. On the surface, it's just like any other conclusion scene; Hiccup hugs Toothless, high-fives his dad, kisses the girl, and flies off into the air. But what really sets it apart is that it ties up the overarching theme of the film: Friendship. Hiccup and Toothless are meant for each other because deep down, they're one and the same. But when Hiccup wakes up without a leg, it's taken a big step further, because now he's physically the same as Toothless (who can't fly because he doesn't have a tail).
Though I am interested in learning to achieve a better climax, I've always been more interested in a 'Flash-Bang Open'.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I want to have your babies Joshua. All of your babies. I miss you. Come back to Tucson soon bb guurrrrrrl.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis of the script. I think it's an interesting take on the narrative without succumbing to the analysis as something that is strictly "character driven" as many younger analysts tend to deviate toward. For example, I would have immediately said that the story revolves around three characters (Stoic, Astrid, and Hiccup) largely because of individual screen time and also the development of their characters. We find out early on that Hiccup has his own storyline: he wants to impress his father, but he is driven to make the citizens of Berk understand Toothless (and other dragons) rather than kill them. Astrid is a typical Viking whom searches to become a great viking warrior, but instead finds a heart and glory. Lastly, Stoic, a representative of the stoic Viking ways, searches to protect his town, annihilate any threat, and raise a strong Viking son; but instead he ends up with a greater understanding of existence and the bravest, most unorthodox Viking-son.
ReplyDeleteNow, I only bring these points to light because I wished to compliment your analysis. I think you have a very valid point in stating Hiccup's centrality and the plot's duality. It may be useful, though, to look at the dual plot in terms of characters, as I think Stoic stands on the side of "The Fledgeling Warrior" while Hiccup stands on "The Boy and His Dog" and Astrid stands somewhere in between (even though her screen time is minimal, I find her an important distinction from the other characters, as she does have the entire scene in the forest where she searches for Hiccup and the answer to his mischievous absences).
All in all, fantastic analysis. I enjoyed it, and I can't agree more with the soundtrack. I'm listening to it right now.
@Anonymous Right?! I mean, I have to give props to Reznor & Ross for 'The Social Network' - it's a great score, I ain't arguing - but people glaze over 'HTTYD' like it wasn't even a contender that year. I mean come on, people...have you HEARD this music?
ReplyDeleteSoundtracks aside, though, you make a great point. I had so much trouble trying to figure out how to weigh Stoick against Hiccup in this breakdown, because like you said, he really is a central character and goes through an entire arc of his own in the film. I think it's definitely safe to say he has a plotline all to himself that follows these beats:
1. He signs his kid up for dragon training.
2. He goes out on a dragon-hunting mission.
3. He comes back to find out his kid is a badass.
4. He sees it was all a lie, and rejects his kid.
5. He witnesses his kid's heroism first-hand, and finally accepts him again.
In the end, I think what it really came down to for me was point of view; only one of these beats (#2, in which Stoick goes out on his dragon-hunting mission) is completely focused on Stoick, while each of the other beats keeps Hiccup firmly in the spotlight. Because of this, if I was a writer in the outlining stage of 'HTTYD,' I think I'd probably approach it by splitting the script into two halves - "The Boy and His Dog" and "The Fledgling Warrior" - and, like you mentioned, incorporate Stoick's scenes into the latter thread.
Rocking comment, sir and/or ma'am. It's great food for thought!