Wednesday, June 13, 2018

HTTYD2 Fourth Year Anniversary!


Well, it's been four years since HTTYD2 released! I'm gonna celebrate it by watching the movie this evening! I'll post a few pictures of the "private screening" as well... and once I finish the film, I'll come back to more fully edit this post (explaining the few other things I did today to celebrate). Ok... bracing myself to cry.



Good snacks are a must-have for this occasion, so I swung by a grocery store directly after leaving work. I got the fish because they would probably be Toothless's favorite candy... right? This will be the first time Sideshow Toothless gets to see the movie he came from!


Well, this is the layout I'm gonna have while watching. I'm clearly awful at selfies (lack of practice/interest I guess...). Anyway, I'll be back once I and the Sideshow Toothless have finished watching! 

Ok, I finished it! Before discussing the viewing experience, I wanna note that I listened to the soundtrack for most of the day while I was working in the lab! Ha, when it got to the track "Stoick Saves Hiccup", my hand actually started shaking while I was trying to pipet my ELISA samples. That was certainly not helpful.

I should've taken that mildly shaky hand as a clue of what was to come tonight. I cried quite a lot. I cried at the happy moments, and I UGLY cried in the sad ones. Man, I now remember why I can only handle this film once a year! I've seen it about sixteen times, and I have yet to make it through it without crying at one point or another. I was really struck by how beautiful the visuals are and reminded again of the potency of the themes (especially the theme of selflessness. Just, wow). It's a really bold sequel, and I know it did not please everyone, but as a whole, I'm really impressed with it. I adore what Dean is doing with the story, and I trust the next film will be amazing (and heartwrenching) as well!

It's so odd to have grown up alongside Hiccup. Watching this, seeing his wild-youthful ambitions and dreams at the beginning of the film, it reminded me so much of how I was on the cusp of college. Now I'm in grad school, and much like Hiccup, I've got a lot more on my shoulders than I used to. But, honestly, it is an honor to live for other people. Sure, it is hard, but if Hiccup can do it after suffering so much loss, so can we... especially if we have an amazing friend or two by our side (which I'm thankful to say I do!).

So, on a somewhat comedic note, by the time I got to the funeral scene, I was balling. I had my hand over my eyes and just couldn't look at the screen. Then, suddenly, my phone starts to buzz. I look down to see a picture of Stoick and the caller ID reading out "Dad" (yeah, my phone shows a picture of Stoick for my dad and Valka for my mom...). I immediately pause the film and pick up. It was so weird, but I was so happy and relieved to talk to my father. He laughed when I told him what was going on. He's such a great dad, and I'm really, really lucky to have him. So, yeah, thankfully my dad is still around!

Anyway, I'm so glad to have gotten the chance to watch the second film. I've still got more HTTYD3 posts in the works, but the rest of my week looks really busy (running ELISA on about 80 samples), so they may not get done until the weekend. Hope you all had an amazing HTTYD2 anniversary!

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