Random Stuff

Sincerely,

Oh, and this time? The competition won't be so tough. We haven't had a suuuuper popular marvel movie in a while, Disney's not doing so well, Pixar isn't either, most of the stuff out there is live action, some indie or foreign and then there's Sony, but that's one studio. DreamWorks has been on a roll lately, and as long as they don't schedule a release close to something that's got a lot of hype for it already (like Frozen 3... or 4... or Toy Story 5), they should do well. And if they don't announce a release date too soon, they a) shouldn't be in a rush to finish the movie and b) could move the release date if they discover there's competition without it damaging the momentum, while maybe teasing a little something to keep audiences interested. $306,941,670 was the first movie's box office number, and I think had it received better marketing and it wasn't released in the same year as Avengers, Hunger Games, Dark Knight Rises, Skyfall, Wreck it Ralph, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Brave, Life of Pi, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Hotel Transylvania, The Lorax (whether or not you liked it, that think was popular and though it made similar numbers, it only cost 70 mil), Madagascar 3, we also got Finding Nemo in 3D, it would've done pretty well. I mean, it was in Cinemas at the same time as an Ice Age sequel, a Disney Pixar movie (Brave, which okay, also only made around 300 mil), a Pixar movie (Wreck it Ralph) and Hotel Transylvania. Maybe not massively so, but it wouldn't have flopped. Bluesky is no longer a studio, Sony's latest release went straight to streaming, Disney and Pixar aren't doing so well with audiences and critics anymore... So if they have a good enough story (it definitely doesn't have to be perfect for it to make money), great visuals (DreamWorks tends to have those), and great music (what are the chances it won't have those?)... it'll be a hit.

However, a 2D/3D series might be a better idea. Sure, it'd take time, but you could do more with it outside of the constraints of a movie and it would stand out from their other series, especially if done in 2D (I mean Disney managed to translate the characters of Tangled into 2D pretty well for Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure. And in 2D they'd have less excuses to draw Pitch in something as flat and dull as the movie robe. More importantly, making it a series, rather than a movie would allow to go more in depth on all of the characters instead of mostly focusing on one. And you could do a proper arc better this way, especially one that takes weeks, months or even years for a character to undertake. A redemption for Pitch is bound to take some time and it'd be more realistic for it to happen over the course of a series.

You cold air a pilot for it, even in cinemas, which could be longer, maybe even movie-length and then have the rest of the series be on streaming. Since everything is on streaming.

Plus, I don't buy for a second that after the first movie ended things were just a-okay between the Guardians or for Jack, etc. and I think the conflicts among them would take more time too... plus, like, Jack spent 300 years alone, and Jack and Bunny seemed to have serious beef under all that comedy... I don't think the movie would've been the last time they butted heads, or would've resolved any complexes and problems Jack developed after 300 years of isolation. Also, yes, we have the books, but the books aren't the movie, none of the characters are like they are in the books, therefore that tells me that the movie characters probably have very different backstories and whatnot else, and I think that could be interesting to explore.

I doubt that these are the only spirits out there — like, we have 6 spirits, but so many more cultures and countries. I refuse to believe every country and culture in this version of our world believes in just the Guardians, never mind just the ones we meet (if there are any others that just... for whatever reason... weren't available, idk.)

I'd definitely want a sequel, but I'd rather it be a series. I could settle for a movie though, as long as my favourites were all there.

^ e.g., one of my favorite shots from forbidden friendship. in the original, both toothless and hiccup are positioned close to the center of the frame. there's a gap between them, which may seem like a small detail but it's one that means a lot i think. the gorgeous pink sky is behind them, while the surrounding cliffs and trees frame them. toothless' perked ear plates are fully visible, allowing the audience to get a better idea of the curiosity he's feeling. his wings are also cleverly hidden/tucked away behind his back, giving him an incredibly strong silhouette.

compare that to the live action version. hiccup is centered, with toothless close beside him - parts of his left wing and leg are literally behind hiccup. instead of them being against the sky with the cliffs and trees framing them, the cliffs/trees are directly behind them. the entire thing is more zoomed in, leading to things like toothless' ear plates being mostly out of the frame. toothless' silhouette also isn't as strong with his wings visible like that.

Also, in the LA that shot just brings all of Toothless' redesign flaws to the forefront. That head looks bumpier, more swollen, possibly closer to thw's design than it should have been... and the increased illumination does Toothless' weird re-texturing no favours.

[Clarification; yes = yea, that's a choice & no = that's rather tame/vanilla pick]

[If you'd like to submit a character, please send it over here to the askbox]

What do I care if it's a shot-for-shot remake? I might as well watch the original animated movie.

What do I care if it's added a few 'interesting' scenes? There are EIGHT whole animated SEASONS that expand on both the characters and dragons. The movie is simply an introduction to who's who

Anyways, I have a lot of grievances about the movie, in slightly haphazard order:

I still remember this one shot at the start (!!) where a viking tells Hiccup "get out of the way" but you can see that the guy is just lingering on the path. The og scene of Hiccup rushing through the crowd works bcs multiple people pass by him, but the LA just has him almost run into TWO people 🙃 ig Berk isn't actually in chaos every time a dragon attack happens

I cannot get over the fact that they call dragon training the "trial of Fire/flame" or whatever. And the winner is the "Top Slayer" like ??? It lowkey sounds like they're gonna announce Berk's next top model or smth 💀

The Twins being older.... why... they're clearly the comic relief in both the movies and series, there's no reason to make them seem like they're actually dumb

Toothless's design is so fucked. His scales are blue-grey instead of stark black, his eyes are neon green and they stay in an almost cute wide-pupil look instead of ever changing to the thin slits he gets when he's frightened or threatening

Idk if it's just the pirated version I found, but the lighting feels so off in so many scenes. As if they prioritised making it realistic, rather than setting the mood. The one I remember best is when they're first going against Stormfly and Snotlout tries throwing his hammer and misses. The joke ("the sun was in my eyes") originally played into the fact that the animated arena was completely shadowed so Snotlout was obviously just making excuses. In the LA, the entire arena was sunny, so it seems less like an excuse and more of a legit reason

^ speaking of that first Deadly Nadder scene - in the OG, the scene lingers on Stormfly to show you that she's laughing at Snotlout's missed throw. The LA (iirc) doesn't have that bcs dragons have no personality ig

the camera angles are actually so bad. Not only are the reveal/realisation shots almost completely gone, but it just makes the cut to their faces strange enough. Iirc, the camera chose to focus Hiccup's face rather than changing the shot to show Stoick's reaction (in the disowning scene).

^ the scene with Hiccup and Toothless are the worst. First, the reveal of Toothless at the cove has him shooting up from the side of the screen instead of the centre (ruined any shock/surprise value too). Second, the Forbidden Friendship/drawing scene where it starts with Hiccup and Toothless clearly apart as Toothless watches him draw; the LA puts Hiccup front and centre, not even bothering to show the clear distance between him and Toothless at the start

The LA removed the "not so fireproof on the inside" scene with the Terrible Terrors so ig Hiccup is just super duper smart to be able to figure out that the best way to defeat the Red Death is shooting into its mouth 🙃

I don't really care too much about Astrid wanting to be chief (i don't like it, but i think it could still play into her ultimate aim to protect the village), but why are they treating the Chief's house like it's the damn White House that every chief moves into and not like it's just the house that the current chief lives in???

in the og, when Toothless frightens Astrid on their flight, he did it bcs Astrid pushed Hiccup down and was distrustful of Hiccup. So Toothless only chills out with the crazy stunts once Astrid apologises to Hiccup. In the LA, Astrid apologises to Toothless directly. My boy doesn't gaf what you said about him, he didn't like that you hurt his best friend!!

^ in the og ending, Toothless only reveals Hiccup once Stoick apologises. In the LA, he just lingers and watches Stoick almost cry before revealing him. It just downplayed Toothless's emotional intelligence that both Astrid and Stoick have to make a deliberate show of apologising before Toothless recognises that they mean it

Astrid called the Red Death the alpha dragon, which is another ??? Bcs how did she even know what an "alpha" is?? Berk has only been shown to have sheep. Is there an alpha sheep out there??

Hiccup wanting Astrid to stay out of the arena, not bcs he wants her to make sure Toothless is safe, but bcs he doesn't want her to lose his dad's respect. Why don't they just say they hate Toothless and Hiccup's relationship?

^ AND ANOTHER THING: Toothless literally risked running into the arena to protect Hiccup, but then he fucking separates from Hiccup??? In the og, he stayed in front of Hiccup to protect him, not ran into the crowd to mindlessly throw down the vikings!!

ONE LAST THING: It really just fucking downplays how much Toothless and Hiccup love each other when Stormfly could break the mind control hold (smth that only the Bewilderbeast is specified to have btw) for Astrid in the first movie !!!!!!!

Comedic timing? Gone. Dramatic timing? Gone. Musical timing? Gone!

The script feels dumbed down. It's not as tight. It's not as witty. It's just... meh.

The actors are spitting out their lines without leaving any room to breathe. It's giving... high school theatre production

The one change I wanted to see --showing Hiccup's stump at the end instead of magicking him a fitting and functional prosthetic-- was not done :(

They made Toothless's eyes too pretty. He's a nocturnal predator for God's sake give him back his slit pupils!

The "tense scenes" just aren't as tense. There's not enough time for things to build up before they get resolved.

If you're gonna re-hire the composer, let him actually compose instead of just slapping on a generically re-orchestrated copy of the first movie's score with zero regard to timings or things lining up

Like, this doesn't sound like HTTYD anymore. Where's the subtlety in the orchestration? The swells and drops that are perfectly timed with the visuals? This is NOT every film composer's favorite film score. What have you done with it?

The "Not So Fireproof" scene was omitted, which removed a"breather" in the pacing and also some very important foreshadowing for the final battle.

And the worst crime of all, THEY MADE GOBBER UN-FUNNY. HOW DARE THEY.

In conclusion: Dreamworks should've just re-released the original in theaters to generate hype/income without massacre-ing my boy

evidence:

"Their world is changing radically, but the movie is about how nothing can come between their bond. I think people can see their own relationships in that bond."

thw: lol. lmao.

"Turns out peace is actually hard work, but, you know--we Vikings wouldn't have it any other way.

--Written by HICCUP and TOOTHLESS helped too!"

*looks at thw* i guess it actually WAS too much hard work, even for the vikings.....

"But she was also conceived to challenge Hiccup's belief in the coexistence of dragons and humans, by representing segregation in order to keep dragons safe."

I'm not so sure segregation ever worked for the humans (if anything isolationism only breeds more hatred and misunderstanding because no one gets to know each other, so all they have is their assumptions and prejudices to go off of), so why does anyone think it'll keep dragon safe? At best, you're pandering to the people who loathe dragons and resist change at all costs.

At worst? You're further endangering the dragons by shoving them into an ecosystem they existed outside of for a very long time, that they likely no longer fit into, that they'll no doubt overcrowd, and create competition in and probably bring diseases and stuff the local dragons might not be prepared for. It also keeps dragons as inferior, as you're sending the message of, "we'd rather stop fighting than allow dragons to roam the earth freely".

I don't think most people who fight for animal rights or the environment would just give up because the going got tough, or that they'd think 100% isolation from humans was the way to go. Besides, you can't watch over and make sure that the dragons are safe if you're miles and miles away from them with no way of seeing what's happening over there. What if some dragon hunters found the hidden world all on their lonesome and were now able to go on a killing rampage without the assistance of humans in stopping them? Dragons are tough, but if some pathetic nobody like Grimmel can somehow kill all the night furies ("the unholy offspring of lightning and death itself"), then what could an actually intelligent and competent hunter do (you know, one for which they didn't have to dumb down the entire gang)? And since all the dragons are stuck in one place, that reduces their chances of survival, and if they escape, you'll see this giant hoard of dragons escaping, and that'll call back attention to them. And, the hidden world being cavernous and full of tunnels, there are plenty of places in there, I'm sure, that are tight and make it harder for dragons to fight or to flee.

The hidden world is safe as long as no one finds it... but that's just the thing. Humans have found a lot in their time, even if that still means barely scratching the surface of the planet they live on. And something as stand out as the hidden world? Well, it would be desecrated by the end of the 20th century, with the dragons going by the way of the sea cow or the great auk. Remember, humans have found ways of killing some of the biggest animals on this planet. They've also found ways of getting into environments humans were not made for — like hundreds of miles under the sea — and found cave systems they shouldn't have wandered upon with mixed results. (Some of them occasionally deadly to them.) They have a bad, well-recorded habit of being where they shouldn't be, doing what they shouldn't do. And a lack of information doesn't help. If anything, Hiccup should be a diplomat, and an informant, helping people to get to know dragons, because that's the only way you're going to get widespread interest in dragon conservation. Otherwise, these rando humans with no info and no laws or expectations stopping them are gonna blow up that cave system the way they blew up coral reefs.

Also, Valka representing segregation is something she should've gotten past when she saw her son managed to change Berk's mind... and, had she seen some of the people in the RoB, DoB and RTTE series, complete segregation would've felt stupid to her too. There were plenty of groups of people who have befriended and worked alongside dragons.

Besides, everyone knows vikings are stubborn, I can't believe anyone just gave up on their dragons and them being able to fight for their right to coexist — Hiccup literally said "we're vikings, we have stubbornness issues" in the first movie — so them all just caving to it because "peace is actually hard work" (and the other reasons that don't stand up to scrutiny) smells of yak dung.

Yeah, peace IS hard work. That hasn't stopped us from participating in wars to get peace back. (Kinda' ironic, but in countries' defense the attacking country started it! Okay, no, that's not the take away we should be getting from this, and I'm sure Hiccup could do it with less bloodshed, because he's more of a pacifist than most world leaders... but also because I'm pretty sure vikings didn't invent the atomic bomb. I mean, I'm no history buff, but...) People have fought for decades and even centuries for equality and basic rights. They've toppled kingdoms, fought empires, murdered monarchs and went to great lengths to get every widely-acknowledged right they have now. They've made discoveries, created inventions, made leaps and bounds in science, and it's taken centuries because anything truly worth having is worth the effort and sacrifice it takes.

But still, wtf, that animation still holds up and remaking it will probably warp the framing of both sides in conflicts presented in the OG movie, and take the epicness out of it.

Let’s get these Queens into the Cinemas

If we as Fans can bring the Soundtrack of this cinematic masterpiece on the first place of the charts in just days then we can also bring this to theaters. It deserves to be shown on the big screen cause it’s bold, it’s unique and absolutely beautiful. Repost this, share with everyone! We need Netflix and Sony Animation to know that we want to see these divas on the big screens of the world.

My Girls Ruffnut & Mira

So the Monstrous Nightmare's live action design is a design I'm sorta okay with, with some slight comments on what they could have done to improve it.

Like I did for the Gronkle, I compared the live action film's design to the How To Train Your Dragon Live Spectacular's design for the Monstrous Nightmare. And to be honest they are very similar to the point it looks like they just straight up used the live performance design, and only tweaked a few things.

But as for the why I'm okay with it's design. It's kinda basic and bland, feels like your stereotypically dragon. Which is why I personal think it works. So the Monstrous Nightmare has always been intended to represent your typical dragon you would see in western mythology and media. This is most evident by it's book depiction with it's either green, red, and occasionally purple coloration. Heck, even the Live Performance seems to have resorted to give in front legs again, making it look more like your standard dragon. So yeah, I think the Nightmare looking kinda basic in the live film works. If you disagree with me feel free to comment why down below.

Now as for some stuff that could have improved the design. I feel like they could have given the Nightmare a more alligator-like face and eyes, which would match up closer with the original film's design. I also think it's back spines could have been a bit more thick and sail-like as well. I also feel like they could have given the Nightmare it's large sharp teeth like it had in the original film. It would have worked well with the name Hookfang. Written By Eris

It is:

a) very specifically a dragon with a wyvern build. Which means that its front legs are also its wings.

b) Crocodile/alligator eyes are still very much side facing. A Monstrous' Nightmare's eyes are front-facing.

Notice also that the way they are slightly above the rest of the face except maybe the horns remind more of mudskipper eyes:

Though admittedly, mudskippers don't have their eyes turn into slits, the way alligators though. However, alligators aren't the only one's whose pupils narrow like that. Look at cats:

Given that cats also lent these dragons some of their mannerism — their occasionally anti-social seeming personality, their aloofness, the way they're misunderstood, a love for fish, chasing lights/shiny things, nip (except it's called dragon nip instead of catnip)... and their eyes are forward facing, and dragons hunt when it's darker out... it's a shame that instead they doggified and basic-dragonified these dragons.

Furthermore, the jaw at the middle part rounds out to look broader than it does closer to the back/top of neck, instead of with the LA where it does so at the back...

Also, I'm pretty sure the spines on the animated HTTYD nightmare are supposed to remind of flames, not necessarily of a sail. Look at the way they curve and spike out, like how someone might draw flames.

This gives it an outward representation of what kind of dragon it is: a stoker class, fire-breather that can set itself on fire.

Also, Monstours Nightmares have longer teeth than a basic dragon (or an alligator). Particularly two, almost tusk like teeth on it's bottom jaw that jut out more. It gives them personality, in a way, because it makes them look more "monstrous", sort of like some of the deep sea fish (except the top row isn't as long):

Dragons also seem to prefer eating fish (discounting the red death to which they took all the sheep and whatnot, though they do also indulge in cannibalism, I believe), for which those awkward looking long, sharp, thin teeth are better suited than the standard dragon teeth we see in western dragons and alligators.

Adult gators feed on a much bigger variety of food, which include fish, but are not limited to them. But also, their top and bottom teeth are similarly sized.

Hookfang, and Monstrous Nightmares in general only look like your stereotypical dragon design if you don't pay much attention to them.

But the western standard, basic dragon looks more like this:

(four legs, two wings, tail, simple colouration, typically red).

And Hookfang looks more like Smaug (albeit western, he has a more wyvern build):

Except he's stripy, which gives more variety to his colouration, but also lends to the fieriness, because now he looks like charred stuff and flames.

Also, it's just visually more interesting, without going overboard.

Also, he has horns like a gazelle or an impala:

Which also weirdly makes Monstrous Nightmares feel just a smidgen more like prey animals and lends itself to the whole "and we've killed thousands of them" argument.

Except, live-action monstrous nightmares don't have the pronounced, almost serrated looking rings around their horns. Instead their chunkier, bumpier... and barely look like horns.

Also, despite me using Smaug as an example, neither Smaug nor alligators have the mouth shape you want for a Monstrous Nightmare.

Additionally, I'm noticing that his feet are off.

Those claws are supposed to spread out more, which allows for better grip. Instead we get a wyvern who looks heavier, with its weight less spread out, with all of it's claws looking like that one big raptor like claw raptor dinos have, but their all dragged over the floor. Having fire, Monstrous Nightmares don't really need their claws for serious damage, but grip is useful.

Also, look at the wings of the la monstrous nightmare. See how useless those claws attached to the ends are? What's that even for? They can't use that to fight — they need those parts of their wings to be unharmed for flight — and it's not going to be useful for grip, because they with their massive jaws, they clearly prefer to attack from the front, but also even if not... how is that going to give them any better grip? They already have those front spikes for that. It just makes them look less evolved, because it gives away more clearly the fact that these used to be their forelimbs.

(Which, okay, would be fine, if this wasn't supposed to be the monstrous nightmare, but rather it's ancestor, but as far as we're aware, this isn't an ancestral dragon, but a monstrous nightmare, and, specifically, Hookfang.)

I could maybe have given a redesign a pass, if it made Hookfang's teeth look even more hook-like. But that didn't happen either.

Also, they straight up gave Hookfang Zippleback spikes.

Okay, not quite, they're thinner and longer, but...

Anyway, I don't think it's a bad design, I just think it's a bad design for the movie it's in, especially given that we're watching the movie to see these specific characters with specific traits which are also represented outwardly through their physical appearance.

The purpose of no dragon in this was to be "standard dragon". Animated movies capitalize on the privilege of not being forced to conform to expectations by creating authentic, stand out designs, and no matter how much Hookfang's colouration or Wyvern base build might imply it, not even Monstrous Nightmares are supposed to just the standard dragon designs.

Besides, standard dragon design means little in the 21st century — heck, it meant little in any other century, because dragons have always come in all kinds of shapes... even if the most common one looked kind of like the dragon on the flag of Wales.