I love How to Train Your Dragon, as you can tell from one of my most popular articles of all time: How to Train Your Dragon vs. Avatar. My kids love watching this movie, and so I’ve seen it more than a dozen times now. And after all those viewings I still discover new things to love about it. I would like to share 10 details that I think are really interesting but can be hard to spot in How to Train Your Dragon. I hope these will add to your appreciation of this wonderful film.
1. The Eye
When the camera pans across Toothless’ body for the first time when he’s tied up in front of Hiccup, for a split-second we see his eye closed, but then his wing passes in front of it, and when we see the eye again it’s open and staring at Hiccup. It’s a really cool moment that apparently was an accident in the animation process, but the filmmakers kept it because it was so creepy. This is an example of excellent visual storytelling. It gives us some insight into Toothless’ character without anyone having to say a word.
2. “I Did This”
Both Hiccup and his father Stoick say “I did this” when they find Toothless lying in a state of semi-consciousness. When they say those words, they also don’t yet realize that their actions have caused Toothless/Hiccup to be forever maimed. This little moment is easy to miss because both characters whisper the line softly. Turn on your subtitles if you have trouble hearing it.
3. Moving Images
When Hiccup first reads some of the pages in the “Dragon Handbook” on a dark, stormy night, the images are all static, as they should be. But a flash of lightning disrupts him halfway through, and when he warily returns to the morbid task of reading about dragons’ abilities to kill people, suddenly the images start moving. It’s so subtle that I didn’t notice it for the longest time. It adds an extra dimension to the scene, though, allowing us to not only see what Hiccup is seeing but experience the fear that is gripping him.
4. Candle Flicker
I have great respect for animators who are able to add realistic details that might go unnoticed but nevertheless immerse viewers in the world they have created. I’m sure that candles are incredibly hard to pull off because they’re such small things, but they are affected by even the smallest breeze. During the “Dragon Handbook” scene, Hiccup has two candles near him that react when he opens the book cover and when a door bursts open and lets in a gust of wind. However, they don’t react at one moment when Hiccup turns a page, with the same swiftness as he did the cover. The rest of the candlelight in that scene is brilliant, but watch for that moment when it doesn’t react as it should.
5. The Hippo Tribute
When Toothless takes Hiccup and Astrid to the Dragon Queen’s lair, we see a bunch of other dragons carrying food with them. One is holding a dead hippopotamus – the same one from the Madagascar films. That’s pretty funny. I wasn’t impressed at all by the first Madagascar, so I didn’t see the sequels. I thought this brief cameo in How to Train Your Dragon was a clever way for DreamWorks Animation to say that it’s finished making terrible films, and it’s going to focus on making high-quality ones. Alas, two years later they came out with another Madagascar movie, so I guess I was wrong. But for all I know the third one is great. Let’s hope.
6. Gobber the Swift
Gobber is an affable character who has a missing hand and leg. When Hiccup prepares to enter the Kill Ring to fight the Monstrous Nightmare, Gobber is at his side, and he says, “It’s time, Hiccup. Knock ‘em dead.” He then closes the gate behind Hiccup. About 10 seconds pass as Hiccup walks to the center of the ring and grabs a shield and knife off a weapon rack. Suddenly we cut to Stoick, who is in the stands on the opposite side of the ring from where Hiccup entered, and he turns to Gobber and says, “I would’ve gone with the hammer.” But wait, how did Gobber get across the ring and up into the stands behind Stoick in just a few seconds? He’s not exactly a sprinter with his peg leg and heavyset figure. I didn’t know the Vikings mastered both shipbuilding and teleportation.
7. “So Why Didn’t You?”
Hiccup and Toothless are the same character. Toothless is different than all the other dragons because he doesn’t steal food and he’s never seen. Hiccup is different than all the other Vikings because he is a light eater and he’s always told to get out of sight because he causes so much trouble everywhere he goes. Toothless refuses to kill Hiccup, even though any other dragon would have done so given the opportunity, and he suffers the loss of part of his tail. Hiccup refuses to kill Toothless, even though any other Viking would have done so given the opportunity, and he suffers the loss of his foot. After being told that dragons will always try to kill him, Hiccup asks Toothless, “So why didn’t you?” And later he is asked the same question about why he didn’t kill Toothless. Neither could because they’re not monsters.
8. The Disappearing Tail
When the Vikings’ boats land on Helheim’s Gate (the dragons’ island) Stoick takes a long look at the face of the mountain. For a moment we catch a glimpse of a red dragon tail before it scurries out of sight. It’s enough to convince Stoick that he’s come to the right place, but I failed to notice it until recently. Very nice touch.
9. Fire and Water Don’t Mix
Have you ever wondered why Toothless and Hiccup don’t immediately attack the Dragon Queen after they take to the air in the thrilling climax? It’s because the filmmakers were extremely careful to follow the rules they set up earlier in the film. During dragon training, Gobber noted, “A wet dragon head can’t light its fire.” And Toothless had just spent a minute underwater, so he has to fly around for a bit to dry off before he can be of any use as a fire-breather. I love this dedication to continuity.
10. Hiccup the Dragonslayer
Throughout the film, Hiccup vehemently declares he can’t kill dragons while Stoick and other Vikings boast about all the dragons they’ve killed and plan to kill. Ironically, Hiccup is the only Viking we actually see kill a dragon in the whole movie. Stoick punches some dragons and throws things at them, but he never kills one. It’s his pacifist son who is responsible for ending the Queen Dragon’s reign of terror. I don’t know if the filmmakers intended that to be so ironic, but I find it intriguing that a character has to violate his conscience to save his people. Dramatic stuff.
Let me know if you have noticed any other cool details in How to Train Your Dragon that I didn’t include in this list. I’m sure there are even more things that make this a truly great movie that warrants close inspection.
This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.
All images from How to Train Your Dragon are the copyright of DreamWorks Animation.
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Ah, this one’s been in my top 10 since the minute I saw it. And I love that my five year old loves it so much. So many excuses to watch it.
But on a more problematic note, what are your thoughts on Tron Legacy?
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This movie works so well for children and adults, it’s a truly special film. Thank you for sharing. My kids call Toothless “kitty” because of his big, catlike eyes. 🙂
I like Tron Legacy, even though I do recognize it has flaws. I appreciate the attempt at making a good follow-up to the classic Tron I grew up with. I don’t like that Flynn’s character has mellowed so much with age, and that Tron himself is barely in the movie, nor did I particularly empathize with Flynn’s son or CLU.
But the music is fantastic. I love listening to the soundtrack even more than the one from the first film. The story keeps me engaged throughout and has nice pauses between action sequences to let the characters talk and have some nice moments together. The visuals are stunningly beautiful, of course, too.
There’s a lot to like about Tron Legacy. It’s not a movie that I would want to watch all the time, like How to Train Your Dragon, but it’s a nice addition to the Tron film series. I wrote a bit more extensively about it in an article entitled Tron Legacy vs. The Dark Crystal last year. Maybe you’d find that one interesting, as well.
Thanks again for your comment. Have a great day! 🙂
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Agreed on Tron Legacy – the soundtrack has been my constant companion for months. Love it. Haven’t seen The Dark Crystal, but will check the post. I’ve been quite interested in comparing Tron: Legacy and Prometheus, which is another flawed film I can watch over and over. Empirically, they’re both about the parent / child relationship and how obsession, ambition and the drive to create without full appreciation of consequence play out over time. Ok, off to listen to Daft Punk some more 🙂
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This was epic the best I watched the movie again and saw some of those things
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I watched the movie again and saw some of those things
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Ok so, in HTTYD Astrid says to Hiccup after Stoick took Toothless, “But first to ride one.” (She is referring to a dragon.) What I feel what is wrong with this is that in HTTYD 2 Hiccup’s mom, Valka is introduced to us. It shows that when Hiccup was a baby, Valka was taken by a Stormcutter. (Cloudjumper.) But Toothless and Hiccup came together when they were both around 15. So in the 15 years Valka was with dragons, she probably rode a dragon. So Valka was probably the first to ride a dragon.
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I noticed the same thing. I think the creators of HTTYD weren’t planning on making a second or third movie (when making the first movie). If you look at movie 1, versus movie 2, you might realize the scenes are much cleaner and better looking in Movie 2. This means that it was a while (about 4 years) before the creators even thought of making a second movie. My point is when Astrid says, “But the first to ride one” (and my siblings and I say this) “That they know of”, meaning the adults thought Valka was dead, and their children were too young to remember that fateful night. Therefore, they only knew that Hiccup could right a dragon because he was the only one brave enough to do it in the first place. Does this answer your question?
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in the intro (boy with fishing pole on the cresent moon) you see a silhouette of the night fury
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I forgot to mention that one. Thanks for pointing it out. 🙂
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blink and you’ll miss it but When stoick and the men are loading toothless onto the ships from Berk, the village elder gothi, is standing next to two kids in one shot, those two kids are actually younger models of hiccup and Astrid, their hair colors are different but its them!
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yo si me había dado cuenta de todo eso y tengo 12 años
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Que bueno! Tu eres muy inteligente. Gracias por decirme. Ten un buen dia.
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There is another example of animators strictly following their own rules. On the first training day we see a brief moment of Gronkle swallowing several stones. It’s because the stones are needed for shooting fireballs and it’s explained in one of the accompanying mini-movies.
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I had no idea about that detail. Thanks for pointing it out. That’s so cool all the rules that they set up and followed perfectly throughout the film. It’s simply perfect entertainment.
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On the contrary of the statement a wet dragon head cant make the fire,we already seen throughout the series that toothless and other dragons firing underwater.
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in the very beginning of the movie at about 20 seconds in, it shows night fury flying across the sky from the right side of the screen at the same height as the boy sitting on the moon. look carefully
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i fell in love with the movie, with toothless the very first time i watched it and after that i watched it about 12 times in 2 days xD im seriously obsessed 0_O… i even kinda got emotional when it was over because i kinda compared myself to both toothless and hiccup… im just like the both of them. extremely playful, i dont really have any friends (like hiccup he sits alone); and like toothless im alone (stuck at raven point) toothless means the world to me.
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I appreciate you sharing your feelings about this movie. I was lonely as a kid, too. I was socially awkward and I stuttered a lot, so I was picked on and tended to keep to myself at school. I found an outlet for my emotions in writing and running.
Hiccup and Toothless recalled some of those memories in me, too. It’s wonderful to see how much they both need each other, especially in the end. Their emotional bond is perfectly captured by the physical connection they share of having a permanent injury that is only healed when they are together. I love that no one else could put the harness on Toothless at the end. Gobber had to give that task to Hiccup because he’s the only one who Toothless will allow to take the reins and fly with him. Beautiful stuff.
I’m sorry you don’t have friends. I know how that feels. I felt Hiccup’s pain when he sat by himself in the dining hall and was ostracized by his peers. I’ve been there. The way to overcome loneliness and not let it be your fate is to do what Hiccup did and be kind, no matter what the circumstances may be. If you’re willing to treat even your enemy with kindness, you will find yourself becoming the kind of person everyone will want to be friends with. I’ve discovered that to be true. I wanted so badly to have friends when I was a kid, so I worked on being nice and years later I have no problem building lasting friendships with people. It just takes commitment and time. No pet dragon required. 🙂
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Thank you for pointing that one out. I definitely should have mentioned that one in the article. It’s a subtle detail, but it’s worth mentioning.
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Throughout the movie we see that nearly all of the Vikings are left-handed, including Hiccup. You can notice this when Hiccup is drawing, and when the Vikings are on Dragon Island and Gobber has just shouted “We’ve done it!” Most of the Vikings cheer with their left hand in the air. That’s comforting as a leftie myself!
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I never noticed that! I’m a rightie, so maybe that’s why. That is so amazing how we can watch this movie a hundred times and still find cool details like this that we never noticed before. Thank you for pointing that out. 🙂
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I find this particularly cool because in one of the books, Hiccup realizes that he is left handed, and he was so bad at swordplay before because he was trying to use his right hand. Nice to see them paying respect to the source material. 🙂
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It’s actually not Gobber saying ‘we’ve done it’. It’s Spitelout. I know that because David Tennant did the voice, and he’s my favorite actor. He also did a audio book for the httyd book version.
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Hiccup uses his left foot to control Toothless’ tail too!
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I am an Astrid lover myself and love that she has a little bit of a soft side. I find it funny though that Astrid wears a necklace of bird skulls!
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Really interesting stuff. Here are some other cool details from the film you may have missed.
*In the forbidden friendship scene, Hiccup draws Toothless’ head, and then Toothless makes his own drawing. Look carefully at Toothless’ drawing and you’ll see it vaguely resembles Hiccup’s head.
*Just how long was Hiccup unconscious for? I assume it would have to be at least a month for Berk to completely transform itself, yet when Hiccup walks out to the New Berk, look at Toothless’ face – he also looks surprised. What, was Toothless with Hiccup the whole time he was out?
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I never understood exactly what Toothless was drawing. That’s awesome! I’ll have to look for that next time.
It does seem a little odd to me that Hiccup isn’t dying of hunger or thirst when he wakes up. Yeah, Toothless definitely wasn’t indoors the whole time because at the end the villagers say, “Night Fury! Get down!” as though it’s now become a common occurrence for him to playfully jump on their shoulders. Interesting little inconsistency there. Oh well. At that point, the film has me so enchanted I’ll buy anything.
Thank you for your insightful comment. 🙂
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I have heard of people who are sick waking into a semi-consciousness periodically and being helped to eat and drink without even opening their eyes sometimes. Usually they can’t remember this. This may explain how he doesn’t appear largely dehydrated after he wakes up. My guess for how long between the end of the battle and Hiccup waking on Berk would be about a week, maybe more.
1. The ash storm alone created by the red death exploding may have lasted for a half hour. (Note: All the Vikings on the other side of the island have time to walk back and collect in a crowd.)
2. All of their ships were burnt by the Red Death. So they either had to build a ship by hand or use the dragons to retrieve one of the ships captured by the dragons. This could have taken a day or maybe even two. (They have a lot of vikings to help.)
3. Gobber had time to recreate Toothless’ tail (which he had never seen close up) out of Hiccup’s drawings (with a stirrup for Hiccup’s new foot) and also create a complicated, custom-made prosthetic foot for Hiccup. (most Vikings just go with a wooden peg.)
4. Berk had enough time to invite dragons into their homes and get used to the idea.
5. Hiccup’s bed had been moved to the first floor of the house, probably to keep a better eye on him.
6. When Hiccup walks on his new foot he appears to have minimal pain so it must have almost completely healed.
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I’ve noticed two separate things.
Astrid seems to feel something for Hiccup: After the dragon attack in the beginning of the movie, when Snoutlout and the twins are making fun of Hiccup, and even Fishlegs chuckles in agreement, Astrid does not join in; she looks a little sad. Later, when Gobber asks “where did Hiccup go wrong”, the teens make fun of Hiccup, but Astrid makes a thoughtful, helpful comment while looking sternly at Hiccup, as if she was interested in helping him. She is also the only one to notice that Hiccup has left his roasted fish (“a maimed dragon, is a dead dragon”) and she seems to be curious as to where he has gone.
I see these as some evidence that she may have liked Hiccup, even if she dismissed him as a failure; so later, during “romantic flight”, it was not so very surprising when she hugged him while smiling, probably thinking “I knew there was something special about you”.
I also noticed three occasions when Stoick’s knees buckled: When Stoick was charging at Toothless, Toothless pinned him down in a flash (pretty cool, considering Stoick could easily defeat a Monstrous Nightmare), Toothless was about to blast Stoick- Stoick looked really scared (you may have to pause it to see it), and when Stoick was rescued, he stumbled and needed support.
The second time was after Stoick told Hiccup “you’re not my son” and he slammed the doors to the hall, he stumbled back momentarily and his face looked faint.
The third time was when Stoick was shouting for Hiccup after the crash of the Green Death. When he saw Toothless in a heap and the saddle destroyed, Stoick fell to his knees and his voice was very faint “son…. I did this…”
I found it very touching that this giant of a man, the toughest, sourest, meanest Viking, was made to look very human, very vulnerable, and to have a real soft spot for his misfit son.
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I love that point you made about Astrid’s feelings for Hiccup developing over the course of the film and not just suddenly materializing during the romantic flight. That is so true, and I’m glad you noticed all of that and shared it. Thank you.
You’re so right about the portrayal of Stoick. It is perfect how he lets his armor slip a few times. The fearless man is most afraid when people around him are in danger and when he thinks he’s lost his own son. This movie just keeps getting richer every time I see it. Thank you so much for sharing these awesome insights.
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Did you ever notice the night fury fly by in the back ground of the dreamworks production logo scene? It’s kinda hard to spot but its flying down towards the bottom left hand corner.
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Reading your ideas and others, I can only remember one more little detail off the top of my head, and it is one of the sweetest and most touching in my opinion (and I can be a very emotional person when it comes to this particular movie): In the beginning of the movie when Toothless lost the fin off his tail, it didn’t really make a difference about what side it was on. But as Toothless supports Hiccup when they walk out of the house in the end – and Toothless’s tail sweeps around on the floor – I always notice something. And that is that. Both Hiccup and Toothless are crippled, and both are crippled on the left side of one of the most essential parts of their bodies; Hiccup with his left foot, and Toothless with the left fin of his tail. Without his foot, Hiccup can’t walk; without his tail fin, Toothless can’t fly. When I first noticed that – after not watching the movie for quite some time – it touched my heart. That is one of my favorite little details of the whole movie, and I always see it. It definitely is one of the biggest feels-jerkers I’ve ever noticed, that is for sure.
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I’ve seen the 2nd one, I don’t want to spoil it but… It’s even a bigger feels-jerker than the 1st one.
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During the ‘Romantic Flight’ scene, there many different shades of clouds. However, when Toothless does the upside down drift into the clouds, he emerges in very bright blue clouds that look very much like the ones used in the Dreamworks opening. They are only so vivid for a few moments before going back to blend in the with the animation and return to a more subdued hue.
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I love all the things you pointed out! ❤
Did you notice Toothless has scars from the Mangler Hiccup used to shoot him down? I did not notice until I saw an article about it on a website!
[img]http://37.media.tumblr.com/24e01b291729a96469fa2b9e09366230/tumblr_mn285o5Atb1qi4qiho1_400.png[/img]
[img]http://37.media.tumblr.com/a6a5ad4755e415eb91372205d30d2393/tumblr_mn285o5Atb1qi4qiho7_400.png[/img]
[img]http://31.media.tumblr.com/76ce489f843619dffc24543abe201280/tumblr_mn285o5Atb1qi4qiho2_400.png[/img]
[img]http://37.media.tumblr.com/5715dc823d9ae97845d238ee849eac26/tumblr_mn285o5Atb1qi4qiho8_400.png[/img]
Link to article: http://elfpen.tumblr.com/post/71390786497/elfpen-toothless-scars-and-how-he-got-them
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There’s a few things I wish for. Presently, I would’ve like Astrid to not be such a brat. It would be nice for hiccup to have one friend aside from his father’s best friend.
However, I do suppose it adds to the charm of the movie. Both hiccup and toothless are the odd ones out. And i LOVE how in depth toothless is which only serves to cause one to look more closely at the other dragons(like the tiny one that curls up next to hiccup and purrs).
Secondly, I wish this list was in order
Ps: Hiccup and his father both say the line “I did this” which was not only a heart tugger, but I feel it shines a light on misunderstandings and the actions that lead to consequences that may ultimately hurt us. Hiccup hurt a living creature which he could not being himself to truly justify, and Stoic killed his only son. There actions, in turn, made them into self percieved monsters while trying to fight self percieved monsters.
::End rant::
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also at the begining of the movie when it shows th dreamworks thing you can see toothlessin the sky
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i watched this movie again yesterday at a double feature movie premier for the second one and i noticed this:
Toothless will only give back to people who wronged him AFTER they apologize to him.
(having a hard time explaining what i mean but hopefully it makes sense)
– like when they take astrid he goes all crazy at frist and doest fly smoothly until she apologizes.
– Later, at the end when stoick thinks hiccup is dead he keeps hiccup under his wings until stoick says he is sorry.
so i guess he will give back when people are willing to let him in and give him a chance?
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i watched this movie again yesterday at a double feature movie premier for the second one and i noticed this:
Toothless will only give back to people who wronged him AFTER they apologize to him.
(having a hard time explaining what i mean but hopefully it makes sense)
– like when they take astrid he goes all crazy at frist and doest fly smoothly until she apologizes.
– Later, at the end when stoick thinks hiccup is dead he keeps hiccup under his wings until stoick says he is sorry.
so i guess he will give back when people are willing to let him in and give him a chance?
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Late to the party here, but an important detail!
The reason Hiccup is left handed is that the character is left handed in the book series upon which this movie is based. It is sad that in the sequel movie, Hiccup is all of a sudden right handed.
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Very interesting; thanks for sharing. Better late than never. 🙂
I’ve heard the sequel is great, despite it getting that detail wrong. I hope it can match the first, but that won’t be easy.
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Still a lefty in the second movie. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KYS5CcANmjI/U6Rsvqa3nEI/AAAAAAAA-E4/930NwfTIre4/s1600/How_to_train_your_dragon_2_map.jpg http://fc06.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2014/102/6/e/fire_sword___gif__by_thegrzebol-d7dw3tc.png
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There are a few times you can see Hiccup use is left hand….I am a leftie and in the second movie is when i notice Hiccup is left handed. 🙂
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i knew all of theses things when i first watched the movie so why didn’t you guys like some of those answers are so easy to find any ways the movie is as perfect as it will ever be.
i have liked this movie ever since i was 9 and right now im 11 so if that bothers you also dont even bother to right
also get this when i was in year four our class had to find out what religion or ancestors were and why and my ancestors are vikings like how wired is that and my fav movie is httyd like it was the best news i had heard that day and it still is the best feeling i bet one of you guys who reads this will think im crazy but the real answer is that i have mixed emotions and i dont care what u guys think about it.
as Astrid would say give them the old honey in the hatchet witch i think i gave it to u the wrong way around but who really cares the world is a wired place with lots of wired people and i think im one of them
lots of love and respect
my name is Alicia and my viking name is Astrid that may be one reason why i like how to train your dragon but really, you dont know with me i guess
if i could have a bf out of hiccup or Snoutlout maybe fishleg i would choose hiccup because it would make sence cause my viking name is astrid and in the movies and all that hiccup and astrid are long term boyfriend and girlfriend so yeah it would make sence.
Alicia (Astrid)
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I just want to say thank you to the Deja Reviewer. Not only were your observations spot on in one of my favorite movies of all time. But I completely respect and appreciate your kindness and pleasant responses to the comments that people have left here. It is a welcome change from some of the comments and condescending tones you see online regardless of topic or content.
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It is my absolute pleasure. You are so kind. I try to always make this a welcoming place for people who want to look at movies in a new way. You just made my day, so thank you. 🙂
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It’s suprised me that no one actually noticed the scar on hiccups chin, and also, had anyone noticed the scaring on toothless’ front left leg, could that have been from Hiccup shooting him down? I know this post was made 2 years ago but still…hahah
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Toothless requires manners… Hiccup takes Astrid on that ride, Toothless was flying like a crazy dragon till she said sorry, than a little later in the movie when Hiccup was wrapped up in Toothless, he didn’t let Stock know he had Hiccup till Stock said sorry for what he did.
I thought that was quite interesting
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That’s a good point. I like it. He definitely demands people’s respect before he’s willing to help them, and that proves true of all dragons in the end when they finally learn to get along with the Vikings after the Vikings change their way of thinking. Awesome stuff.
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Will you be making an How to Train Your Dragon 2 details?
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Thank you for asking. Actually, I haven’t seen the second film yet, and I don’t know the first thing about it except what I saw in the trailer. It’s definitely on my list of movies to watch, though.
It took me a while to see Kung Fu Panda 2, and I loved that even more than the first one, so I’m sure I’ll love How to Train Your Dragon 2. And hopefully I’ll spot some really cool details in that one, too. 🙂
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I know I’m late, but I noticed that across the first and second movie Astrid’s relationship with Hiccup grows. In the beginning she looks sad when the others are mean to him, then she hugs him in the romantic flight scene, and in the end of the movie Astrid looks very happy when Hiccup comes out of the house after waking up. In the start of the second movie Astrid finds Hiccup finding a new place with Toothless, and clearly it is not weird at all that they are together there.
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Actually, Gobber is a very fast runner, as seen in the Dragons: Defenders of Berk episode where the Screaming Death appears. In the beginning of the episode, Gobber os running from the other Vikings and avoids all of the dragons.
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If you watch the opening credits with the dreamworks logo, you will notice a night fury fly by on the right side. It is hard to see, but if you are looking for it, you could probably find it
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In the beginning of the movie, when it shows the sheep on the hillside, a dragons’ claw snatches one of the sheep. If you look closely, you can tell it was Toothless’s claw. So much for, “This thing never steals food, never shows itself, and never misses.”
Also, it’s said that Toothless’s design was inspired by one of the worker’s desktop wallpapers of a black panther (Though I don’t know if it’s true or just rumor, but I do know his design originated from a panther, bat, and a small bird of prey. I think).
I found some other facts about Toothless’s personality, it was based on a panther as well since he was all full-of-anger when Hiccup first met him- well, mostly. After that, they tried to base his sweet-feline-like personal on Gabe Hordos’s tabby cat, Stufen. Go cats!
(Dang, this post is old. I just found it on Google when I was bored. Derp)
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That is way cool! I guess Night Furies are so fast the Vikings never see them take food.
And thank you for sharing that info about Toothless. I love cats, so I find his behavior so endearing as he gets to know Hiccup.
No worries about the lateness of the hour. I read all of the comments that get posted on all of my articles, no matter how old the articles get. And I appreciate all of those comments, even if I am a little shy and don’t always respond to them. So thank you. 🙂
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In the scene where hiccup is walking through the woods looking for toothless, hiccup hits a stick that hits him in the face when it comes back but when the cammera zooms out there is no tree or branch the was remotely near him that would be in his way
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When Astrid sees Hiccup in the woods when she is practising, she tries to follow him but looses him. When she hits her hand on a rock, there is a slight delay between when her hand made contact and when there is a slapping sound.
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In the movie, Snotlout has a Monstrous Nightmare called ‘Hookfang’. In the book it’s called ‘Fireworm’. However, the name ‘Hookfang’ was originally from Stoick’s dragon in the book.
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When the boy is sitting on the Crescent Moon and he get’s rid of the clouds you can barely see a Night Fury in the background, you can barely see it because it blends in with the night.
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Notice the first time Toothless gave Hiccup half of the fish was the TAIL PART.
Later on, after Hiccup earned Toothless’ full trust, loyalty and friendship, the Night Fury offered the HEAD PART of the fish. I noticed this immediately, which made me appreciate how the movie shows meaningfully the growing bond between Hiccup and Toothless.
Why? Now, I forgot which article/myth(?)/book/movie have I gained the fact that, when a beast(?) gave you half of the tail means the beast thinks you are inferior to him and if it’s head (which was deemed to be more nutritious) means the beast treats you as it’s superior. (or something like that)
It’s not the exact words/fact but a vague thought of what I remember which was significant in showing the growing bond of the two in the movie (or so I think) I’d be happy to be enlightened/corrected. (I tried to search about that fact but I haven’t found the answer so I just shared it here)
I like the insights of this post, btw. It’s like unlocking a bonus part of the movie. haha! Cheers!
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You didn’t notice his scar made by CloudJumper in the second movie, but even before the second movie me and my sis noticed it and wonder how it got there
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Yeah, that detail definitely slipped by my notice. I love the fact that they took the time to include that scar and then make it into an important plot point in the second film. Such an amazing, forward-thinking series.
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Just about any time I watch HTTYD stuff (after seeing the second movie) I look for Hiccup’s scar, and I see it just about every time (I don’t always look for it though, ’cause it’s too interesting to look for the small details).
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A person here mentioned the resemblance between Toothless and cats, almost the same personality: snarling when Hiccup approached it after the drawing, the scene in which Toothless enjoyed playing in the grass, something like catnip (dragon-nip?), they love to be petted exactly in the areas where cats enjoy that the most, I’ve never seen one of them petted in the belly (cats hate that), and they go crazy over laser.
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in the movie when hiccup brings toothless that basket of fish to put his prosthetic tail on toothless is clearly eating out of a big basket,and he drops it but it does not move out of camera range. but when toothless relizes (eccuse my spelling) hiccups on his back the baskets still their, then when toothless takes off the basket is gon and i dont think it was pushed away because with all the camera room you would have seen it.
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Thanks for summing that up.
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I too am a bit of a httyd nut. Has anyone else noticed hiccups scar? It’s on his chin. You can see it in most every close up of hiccups face in the first movie. If you haven’t seen the second movie, its a plot piece.
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That is such a brilliant detail. I love how that film and its sequel work perfectly together. I can’t wait to see what’s in store in the third one.
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Wow you guys summed it up so well! I find it interesting that Hiccup finds pieces of dragon scales on the ground when he first looks for Toothless. Toothless looks smooth and scale-less to me 😀
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Another thing that you might of missed is that at the start of the film, when dreamwork show there logo, you might be able to see a silhouette of toothless fly across the screen, I never noticed it a first
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I noticed that on the first time I’ve seen the movie
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The whole thing about the hippopotamus from Madagascar is not true if you look close enough you will see that it’s a dead Viking
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After Stoick gives Hiccup the ‘breast’ helmet you see a shot of Hiccup with his hands on his hips and he sighs, stoick repeats this a shot later. I love it as it shows how they think they are very different yet they share similar traits.:)
Stick then also knock some stuff over and makes a loud clatter… now we know where Hiccup gets his clumsy-ness from .
xXx
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The Terrible Terror scene, where Hiccup shares a fish, could be a tribute to the book series. The Terrors are really the “Toothless species” of the books. And to see Hiccup befriend one, a green one, with no teeth, is very exciting to me.
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I didn’t see #5, 6, 8, or 10
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have you seen how quickly toothless gets to hiccup to save him,i thought that he would have to fly a little before getting there and that the red death only eats the gronkle even though he brought fish and i also dont remember plus havent you realized that one of the clouds looks like a red death
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It has already been mentioned that in the ‘romantic flight’ scene, Toothless deliberately flies very dangerously until Astrid apologises….but if you watch later on in that scene, when they are flying over Berk, Astrid has an overwhelmingly positive emotional reaction to it, and the scene then flashes to Toothless, who gives a knowing look up at Astrid – like he knew exactly what he was doing all along. Such a great little detail in an incredible scene. Also, the music in that scene is incredible.
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When Hiccup and Toothless first connect with the hand on the face thing, Toothless not doing it the first time (the pull back) was actually a glitch in the creating
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hmmmm true but if you look at berk in the begining berk has a mountain or somthing with a hole in it but as they zoom in the hole and mountain is gone
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When Stoick comes in to talk to Hiccup, he says “Oh, Gods” instead of just “God” – referencing the Norse Gods
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Then later when Stoick sees the queen dragon he says “Odin help us”, nice touch I reckon
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This is really late, but when Hiccup cuts Toothless free when Toothless “flies” away, he slams into a rock and you can see the scales falling off his tail
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I teach science and use this movie to teach the scientific method. Hiccup goes through all the steps IN ORDER and has a notebook to record data.
He solves two PROBLEMS: why didn’t the dragon kill him, and why doesn’t the dragon fly away.
He does RESEARCH for both (dragon training, the dragon manual, and Gobber), comes up with a possible solution to both problems (two HYPOTHESES), performs PROCEDURES to investigate both possible both hypotheses (observes and interacts with dragons and creates a replacement tail fin). He then ANALYZES his new collection of knowledge, and comes to new CONCLUSIONS: Dragons are not the enemy, but their behavior is being controlled by an alpha dragon and a replacement tail fin will work,but only with a rider to control it.
I can watch it six to eight times over two days while teaching with it and never get tired of that movie!
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