Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy HTTYD Halloween!

Ok, so it is the day of annual hair raising horrors, and I decided to just make a quick compilation of harrowing experiences that our hero Hiccup has been through whether in the movie or series or even fan fiction! Ugh, some of these still give me a sick feeling when I watch the film! He may survive, but goodness can you imagine how terrifying some of this stuff (whether cannon or not) would be?

Let's start with the film:



This movie, this remarkable film, has some REALLY intense moments to it! Seriously, Hiccup's life is seconds from being ripped out quite a few times in the film. I find that, because I really do care about Hiccup, every single time a dragon has him at its mercy I still get chills. It still puts me on edge. Look at these images, he is absolutely terrified in most of them, and then in that last one, even Toothless looks as though he is about to completely lose his nerve. I loved that feeling in the film, the fear and helplessness that the movie could generate without being explicitly violent. The dragons never actually kill anyone, but when they get Hiccup, you still feel very sure that they could! Let's look into them a little.

The Monstrous Nightmare slinking around the burning pole looks so sinister, so cocky and confident that he's about to get his teeth into Hiccup. 

Then of course when Toothless pins him... wow! Could you get any more harrowing than having him stooping over you with that paralyzing stare burning into your soul? Imagine what must have been running through Hiccup's head as Toothless makes that thoroughly evil looking face and rears back. Just because he gets cute later in the film does not mean he is a creature who could not have done horrible, terrifying things. Hiccup even faints after that encounter, so I am going to say Toothless wins the scaring competition! 

Ugh, thank goodness for Gobber! The part where the Gronckle pushes Hiccup up to the wall and fires at him is pretty fast, pretty furious, and Hiccup goes from feeling remotely safe to feeling like he is going to die in just a matter of seconds. The way he grits his teeth and prepares for the pain is so human. Really makes me feel horrible for him, and then of course my imagination runs through what would have happened if Gobber was not there.

Ok, the Zippleback! Man, even though the moment is short lived, that one is very nasty in its own unique way. I don't think there is any question as to whether the dragons of HTTYD are willing to eat people (Gobber's arm and leg, Fishleg's comments, and many other things point to that.) Let's just say that I have done some experiments on falling backwards and then trying to scoot away like Hiccup did there, trying to use your palms to push yourself back as quickly as possible. MAN! It is scary! The dragon would feel so large, and being on your back but still trying to escape is such a terrifying thing. The Hideous Zippleback even looks excited, looks sort of gleefully cruel as he eyes Hiccup over. Man, the things that boy went through...

When the Red Death first comes out, the camera actually pulls this weird zoom in on the the foreground, zoom out of the background trick on Hiccup and Astrid. It is the same trick used when the Nazgul approaches for the first time in the Lord of The Rings, and it really is a strange way to display fear! I believe the camera trick actually originated in horror films, and the Red Death certainly would have been horrifying!

Ok, last one I'll discuss... The Nightmare in the arena (also known as Hookfang)! That moment, that bit where he gets Hiccup and leans his head down at him with his jaws vibrating in a pleased growl... that has got to be one of the most intense moments in the film. I still get worried watching it. The dragon's chin is actually touching Hiccup's vest. The boy we've grown to love throughout the film is about to about to be killed in a horrible way by the very dragon he was trying to train. Man... Toothless is such a wonderful friend, and thank goodness he showed up because I can only shudder to think what the Nightmare was planning next!

And let's not forget RoB! We had at least one really uncool moment for Hiccup... really uncool. Ugh that Whispering Death nearly killed both Hiccup and Toothless multiple times. So, yeah, an intense scary moment from RoB


And then some less scary moments...


Ha! Tuffnut and his attempts at spookiness. He did a lot better scaring the people than he did scaring the dragons, but then of course the one of the people beat him senseless for doing it...

But none of these, not one, compares with a certain harrowing image someone made for me a while back. It was the product of a seriously frightening mental image that struck me, and then this particular friend decided to capture it in digital paint. I will be forever haunted...


Um... yeah, I'll never view Skrills neutrally again after that. The image alone gave me really vivid nightmares for two nights in a row. Thankfully, the friend did eventually write a short story to accompany this thing, and Hiccup does survive (saved by Toothless), but... just... ugh. Considering it is Halloween, I'll probably re-read that story this evening. It is honestly the most haunting, harrowing thing I've read to date. Makes Edgar Allen Po look silly... makes Jurassic Park feel mind, BUT Hiccup does live through it (Also, please note that it is particularly bad for me because I do love Hiccup so much, and the story was sort of born from an idea that I found frightening. So, someone took something I thought was harrowing and made a story out of it, and unfortunately that someone is an EXCELLENT writer...). Its about five pages, and four and a half of those pages are awful until Toothless finally shows up. If you want to read it, you could find it on Inhonoredglory's blog on Tumblr. Um... it isn't for the faint of heart. Just a warning. I still haven't recovered! 

So... harrowing Halloween. I hope you all sleep well, but I know I won't. Stupid of me to look at that image again...





Monday, October 28, 2013

Flightmare Image Compilation

This dragon was very interesting, and he is also very unique in a lot of different ways. He is one of the few with a noticeable overbite, he has Strike Class-like anatomy, and he is at least partially herbivorous! Kind of sad to see him go, but considering he killed Astrid's uncle (which he clearly did, I honestly don't see any question about that), I guess it is for the best. Anyway, here are some of the images I have gotten from the episode.




















Very interesting episode overall. Not my favorite, but it certainly had its high points! Actually, it had a lot of good Hiccup and Astrid moments! We don't usually get to see them alone and on a mission together, and it felt a lot like the movie. They were not all lovey-dovey, and they were not all awkward, but you could tell they really did care about each other and work well together, so it felt much more in character than some other episodes. Very nice.

Friday, October 25, 2013

I'm back :D

Sorry for being gone for about a week. Computer issues... but hopefully those have been resolved. Anyway, keep an eye out because I will be posting again.

And wasn't Fright of Passage a really cool episode?!

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Friday, October 18, 2013

Wow...

I actually almost cried, I got REALLY close to crying, when I watched Race To Fireworm Island this morning! It is surprisingly emotional. I say that mostly because the characters in turmoil really are not even my favorites. It isn't Hiccup and Toothless, it is Snotlout of all people! So that shocked me! The human moments of the episode were really beautiful, I was so pleased to see that the show could move me so much! Also, the Fireworm queen is an excellent new addition to the dragon types... She's just splendid! I'm totally in love with her design, and I'm gonna write a post on her for sure! I just don't have a HD version of the episode to take screenshots from, but I should soon. Once I get it, I'll write a couple of hopefully decent posts on it. It is probably my second favorite DoB so far... maybe. The Night and the Fury comes first on my list without a question!


Thursday, October 17, 2013

I am BOUNCING off the walls XD

Wow! I knew he was Strike Class, but now I know we are going to see him eventually, and even better the images on him state that he is the only dragon who can go toe to toe with Toothless, so if we don't get an awesome Skrill-Nightfury rivalry, I am going to be a little surprised! Woohoo!








How can he be so beautiful, amazing, cool, and harrowinly horrifying all at once? I really hope DoB gives this guy his due because the thematic possibilities of another Strike Class dragon (and a frightening one too) are just so powerful!

So much for my speculations! Cartoon Network updated their site as soon as I had made my guesses!

Class Speculations!

Cartoon Network's Dragons page has some brand new questions marks to give us hints on what dragons will fall into what classes in the future of DoB! I am pretty excited because I think I can speculate accurately on all of them!


Another Strike Class! Hooray! Finally Toothless has a cousin. Still, it won't match up to him, but at least we'll get to see a dragon with some Night Furyish traits. I am guessing that this will be the Flightmare; however, it could be the Skrill. I've not heard anything about the Skrill coming out in near future episodes, so I think it is a safe guess to assume the Flightmare is Strike class. I could be wrong, but he looks like he would fit. If it is the Skrill then I'm going to be bouncing off the wall!


I think the upcoming Boulder Class entry is an easy guess. I would be really surprised if this slot isn't taken up by the Screaming Death in a week or two.


Sharp Class! Now this is the joy of buying the RoB DVDs because they had bonus features and one of those bonus features gave us a mega hint that the Timberjack would show up. I've always seen that dragon as really beautiful but with a sinister side (maybe it is the long slender head), but we'll see what DoB does with him!


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Three Years!


Three years ago, Oct 15, 2010, How To Train Your Dragon was released on DVD and BluRay, and what a day that was! I fully intend to celebrate by watching the film over again today, and I would recommend anyone reading this to do the same! I really am a little amazed that three years later I STILL love HTTYD just as much... maybe more! I can remember how excited I was when I woke up and realized that I would finally be getting to own HTTYD! I counted down the days, and it was worth it! Haha, it has been a very fun three years of loving this film! We had a long, long break in between this and GotNF (a whole thirteen months with no new dragon stuff!), but I've never really been able to be bored with the movie. With the second film looking amazing and the first film still being every bit as wonderful as it was when I first popped the BluRay into my television, I am very thankful to be an HTTYD fan! 

Monday, October 14, 2013

Downed Dragon: An Incredible Scene


Well, I must say that this scene might be my all time favorite. Either it or Forbidden Friendship (which are ironically so different) definitely stand out as some of my all time favorite moments of the film, moments I'll go and watch over and over again and still never really feel that I've seen everything!

I wish I could write a whole huge analysis on the scene (I've written some little ones before), but it is getting late, and I've got classes tomorrow! What I do want to point out about this scene, and what struck me so powerfully in theaters when I first watched it was the intensity! The sheer tension and power of the whole thing. The music plays into that incredibly, as does the lighting, and then the animation is just superb. When I watched this the first time, I honestly was worried, I was sucked into the moment, sucked into Hiccup's head. First I wondered if the dragon would die, then I really, really wondered how on EARTH Hiccup was going to survive when Toothless slammed him to the ground. When the scene ended, it suddenly struck me-- The movie's only been going twelve minutes, so of course they are not going to kill the main character! It didn't matter though, not in the moment, and that is the power of this scene. It put me on edge even when logic would have told me to be calm. The emotion and power and terror of the scene was so gripping that it made me forget that I was watching a movie. Toothless felt so powerful, so mind-blowingly mysterious and deadly when he had Hiccup down. I honestly felt a whole, whole lot like Hiccup in that last image when Toothless let him go! And then... don't even get me started on Hiccup and how much I admired and loved him for making that decision. This scene almost certainly was what first made me love Hiccup, and it certainly is what made me respect Toothless as the most incredible fictional creature I had ever seen!