Four years ago, the first How to Train Your Dragon film was something of a surprise success. Very loosely based on the children’s book series by Cressida Cowell (and I’m serious about “very loosely;” I almost had a fit when I saw the initial trailers and dragons were the enemy and Toothless was big enough to ride), the first film used its unique setting and tone, along with some brilliant storycrafting and a solid voice cast to stand out from its competition, winning over critics and audiences alike. It was a story full of heart and humor, with the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless at the center, as they fight to change the traditions and prejudices of their land. We return once again to the Viking village of Berk in How to Train Your Dragon 2, a sequel that is bigger in nearly every way, but which perhaps is not the better for it.
For those who haven’t seen the news, it’s been revealed that How to Train Your Dragon 2 will feature one of the characters from the first film coming out as gay. In an interview with E! Online, the film’s director, Dean DeBlois, explained that one character will be coming out and told the interviewer which character that was. (I’m not going to spoil that here, but if you want to read the interview which does spoil it, you can find it here.) The moment comes as an offhand comment, ad-libbed by the character’s voice actor, and was not a part of DeBlois’ original script, however the openly gay DeBlois said, “I think that’s a really fun [and] daring move to put in.”
Welcome to “Trailer Tuesday” where I talk about trailers for upcoming movies, since I’ve always found them to be endlessly fascinating.
2010’s How to Train Your Dragon was something of a surprise hit, making almost half a billion dollars at the box office and getting a couple of Oscar nominations, so a sequel was inevitable (especially when you consider the success of the TV show spinoff). The first film, very very loosely inspired by the book series by Cressida Cowell, was a fun, funny beautifully animated film, whose plot may not have been overly interesting but which had a firm anchor in the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless. The new trailer for How to Train Your Dragon 2, highlights that relationship, while trying to amp up the story and show off the visuals. Take a look below and read on for my thoughts:
The Love Pirate 