Ok, I'm not gonna go in depth on any of these because I suppose each one would deserve a massive post all to itself (especially this one and the last one!). This moment, this moment for Hiccup was absolutely incredible. The fact that he walked into that ring knowing that he would shock his tribe, possibly lose his life, and disappoint his father who he so desperately wants to please. He's pretty much giving up everything. He's already told Astrid to take care of Toothless if he dies. He's going to lose the massive amount of people who are impressed by him. He may very well lose his life to the jaws and fire of one of the most aggressive dragons in the archipelago, and he is going to throw away the chance to gain the respect of his father. I honestly wonder if the latter thing is not by far this most painful for him. And why does he do all of this? "To protect your pet dragon?" Yes, but there is more than that. He learned to love Toothless, found true friendship for the first time in that dragon, and he learned very clearly that his society was wrong, his whole world was wrong. If he wanted to just keep Toothless safe, though that was a part if it, because if he only wanted to protect his friend he could have run away. Instead he stays, he stays because he must do what is right. He has to try. And he will lose everything for the sake of trying to change his world for the better. I just can't say how much I admire him for this scene alone.
Alright, this next little analysis will be shorter, but I don't EVER give Astrid as much credit as she deserves. Hiccup is completely crushed in this scene, and he truly wonders if it would not have been better if he would have shut his conscience up and killed Toothless the first time he met the dragon. "It would have been better for everyone--" and he is right. Now ALL of them are sailing to their deaths, even Toothless, so what good were his actions? What was the point of his heroism if it only gives him heartbreak and destroys everyone he cares about? That is when Astrid steps in, and it is amazing that SHE still sees him as a hero. She doesn't believe it was all in vain, and she thinks there might just yet be a hero on the inside of this small freckly boy, who, though defeated, could rise again and save them all. She wants to remember what he says right now, she believes these events are incredibly important, and she is able to remind Hiccup what he was fighting for, remind him that Toothless is out there, that dragons are different, that maybe he has done something wonderful, and that now he needs to press back into the fight. Thank you Astrid Hofferson!
Ok, so I lied about the last one being shorter XD Maybe this one will be. It is utterly amazing to see Stoick, Hiccup, and Toothless together here. Amazing to see these two ancient foes brought together by the love of a single boy. Stoick and Toothless probably have the blood of hundreds on their hands, but the reconcile an age old fight because Hiccup has shown BOTH of them that their is more to their enemy than meets the eye. Toothless trusts Stoick enough to give Hiccup back even though the man captured him, tied him up, and dragged him away from the boy. And then Stoick thanks Toothless, thanks the dragon that at the beginning of the film had struck an angry and hot terror into him and the rest of the village. Stoick is a chief, he is not quick to change, not quick to reconcile, but after all that has happened he pretty much welcomes Toothless into his family, and it is beautiful.
Last one. I was torn between Forbidden Friendship and the GotNF scene shown above. I just picked this one because I though I might could plow into it more easily. Toothless here makes the ultimate sacrifice, he really does. He destroys his means of freedom, and he destroys it because he wants to. Yes, he dove into the burning body of the Red Death so as to save Hiccup, but he did that so as to save the boys life. He gives up his freedom completely here to save Hiccup's friendship with him, to let the boy know that he will never leave him again. It may have seemed such a small thing, such a trivial worry that drove Toothless to do this when you compare it to the other sacrifices that he has made, but that is the beauty of it. I can't imagine that anything would matter more to him as a dragon than his ability to fly. One only has to watch him to see that he enjoys it tremendously. Plus, Toothless was probably a very independent creature before meeting Hiccup, and he still very much thinks and fends for himself. In the end he gives all of that, gives it up forever, and it is a promise signed in the snow that he will never leave Hiccup. The temptation of freedom would not draw him away from the boy, and he wanted Hiccup to be sure of his undying loyalty. Now he will live a much more restricted, confined, almost pathetic life for such a majestic creature, but he doesn't see it that way. He's sees Hiccup as being worth more than life and as being worth more than liberty. Beautiful...
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