#httyd analysis

it’s established within the HTTYD movies, and even the series such as RoB and RTTE, that hiccup is a lefty: he uses his left hand to write, sketch, and reach for objects! while it could be justified as it being simply an animation quirk, i bet it was a conscious narrative decision to act as a constant reminder of his character’s otherness, if nothing else.

so it’s no surprise that when hiccup first meets toothless in the woods, he’s holding a dagger in his left hand. he’s stunned and amazed because he managed to get a night fury, and his first instinct is to point the blade right at him without much thought. this is his natural state: we always tend to use our dominant body parts, especially when we are surprised, etc etc

but as he approaches toothless, he starts to hold the blade with both of his hands, using his dominant left to steady his trembling right. right then and there, he’s trying to be what he thinks a “viking” should be. that’s how we start his monologue:

even though i find it hard to believe that the animators and writers had any critical concerns for historical accuracy (or even authenticity, arguably), primarily using medieval scandinavian/“viking” motifs more for aesthetics, there are, nonetheless, a couple of interesting points here that we can connect to history... sooooo hold my hand and fall with me into this rabbit hole i guess 👇 (i will continue this below just so this post isn’t too long on everyone’s dash)

Something about how his first instinct was to not only lower his guard by dropping his gaze, but to drop his dexterity too. It's also consistent with how he first dropped his knife at the beginning of the scene, and while it's definitely because his other hand was first occupied, it seems to carry through for the most iconic scene

To jump into the unknown with as much control as possible is one thing. To jump into the unknown completely vulnerable is another

To give up control is such a theme in almost all the httyd franchise. Letting and trusting your dragon, not taking control but following another's lead. I find it so fitting that even if not fully intentional, Hiccup's hand choice reflects his own principles in such a subtle way

Makes me emotional

Edit: woah this is still blowing up woah. Just to add yes obv it is a positioning thing for the actual scene, but I'd argue he could be approaching from the left instead to keep with his dominant hand

“A downed dragon is a dead dragon.”

—Gobber, httyd 1

We see, in the fight with the Red Death, that the riders use multiple tactics Gobber taught them to fight her.

Like seeing her shot limit:

Or testing her blind spots and disorienting her with noise:

But I think we forget just how important Gobber was when teaching these kids. His lessons killed the Red Death.

And it all comes from that line at the start. The fight with Hiccup & Toothless and the Red Death is great, we all love it, and I’m sure I’m not the first person to say this, but he went for the wings.

Hiccup used Gobber’s lessons not only to test the Red Death, but to finish her off.

We're often so focused on Toothless' stealth that we miss out on just how good a hideous zippleback is at being stealthy, whether it's Barf and Belch or a random one.

In the first movie, the stealth and sneakiness was introduced to be among the main qualities of this dragon during the arena training Gobber was conducting and I recall Fishlegs mentioning "Plus eleven stealth times two" when he got to the Hideous Zippleback.

Now, in the cartoon series, this very fact is shown quite clearly without ever outright mentioning it.

Notice how most of the time Barf and Belch are out of sight and we can sort of hear them chittering and growling but it's impossible to discern where their sounds are coming from. Because the spot we expect the sound to be coming from is often empty. This will take careful notice in the rewatches.

The more obvious cases which are easy to recall I am listing below:

First from very first movie. You all remember the arena scene and just how sneaky those two are. Besides that, remember the Dragon's Nest scene when Toothless was caught into the call while flying Hiccup and Astrid? There was a Zippleback that flew right next to them, it looked at them too and I remember it was the least easy to notice because it hadn't shown up loudly like the monstrous nightmares and nadder and wasn't heard as loudly like the gronckles . The rest of the acclimating dragons were pretty easy to hear and sense, not that zippleback till it quite literally flew next to them (there was another in the bg on their right side which was even more silent).

In the Twinsanity episode, all dragons were herded off the island to keep them hidden and safe while the Berserkers were visiting. Except Barf and Belch who were roaming free and out of supervision. But they were so good at hiding that despite running around all over the village, Dagur or his entarouge didn't even notice the dragon, they were good at not being noticed. Hiccup, Astrid and Toothless managed to keep the dragon out of Dagur's attention completely until they barged into the Great Hall themselves.

Then later, in episode 4 of DoB, I remember Tuffnut accidentally waking a wild zippleback. But that dragon was so silent that Tuffnut at first confused it for Barf and Belch. And then later confused his own dragon for a wild zippleback.

Then in A View to a Skrill pt.2, when Hiccup went out searching for tha twins and ended up on Outcast Island where he found that Alvin and Dagur had the Skrill, he didn't even notice that the twins were right next to him. Including Barf and Belch. Nobody saw these four till the outright jumped into the script.

Next, The Zippleback Experience. This entire episode is incredible in displaying the Zippleback's stealth. Barf and Belch were shadowing Hiccup and Toothless the entire episode without revealing themselves till last moment of each shenanigan. They managed to fill up his hut with fish with no one the visor, were always there but unseen, and managed to tail Hiccup while remaining hidden from him and then also followed him to rescue him when he got caught, again while remaining hidden from the kidnappers. All with the stealth skills attributed to it's species.

Hookfang's movements are loud, Stormfly spines getting raised amd her squawks are distinct and reveal her movements, Meatlugs hovering can be heard from anywhere. Even Toothless has his signature night fury screech when he dives and that lovely plasma load-up sound, even while night fury is among the stealthiest of dragons. Barf and Belch however? They make no noise in their movement unless they wanna explode stuff. Their heads are always slithering but you cannot hear them. And even when you do hear their light dragon sounds when they speak, it's impossible to pinpoint their location.

There's probably more such little moments scattered throughout but these are the ones I could recall at the top of my head.

You know what I love the most about Crushing it ? It's how much of a reverse parallel to How to pick your dragon it is.

First there is Stoick overall attitude towards flying a dragon.

In How to pick your dragon he is very much against it instead being dead set in traditions and the Viking way. He ignores every suggestion from Hiccup about the advantages it would give him and the village unless it is parroted back by Gobber.

In Crushing it, it is shown Stoick very much missed flying as he had made sure Thornado's saddle stayed shiny despite his friend being gone for three whole years.

He even said so when him and Hiccup were looking for the Rumblehorn: "Ah, it's good to be back up in the air again."

Then, once Hiccup did get on a dragon, Stoick basically took over Hiccup, riding Toothless in his place and cutting off his son when he tries to give direction to his friends leading to one of Hiccup's famous quip : "Can anybody even see me back here ?!"

In Crushing it, the opposite happens.

When Hiccup and Stoick arrived back on the Edge and are apprised of the current situation, Stoick, being Chief, immediately try to take charge. Except, this time, Hiccup is the one who cut him off and gives instructions to his friends while his father is caught by surprise.

Finally there is the way he behaves towards the dragon threat in each episode.

In How to pick your dragon, Stoick is so sure as to why the Thunderdrum is attacking their fishing ships while Hiccup thinks there maybe another reason and it's only when they discovered Thornado's injured friend they realised Hiccup had been the one who was right.

In Crushing it, it is Hiccup who is so sure of what the behaviour of the Rumblehorn means and that, he maybe forced to deal with him the old fashioned away while Stoick is the one who realised something doesn't add up and turns out to be proven right.

And, in the end he bonds with his two dragon friends because they all shared the same desire to protect what they hold dear at all cost.

I sat bolt upright a few nights ago and wrote this. Stay with me, because I think I’m onto something here!

Defenders of the Wing

The Grimborns are able to sneak onto the island and steal the Eruptodon with no one seeing them carrying a huge-ass dragon to their ship. There's no way that they did that without some kind of inside help. Throk is following Mala around, but he is captain of the guard (or at least second-in-command to Mala). He would have been capable of incapacitating the guards, or ensuring those loyal to him were 'on guard' at the right time. "There should be guards here," says Mala when they discover the Great Protector is missing – we never find out where they went. Likely they just abandoned their post or went with the Grimborns, on Throk's command.

The face of a guilty man

He wanted to be accepted obviously – "I just want to be one of you guys," but we never see him actively wanting to make an effort to change himself to conform to Berk's standards. He wanted to be accepted among his peers as himself, he had his own way of doing things that he refused to change or compromise on, (this is literally shown and stated be a standard behavior; it's why Stoick was so exasperated with him, why their relationship deteriorated as his childhood progressed!!)

It is the very reason everyone hated him so much. When he started doing well in training he was still unhappy because while he was using tricks he learned from interactions with Toothless, he still wasn't doing things the way he wanted, he was finally making Stoick proud but it was only by succeeding in a way expected of a viking of Berk and by working towards a goal he no longer desired to achieve.