Movie and TV series fans like to take sides in the debates over which is better – Marvel v. DC, How I Met Your Mother v. Friends, Star Trek v. Star Wars, even Team Edward v. Team Jacob. One of these eternal questions is Pixar v. Disney. The former is now a part of the latter, but there is still a distinctly different style and tone to the movies, and it’s not hard to take a side. The Disney conglomerate has sort of became synonymous with the animated movies produced in the US. But as far as the decade 2010s goes (at least!), neither of its divisions can take the crown for the best animated film produced. That may well go to the underdogs at DreamWorks. After stretching their Shrek series for so long that it broke waaaay before the last sequel, they produced, almost miraculously, a quirky and sweet trilogy How to Train Your Dragon. And it was nothing short of a home run.

How to grow up (with) a hero

The trilogy is loosely based on the children’s book anthology by Cressida Cowell. However, most of the storylines are stripped away and the film version works only with the idea and the main character. The story spanning three films and several years is quite an exception in the field of sequels. While the first film was a success, it wasn’t a major commercial pull like Toy Story 3 or Frozen. It’s one of the reason why it doesn’t feel as another animated series pushing out sequels for the sake of pumping out more money out of the tickets and the merchandise. Or bringing out sequels year later for fan service or nostalgia (which can go one way or the other – a yes for The Incredibles 3, a mild no for Finding Dory). It feels necessary that the series would include not fewer, but certainly also not more than three films in which they brought Hiccup’s story to its end and then some. All there remains is pray to the old Norse gods it, for once, remains at three.

If you wish to sum up the plot in a sentence, How to Train Your Dragon is just a story of how one improbable friendship can alter a life – either the lives of two individuals or the whole Viking population. Its strength lies in well-written and realistic characters (well, as realistic as Vikings killing/riding dragons can be) with relatable feelings and problems. For Hiccup, the improbable scrawny Viking hero, those include the troubles of earning the respect of his father and his people, getting the girl. But there are also much darker things – coping with the death of a parent, his disability, the burden of leadership and the bittersweet goodbye to a part of himself. He grows up from insecurity and borderline neurosis to stability and reasonable courage. It’s important that this progress is natural and well-developed during the three films. Thanks to the franchise being stretched over nine years and a coincident periods of time passing by in the fictional world, Hiccup grows up with his audience. If you caught on in the appropriate age, lucky you! And lucky the screenwriters as each time, Hiccup’s increasingly difficult life dilemmas can find a more understanding base of viewers.

Unfortunately, not all of the characters get such a quality treatment. There are two exceptions. Stoick, Hiccup’s emotionally distant father who initially struggles to balance his love for his quirky son, trauma after the death of his wife, and stereotypically masculine expectations of the Viking society. and Astrid, Hiccup’s friend and crush turned life partner are the exceptions. But all the side characters remain mostly a one-dimensional vehicle of comic relief.

This is made better by the excellent choice of actors to voice the characters. Even the more minor ones are injected with a dose of extra personality thanks to the work of their real-life counterparts. While Jay Baruchel is Hiccup perfectly with his ever-nervous voice, the winner of this round must be Gerard Butler as Stoick who makes even his inexplicable Scottish accent work. The film also does justice to the villains, or the downfall of so many promising movies (looking at you, comic book adaptations). They show how frighteningly close even a hero can be to the villain – each of them mirrors Hiccup and his arc, differing in only one life decision or character trait.

Let’s not underestimate the kids

So much is true for the entire franchise. It deals with quite a number of heavy topics for movies for children, and deals with them unusually honestly and without sugar coating. Disability of the main characters is not turned to a joke nor drawn-out for emotional effects. It is put fully on display and dealt with in a matter-of-fact way, addressing troubles that come in everyday life when you live with a metal leg or an arm. The struggling relationship between Stoick and Hiccup shows the negative effects that even well-meant peer pressure can have on a person. The trilogy also deals openly with the fact that there is prejudice and hate in the world, and that hurt and trauma can go both ways – make you stronger or turn you into a hateful person. Such somber messages are balanced well with the positive ones which, above all else, emphasize the importance of an open mind and trust.

There is one other thing the trilogy tackles well, and that is relationship/marriage. It seems like a small part of the story, but it is actually quite significant in the animated movie world. There were some animated movies which dealt with more mature relationships – The Incredibles or Up come to mind. But with young love, there was always very little development between the meeting and marriage. The situation is looking up, though – from Merida competing for her own hand in marriage and Moana having no love interest whatsoever to Elsa speaking the immortal truth of: “You can’t marry a man you’ve just met!”. Still, it was very refreshing to see Hiccup “get the girl”, but naturally, over the years, as they grow up, grow together, and grow to deserve each other. And not at the expense of abandoning their way of life, other meaningful relationships or the traits that made them who they are.

We’re soaring, flying…

While the story would work just as well with live-action adaptation, there is a certain magical quality to the trilogy which has nothing to do with the dragons, and everything to do with the animation. It’s a useful narrative tool – it supplies entertaining action sequences and dynamic flight scenes which make you feel like it’s you sitting on the back of the dragon. It also supports Hiccup’s coming-of-age story as he visibly ages and matures (when the posters for the third movie came out, looking at Hiccup’s grown up face was just as surprising as looking at own photos from throughout the years). But mostly, it’s just so damn beautiful. You can pause the film at any time, and there is a beautiful frame guaranteed to appear. In the question of what movie genre is the best, animated movies make a strong case by evoking very real emotions by showing the viewers something so visibly unreal. (Or even a glitch in animation – take a look at one of the franchise’s most memorable scenes, made so much better by Toothless’ apparently hesitant head motion.)

How to Train Your Dragon is an impressive animated series that will come to represent the very best the movie industry could offer in 2010s. It has dragons and Vikings and breathtaking visuals, yet what makes it stand out is very simple. It’s a story about growing and learning that life can be beautiful, and that life can be cruel, or both at the same time. Some of the lessons it teaches and topics it handles almost make one wonder if it is still a series for children – but only almost. It is honest and kind and it does not underestimate its younger viewers, and that make the series exactly the kind of movies kids need to see.

TL;DR: How to Train Your Dragon is a vision among what is already a quality-packed genre of animated movies. It delivers a heart-warming story of an improbable, but realistic hero, yet doesn’t shy away from topics such as disability or prejudice. It makes for a thrilling but educational experience wrapped in breathtaking visuals.

10/10

Don’t have enough of How to Train Your Dragon? Then read the piece about the treatment of disability in the trilogy.