Why HTTYD is the Greatest of All Time

(Or The Chapter in Which I Gush About My Favorite Animated Films)

I realize the hype for Hidden World is dying down since it's been out for quite a few months now; however, since I just saw it this week, my hype is activated fiercely all over again. Thus, this post.

The HTTYD films have held a special spot in my life since their beginning. I remember watching the first one with my sisters and feeling incredibly impressed as a writer by the storyline and characters. When we were dating, everyone joked about how Jed and I are just like Hiccup and Astrid, and so my husband sang Valka and Stoick's song (For the Dancing and the Dreaming) to me in his proposal.

I've grown up with these movies. When Hiccup was a boy and figuring out his spot in Berk among dragon-fighting vikings, I was young and trying to figure out what God wanted me to do with my life. When he had grown and matured and was off facing new frontiers and dangers, I was growing and facing new challenges with college and new relationships.

Now, I'm forced to admit the end of a fantastic film trilogy, and I couldn't be more emotionally... well, everything.

But what was it about this third film, about this whole trilogy, that spoke to me (to millions of people, honestly), and thus concluded IMHO the greatest animated film trilogy of all time?

Let's list the reasons, shall we?

(THE UNHOLY OFFSPRING OF LIGHTNING AND DEATH ITSELF -- SPOILERS AHEAD)

1. Hiccup

Yes, he's the cliche and loved stereotype of the underdog, and we've loved rooting for the underdog for generations. Think of Spiderman, Frodo, Rocky, Cinderella, Po the Kung Fu Panda... etc. etc. etc. We love rooting for the character who seems least likely to succeed.

Hiccup doesn't fit in with his world of vikings who live to kill dragons. His compassion singles him out as the only viking who wouldn't kill a dragon. Underdog heroes are supposed to go through hard times and come out on the other side changed and wiser. And Hiccup follows this pattern -- except for one notable difference. HE LOSES HIS LEG.

We're in a viking story, yes. It is common for vikings to lose limbs in battle. But what other story allows its hero to end the tale physically maimed? Honestly, this was the one thing that impressed me so much about the first film. Hiccup doesn't walk away from his big battle unscathed. That is incredibly daring as a storyteller. Because most fans don't forgive you for hurting their precious cinnamon roll. I mean, even Marvel gave Thor back his eye and didn't condemn him to wearing an eye patch (like Fury and Odin) for the rest of his life.

But Hiccup proves to us that it's not bad to live a life like that, missing a limb. He goes on to do all sorts of amazing things, and we at times forget that he only has one leg. People with physical disabilities may have to do things differently, but that doesn't make them different or inept. Hiccup saves the dragons and takes care of an entire village, and those aren't small accomplishments.

One of my absolute favorite scenes in the films is at the end of the first film, when Hiccup and Toothless walk to the door together and Toothless's maimed tail sweeps in front of Hiccup's maimed leg; until that point, Hiccup had been helping Toothless get around with his injured tail. Now, Toothless has the chance to help Hiccup in the same way. Like dragon, like human -- best friends til the end, they both have the same injury and are dependent on one another.

Which brings me encroaching into my next point...

~*~

2. Hiccup and Toothless

Every good story NEEDS irreplaceable friendships like this. I mean, have you SEEN them interact? Toothless is a number of things to Hiccup; basically, his dog and best friend, but also his conscience at times, and his wingman (no pun intended).

I don't think I need to ultra-belabor this point, since anyone who's seen the films knows how Toothless and Hiccup are the bestest of buddies. They've got each others' backs, wrestle and have the best of times together, and are just all-around adorable together.

I cried when I first saw the scene when Hiccup chooses to send the dragons away. Toothless had been such a big part of his life, the character that introduced the biggest turning point in Hiccup's life, the reason why Hiccup first began trying to change people's minds about dragons. Following their journey together just made it more emotionally devastating when Hiccup chooses to let him go. He knows the decision is in the dragons' best interest, but it's still hard to send your best friend away.

And that scene when Hiccup chooses to sacrifice himself so that the Light Fury can save Toothless? *cue tears* I'm a mess.

~*~

3. Hiccup and Astrid

We start off with the cliche of the underdog crushing on the beautiful heroine who's brave, talented, and popular. But then Hiccup's place as chief's son and dragon tamer catapults him into a big place in Berk, and he faces bigger challenges than just how to woo his girl.

After the first film, we get to see Hiccup and Astrid working together, fighting for the same goals. I was so afraid that the filmmakers would fall into the easy, cliched trap of making them have a stupid fight and at angst for the majority of the second and third films. Yes, they're both stubborn, but you can have a great stubborn couple who doesn't fight about stupid things just for dramatic storytelling purposes. GET OVER IT AND GET CREATIVE. Couples can have problems with more than just lovers' spats. THANK YOU.

Also, they don't stay a teenaged couple. This is one of the things I love so much about them, honestly. In the third film, Gobber (among others) is not so subtly hinting that they need to get married. Both Hiccup and Astrid know that they're going to get married one day, but they both agree they're currently not ready for it. But that doesn't put a damper on their relationship. They don't fight about it; they don't avoid it in conversation and make things awkward. They come to an easy, mutual agreement. Then, once they've saved the dragons and their village, they both know they've matured and they're ready for that next step. For them, marriage was a big deal. It wasn't something they wanted to jump into lightly. It was so nice to see a relationship like theirs mature into what it did.

Great couples work together, and that's exactly what Hiccup and Astrid do.

AND THEIR KIDS.

Their kids are adorable, and I think it broke every one of my heartstrings to see the kids getting to share rides with their parents and the dragons at the end of the trilogy. After so much, it was so satisfying to see Hiccup introduce his children to his best friend.

~*~

4. Astrid

This is a cliche that drives me batty in fiction and film ALL THE TIME. A heroine often has spunk and guts UNTIL her man wins her heart, and then she becomes a whiny, crying, helpless, defenseless wimp who relies on her man for everything and gives him emotional pain to boot. Astrid doesn't do any of that. And for that, I love her.

I'll admit: I really didn't care for Astrid so much in the first film. It felt like Dreamworks was trying to impress too much of the whole strong-feminist vibe (which I'm not fond of), and I was afraid honestly of what they might do to her character. Too often (and this is another cliche I hate), strong feminist characters clash with their love interests, so that most of the story becomes their butting heads over every decision.

Astrid encourages Hiccup, follows him when he runs from a hard conversation with his dad, and supports his decisions even when they seem crazy. When he goes out to confront Drago, Astrid is right there with him. In the third film, she impressed me muchly as she stepped into the role of really becoming Hiccup's partner. He tends to think less of himself when comparing himself to his father, and yet she reminds him he can still do the right thing. Even when she didn't believe that the Hidden World existed, she still chose to support him in moving the village of Berk to a new location. How many stubborn, modern heroines do you see doing that? She doesn't fight against him at all. She demands that the people of Berk listen to him before writing off his ideas as insane or unpractical.

And have you seen her in battle? She's handy with an axe as we're shown in the first film, but by the third film, she's hefting around swords and other weapons with ease. She isn't a damsel in distress, but a perfect companion to Hiccup who can take care of herself, take care of him, but also step down when he needs the spotlight.

Astrid is Hiccup's friend, confidante, encourager... really, the perfect better half to complete him. And Hiccup, in many ways, completes her.

~*~

5. Grimmel

I had my doubts about Grimmel, I'll admit. We've struggled against the Red Death (or Green Death, if you go by John Powell), and against Drago, the dragon seducer and slayer. There have been internal and external battles, fights on a small and large scale. We needed something big, something different, for the last film, and the filmmakers gave us Grimmel.

Grimmel is a hunter; he's smart, he likes getting into the mind of his prey. He knows dragons inside and out, and he enjoys killing them. He's very much like Drago, but not quite. While Drago was driven by personal fury to revenge his lost arm and seize control by whatever means necessary, Grimmel didn't have that kind of drive. He kept to the hunt just for the love of it. Dragons had ceased to be actual living creatures to him; they were merely tools and things to be slain at will. And, when people got in his way, they became similar things. He wasn't above double-crossing people to get what he wanted.

However, this is the real reason why I think Grimmel is a better villain than Drago. Personal theory alert. When talking to Hiccup about his past, Grimmel says when he was a boy he came across a night fury sleeping in the woods. And he killed it. The fame that kill gave him drove him to hunt down every night fury he could, resulting in the near-extinction of that dragon. Think about it. His origin story is the same as Hiccup's -- except for the result. Where Hiccup showed compassion and set Toothless free, Grimmel drove his knife home and triumphed over the dead night fury. Grimmel was what Hiccup would have become if he had killed Toothless. MIND BLOWN.

Hiccup wanted acceptance from his father and the rest of the vikings. So, probably, did Grimmel. His physical stature is not that different from Hiccup's; they're both fairly skinny and wiry with not-so-scary features. It could be that Grimmel was ridiculed as a child, didn't fit in with the rest of the viking teens, just as Hiccup had been. It was by killing the night fury that he finally found the acceptance he craved. If Hiccup had killed Toothless, he would have gotten the same fame in Berk. He would have then believed that his acceptance depended on the number of dragon heads he brought back to the village. In battling Grimmel, Hiccup had to battle against what he could have become.

And that, my friends, is my argument for why Grimmel is the best villain of the trilogy.

~*~

6. Dragons

Anyone who knows me knows I love dragons. We need more dragon stories in this world. And I really can't say any more to support this point.

Just dragons. 

~*~

I could go on and on about these films, and why I love them so much, but I think I should cut it off here before I get myself into writing a novel. There are great minor characters, amazing action sequences, too many quotable lines, etc. etc. etc. We could be here all day. The points I've listed above, though, are definitely the ones I feel most passionate about.

To be honest, I've not read the HTTYD books yet (or seen the TV series), so I do approach these films with a decent amount of bias. However, I do believe that this may be one great and rare exception when the movies were better than the books. *le gasp* Yes, I said it.

What do you think? Did you enjoy The Hidden World? What are some of your favorite moments/characters from the trilogy? Let me know in the comments below!

God bless!