How to Train a Dragon and Scottish vikings

[tink1969]

I finally watched How to Train a Dragon on the weekend with my family. I really enjoyed it and even had teary eyes!
However, does anyone else think its odd that the elder vikings in the movie
had Scottish accents?

 

[Hoosier37]

I really disliked that about the movie.

It also was really different than the book, which we loved.

I don't get why people like this movie at all, though.

 

[Experiment_626]

It also was really different than the book, which we loved.

I don't get why people like this movie at all, though.

Books aren't movies. Movies aren't books. What works in one medium may not necessarily work in another. I liked the movie because it was a good story well told. Easily Dreamworks' best animated film.

 

[Hoosier37]

Books aren't movies. Movies aren't books. What works in one medium may not necessarily work in another. I liked the movie because it was a good story well told. Easily Dreamworks' best animated film.

Have you read the book? I've seen the movie twice, and both times I felt it was predictable, the dialogue silly, and overall I just really did not care for it. The book had me laughing out loud.

I guess everyone has their own preferences, but other than a few scenes between Hiccup and Toothless, I did not like the movie at all.

 

[wackyme]

This is one of my favorite movie I have watched more than 3 or 4 times already!

 

[aquamoptop]

Forget the scottish accents.....the guy who does Hiccups voice was so annoying as was Atrids voice. One of the biggest problem with Dreamworks, when they cast voices is they are doing it for star appeal and so those "vocal performances" are nothing but that person talking. There is no attempts to BE a character. Not like in Disney/Pixar movies.

The animators did a great job with the dragons in the movie. Differentiating them into breeds was a nice touch (assume this is in the book, never read it). I love toothless, in fact he is the main reason why I just bought the movie after just seeing it this weekend.

 

[Hoosier37]

Forget the scottish accents.....the guy who does Hiccups voice was so annoying as was Atrids voice. One of the biggest problem with Dreamworks, when they cast voices is they are doing it for star appeal and so those "vocal performances" are nothing but that person talking. There is no attempts to BE a character. Not like in Disney/Pixar movies.

The animators did a great job with the dragons in the movie. Differentiating them into breeds was a nice touch (assume this is in the book, never read it). I love toothless, in fact he is the main reason why I just bought the movie after just seeing it this weekend.

YES, Hiccup's voice was awful. Maybe even worse than the adult Vikings having Scottish accents.

As far as the book goes, in the book the dragons are smaller, and every Viking child must capture and train one to use for hunting. They are NOT enemies. Hiccup ends up with a dragon that is tiny and has no teeth, hence the name Toothless. This dragon is of the most common variety, too. Of course, there's a lot more than that going on, but that is one huge difference between the book and the movie.

The book has a totally different, and in my opinion, much better plot than the movie.

 

[aquamoptop]

YES, Hiccup's voice was awful. Maybe even worse than the adult Vikings having Scottish accents.

As far as the book goes, in the book the dragons are smaller, and every Viking child must capture and train one to use for hunting. They are NOT enemies. Hiccup ends up with a dragon that is tiny and has no teeth, hence the name Toothless. This dragon is of the most common variety, too. Of course, there's a lot more than that going on, but that is one huge difference between the book and the movie.

The book has a totally different, and in my opinion, much better plot than the movie.

Ok now I need to read the book. I didnt want to sound like a big baby but the thing I dislike the most about this movie is how they antagonize the dragons in dragon training. So was there the big "evil" dragon in the lair in the book???

 

[Hoosier37]

Ok now I need to read the book. I didnt want to sound like a big baby but the thing I dislike the most about this movie is how they antagonize the dragons in dragon training. So was there the big "evil" dragon in the lair in the book???

Hmmm. I don't remember one. There is a big evil dragon, but it isn't in a lair. It has been a while since I read the book, but I really loved it and felt the movie was very poorly done compared to the book, to the point that I really do not understand why people like the movie so much.

 

[JuitsuK]

I never read the book maybe thats why I like the movie.
When I saw the movie I didn't know what was the cast, when Hiccup's dad Viking king started talking I was like "Gerard Butler? whats with the Scottish accent?"

One said: "It's nonsense - how would Scots feel if Hollywood gave William Wallace a Japanese accent?"

I found this in an article about the whole Scottish accent in this movie.

 

[Golf4food]

If you watch the movie with commentary they talk about why the movie doesn't follow the book, how the author had input and was happy, etc. I am annoyed that the HP movies aren't exactly like the books, but that doesn't stop me enjoying the movies.

HTTYD is one of our favorite animated movies, and the animation is absolutely stunning. Best ever. Better than Pixar. Look at Pixar movies when water is involved - Dreamworks has figured something out that Pixar/Disney hasn't yet - how to make wet characters look like wet characters instead of wet plastic characters. Think of the Incredibles where the mom and two kids are in the ocean after the plane is shot down - they look like wet plastic. None of that in HTTYD.

Toothless is perfect in/for the movie (regardless of what they are like in the book). The commentary aslo mentions how the lead animator for Toothless had just gotten a kitten - his first ever cat - and how he modeled a lot of Toothless's actions by watching his kitten. We have a 2 year old cat that has a lot of similarities - so much that we have nicknamed her Toothless (among other things).

The flying scenes are amazing. The level of detail is unreal in the characters and their outfits.

While it is overall a little predictable, what movie isn't? Audiences like predictable (overall) and that's what studious give them. You get little twists here and there (such as the end of dragon) but overall we almost always know what is going to happen in every movie out there these days. I don't find HTTYD any less predictable that any of the Toy Story movies, including #3, which is no different in plot than any number of WWII escape movies made in the 50's.

The adults having Scottish accents and the kids speaking American is stupid and annoying, but we can look past that.

The music is fantastic and should be in the running for best score. One of the best soundtracks for any animated movie ever.

 

[kalvin]

How To Train Your Dragon is a superb movie. Love to watch this kind of the movies. I always have a great time by watching this superb movie..!!

 

[rikkitikkitik]

Being primarily a Pixar fan I had never really been impressed with the work Dreamworks did but I did really enjoy How to Train your Dragon. Really liked the different style of dragons.

 

[TheDisWiz]

I loved it but I didn't really like the accents either. At least give them Norse accents of SOME sort.