I don't hate this movie . I don't like it either ? It's conflicting .

I have , multiple thoughts about what could have been done better but the soundtrack and animation looks absolutely stunning just as the previous movies have been . The interactions between the LF and Toothless are sweet , I just wish they had more screen time to develop as a pair .

But here are my main issues ! And this is open for discussion so feel free to comment cause I love talking about this franchise :D

Grimmel as a villain

Based on a comment I made in the previous post how Hiccup is the reunion of dragons and humans , HTTYD 1 was Hiccup facing dragons and HTTYD 2 was Hiccup facing a human warlord .

I think they tried to make Grimmel a villain that was a combination of "humans and dragons" , he was meant to show the worst of people and the worst of dragons . This especially when he's considered worse than Drago and the deathgrippers are worse than Drago's bewilderbeast cause they are not a "protector species" .

I didn't really like the message that the deathgrippers were simply more bad evil for eating other dragons and being functioning members of a food chain . It's the same vein of "Sharks are evil and dolphins are good" . The dragons are animals , and animals are not inherently good or bad , they simply survive . Same way the Deathsong isn't bad just for eating other dragons , but it was an antagonist cause it was hunting the main cast .

We HAVE seen worse . We've seen Viggo , we've seen how he uses dragons for his agenda ( both bad and then good later on in the series ) We've also seen that while the series criticises the hunters' actions , they do not blame the dragons for being used by the hunters and do not write the dragons are evil . Hiccup's crashout over Viggo was astronomical and the dread for viewers seeing Viggo always one step ahead was much better established than Grimmel's .

The main issue is that Grimmel as a villain fell flat compared to what we've seen before and just how badly Hiccup was affected by his previous enemies . Because Grimmel's story was limited by the duration of the movie , we didn't get enough time to simply marinate in dread at his actions or his genius .

Grimmel as Hiccup's parallel / bad ending

I also think Grimmel was meant to be "who Hiccup would be if he did choose to kill Toothless" but I felt that Drago actually paralleled Hiccup better .

Where Hiccup sought peace , Drago created violence . Hiccup lost a leg to fighting a dragon and seeing the worst of the dragons ( what Berk faces parallels Drago's backstory of villages being burned to the ground and families dying . )

"To see my village burnt , my family taken" ( the irony being that Hiccup knows exactly how that feels too cause this happened endlessly to Berk before the Red Death was killed )

The reason they turned out difference was Hiccup let his curiosity overtake his fear of death at the fire of a dragon , while Drago allowed his anger and hate for dragons to drive him to amass control over them .

If anyone asks this is my roman empire , literally all that HTTYD 3 could have been .

Missed the mark with the LF design , don’t get me wrong her design is ethereal and she’s adorable but I don’t like how their aim in designing her was “feminine” and marketable .

The slightly underwhelming villain mainly because we’ve seen such good villains in Alvin the Treacherous and Viggo in the shows .

The very big possibility ( and original discussion ) that could be linked to irl issues that r brought up in animal conservation circles .

There r storyboards of Valka discussing the dragons leaving as a must not because they shouldn’t fight for their peaceful coexistence , but because tame animals will always be much more vulnerable to exploitation due to their trusting nature , which is such a good fucking point . Idk why they chose to cut that .

Stoick has deep mistrust in the dragons and barely starts trusting them after years of battle , and his life is taken by a dragon that he arguably trusts the most .

Valka had deep faith in the dragons that they were more than just violent , and she was taken by a dragon she had never met .

— [ SKY:COTL x TRANSFORMERS AU ] —

Ok yall hear me out . Transformers but in a Sky:COTL AU where the older bots are all the “spirits” and parts of grouped constellations .

Younger bots are all the “children of the light” ( players / non-spirits ) and it’s just gonna be a relatively cozy AU of the little lights interacting with the spirits and exploring the realms etc. I’ll refer to them as “little lights” .

There’s no war between the Autobots and Decepticons , instead they have different perspectives and responsibilities in the war against the “Darkness” .

Autobots aim to use their light / life force to purify the corrupted creatures , this comes at expense of the little lights learning to combat the darkness .

Decepticons prioritise protecting the little lights and kill the creatures to keep remaining realms and lights safe from the darkness .

I’ll upload character lists and their constellations later mayhaps ? This is very self indulgent but feel free to join to anyone who sees this !!

— [ CONSTELLATIONS + SPIRITS IN THEM ] —

Constellations r made up of stars and each spirit is linked to a star . The stars share a name with the spirit .

“Belonging” ( soundwave + cassettes )

Soundwave , Laserbeak , Buzzsaw , Rumble , Frenzy , Ravage

“Unity” ( autobot main command )

Optimus / Orion Pax , Elita-1 , Prowl , Jazz , ( empty slot )

“The Studious” ( the medics and scientists )

Skyfire , Ratchet , Pharma , First Aid , Wheeljack , Shockwave , Knockout

“???” ( trine )

Starscream , Thundercracker , Skywarp

Additional notes on the “stars” :

A brighter star drifts near the one named “Knockout” , that star was named “Breakdown” . Not a part of the studious constellation but he remains close by .

HEAR ME OUT AND DON'T ATTACK ME . I think it was avoidable , but very necessary for their character arcs and also to highlight one of the biggest flaws in Hiccup and Stoick's relationship as father and son .

For context : In HTTYD 2 , the first time Hiccup faces off a mind controlled Toothless , he tries to stop his dad from interfering and tries to stop Toothless from firing . Stoick doesn't listen in a moment of panic and charges to push Hiccup out of the way and results in him being blasted by the plasma blast .

My.. analysis ? Below.. :P

Honestly quite interesting cause the whole “passing of the torch” thing .

It’s very clear Ezylryb’s “mentor” title passes on to Soren . Soren’s eager to tell his stories , teach young owlets arriving at the tree etc.

[ The importance of Soren diving into fire and doing what’s right ]

Before discussing the importance of Metalbeak dying by fire , the act of Soren retrieving the fire with the oil pot from the nearby forest fire to aqcuiring the branch and interfering to save Ezylryb is all very important to Soren’s journey of discovering justice and where his morals lie .

Before this , his idea of the Guardians was like that of a children’s bedtime stories ( which is how his da told them ) but the reality is much harsher as Ezylryb points out . “It’s doing the right thing again and again”

Soren flying into the fire is the culmination of Ezylryb’s teaching and his newfound stance on what it means to be a Guardian and not just a children’s hero . He’s reborn from the flames almost like a phoenix .

When Soren first expressed his disbelief with Lyze being a small screech owl , Ezylryb calls him out on his idealised version of war as a hero’s story .

“what did you expect ? a tyto alba with gleaming armor and battle claws , the moon rising behind them ?”

Soren ends up fulfilling that imagery , becoming the hero that he thought he ought to be .

[ Fire as a weapon and the symbolism of it causing the fall of the Pure Ones ]

There’s many ways to interpret it but I think it’s a very fitting choice . Instead of using battle claws or the blades that some of the older Guardians carry , Soren forges his own weapon the same way he forges his own path by choosing to chase and find the Guardians and follow his gizzard .

It’s also him taking over Ezylryb’s position as mentioned , finishing the fight that Ezylryb started and bringing an end to Metalbeak / Surtr .

Another interesting parallel to note is that fire destroyed the fleck traps that were the Pure Ones’ greatest weapon / plan , and fire was what killed Metalbeak .

DID SOMEONE SAY GUARDIANS OF GA’HOOLE

I’ve been summoned ( I say this like this ain’t in my askbox 😭 )

I sincerely apologise for the essay you’re about to receive .

SUMMARY :

If the buildup and reveal was done better , this could have worked . He had potential to be a great “narrative opposite” to Ezylryb same way Kludd is to Soren but that’s not done well enough .

——— Beware . An Essay 😨 ———

I think they did this to maintain the mystery and suspense around Metalbeak , but I don’t think it was done to its full potential . It’s quite hard to make animals intimidating , especially owls since most of the population sees them as weird cute little creatures .

Despite not doing anything until the climax , too much of his design was revealed too early .

[ What purpose does and should he serve in the story other than being the High Tyto ? ]

For a character that was meant to be “unreachable” and almost god-like for most of the Pure Ones , his reveal wasn’t as intimidating as it could have been .

Lyze / Ezylryb can pose as an interesting mirror to Metalbeak . Afterall , they’re the sworn enemies ever since their battle damaged half of Surtr’s face . The big confrontation is between Lyze and Surtr , before Soren interfers to save his teacher .

Surtr’s defeat at Soren’s talons could have meant a lot more if that parallel was stronger . A passing of the torch to the next protector and “true righteousness” . Which subsequently makes the implication of Kludd’s picking up of the “Metalbeak” title much more interesting .

[ So what does he do in the movies ]

In short ? Nothing .

Longer ? He really does nothing . He barely even commands his forces , Nyra calls the bats , she flies formation with the soldiers . He ???? He sits and he fits ig ?

I fear he’s the definition of sit still look pretty without the pretty .

[ How to improve his reveal ? ]

Keep his reveal slow . I’m thinking “The Ritual” ( horror movie ) kind of suspense and slow .

Don’t show his face so early . We are first introduced to his concept with Eglantine wearing a little leaf beak to playfight with Soren . That’s all we need for a while .

No face just actions when he’s speaking to the spy Allomere . Talons prodding at coal ( parallel to Ezylryb’s first proper introduction in his hollow to who he really is ) Sharpening a battle claw and moving his mask .

When Nyra introduces the recruits to him , he doesn’t approach Kludd . No full face . Only a shadow and eyes + mask lit by the torches and backlighting .

He could be unmoving , it’s unsettling to see a living being look dead . It can very easily imply something off and create unease . It should be alive but it doesn’t look it etc. Make use of owls being able to spin their heads 180 . He stalks enemies and allies just the same .

The owlets cower just the same , there is something very wrong about Surtr .

When he is fully revealed , it’s always related to the shadows , he comes out into the light etc. Launches a stealth attack . If they’re gonna make him a dark colored sooty owl , make the most of him and the darkness !!!!

Finally . Don’t be afraid of showing a scar . A healed scar unless extremely jarring doesn’t need to be hidden . We don’t ever get to see a “full reveal” of Metalbeak in the movies , his actual face under the mask is only shown in the artbooks .

[ How to increase his involvement without decreasing Nyra’s ? ]

The Pure Ones are a cult with a strong militia first and foremost . Make them strategise .

While Nyra is the General ( ordering and fighting alongside the troops makes sense ) , Surtr should not be absent when it comes to reports , planning etc. He is the “highest up” .

Show short quick cuts of Guardians being ambushed by Pure Ones after careful planning from Surtr and Nyra .

Show the Guardians struggle from losing their limited number of highly trained warriors . It doesn’t have to be in high detail or whole sequences , just quick shots / flashes of Guardians being taken out .

Surtr’s command in the final fight shouldn’t be a desperate / angry cry , he should be cold / composed .

Overall , I think this is the direction that they tried to take with Surtr / Metalbeak but didn’t achieve to it’s full effect . His lack of involvement in the story’s events doesn’t feel justified and his position as High Tyto doesn’t hold enough weight .