So, Empire went to DreamWorks to take a peak at HTTYD2, and what they have to say is pretty exciting. Now, I'll just give you the high points and some personal thoughts for those of you who don't want to slog through the article... I was a bit put off by the language in some direct quotes.
Now, it's not dark in ways like decapitation or psychopathic and bizarre crimes... I would imagine taking kids to it will still be completely fine, BUT this isn't RoB anymore folks. The stakes are high, and according to the article things get tense in a lot of ways.
Quote from Dean Deblouis: "I want How To Train Your Dragon to be able to live on a shelf next to your Blu-rays of Lord of the Rings and Star Wars and earn its own place. None of it is pandering to children."
Dang, talk about vision and ambition! HTTYD is, to be fair, an animated movie that most people consider to be a children's story. I don't see it as that, but others do, and I don't blame them. Wow, this is just fabulous. LotR and Star Wars are some of my all time favorite trilogies, and to have HTTYD stuck in their... almost a bridge between them... how awesome is that! But seriously, "None of it is pandering to children."? That is one heck of a bold statement! It gives me confidence that the director will do what he must to make this a good story... even if it kinda bugs small kids. I mean, one way he's already done that is by aging the teens. I've yet to meet a young kid who liked that, but for the sake of the story I think that is marvelous. Plus, if you're not stuck trying to please the kiddies you are able to delve into deeper themes and more serious conflicts. If HTTYD2 is anything like the Lord of The Rings, I'll totally do a backflip. The fact that Dean wants to see his trilogy stand up tall amongst others is really something, and who says an animated film can't achieve that legendary status? The first one certainly laid the groundwork, so I am confident that if the second one is good, we may get a really incredible story. And, as the artcicle points out, Dean saved HTTYD when it was on a literally impossible schedule. The man has talent, and he looks like he's pouring it all out onto the sequel.
Another quote by Dean... and a serious one concerning Hiccup and Toothless: "We really put that friendship to the test. While the first one had some bold ideas, in this film we go bolder. Their friendship takes a really interesting and dramatic turn... I'll say no more."
Now THAT is super incredibly scary and awesome. The article states that this is one of the ways that the angst and darkness of the movie really comes out... in a struggle that revolves around Hiccup and Toothless's friendship. I'm so pleased to see this. Yes, I am excited about the battles and epic scale... but I honestly worried that we would lose the heart of the first movie, and a big portion of the heart of the first film was that it revolved around Hiccup and Toothless's relationship. What will happen? Will it have to do with the fact that they are looking for other Night Furies? Will it be like the books in that Hiccup starts to have to choose between men and Dragons? What about Eret? What if Stoick is threatening to force Hiccup off of Toothless if Hiccup refuses to become chief? Seriously, I have no clue how they will challenge these two, but it's exciting. At the same time... it hurts. Even with both of them being physically broken at the end of the first film, at the soul it felt like they were healed. Everything was perfect, all their problems were behind them and now they could live in peace and continue in there incredible friendship. A happily ever after ending. However, age and circumstances both look like they will come and really break our heroes all over again. That makes for a great story... but it also sort of makes me sad. I so HOPE to see some AMAZING character/friendship/strength moments between them before the end of this!
The article also states that there are absolutely no plans for any HTTYD movies to go past the trilogy.
Am I ok with that? As much as it breaks my heart to think that someday there will be NO new HTTYD things to look forward, I'm actually happy. This way it can be an LotR... a story that ends when it was meant to and has a complete and beautiful arch. If they continued making films... they would gradually and gradually worse, and eventually it would make you almost have to dislike HTTYD. This way, you get it and get it good. Sure, it ends... and then you don't get anymore, but that is way better than a bunch of cheesy sequels taking the amazing characters of HTTYD and making cliche and stupid stories with them just for the sake of a buck. This helps insure that the story will be story oriented, not profit (though I'd love HTTYD2 to make a billion dollars. Probably not gonna happen, but we can hope!). So... sad as I am to think of an eventual end, I think that is better than a slow, horrible decay where we have to watch our characters until we grow sick from how OOC they are made.
Then, most heart-wrenching of all... the truth that we've all dreaded gets a bit more explanation by Dean. He wants the movie to end like the books: "To have Hiccup, a grown, wise Viking Chief standing on a cliff with his stalwart companions, looking at a sky that's no longer teaming with dragons, and over that, hear the first words you read in the How To Train Your Dragon book: 'There were dragons when I was a boy...' It just has this bittersweetness, but it's a satisfying conclusion to Hiccup's growth."
Ok, that quote is enough to make me cry! It totally is doing it right now! Grrrrr... agh. Heart in rags. I totally wouldn't believe it if movie one hadn't chopped off Hiccup's foot! But Dean's gone and said it! The trilogy will explain why Dragons no longer exist. Ok, that's awful... but then there's one facet of it to be so awful as to be completely heartbreaking: Toothless. Ok, what one EARTH is gonna happen here? Will Hiccup be the first and last person to have that sort of friendship with a dragon? How horribly tragic. How will they be separated? Surely not death... but in it's own way a separation where they have to chose to leave each other is far, far worse. Imagine Hiccup forcing the GotNF tail onto Toothless and telling him goodbye forever...
T.T
I am so pleased that HTTYD is going to be a mature trilogy, if only that people won't mock me for loving it to bits, but DANG. So much awesome news in that article, but at the same time it is chock full of heart-wrenchers. I am confident now that the second movie will be phenomenal... but will I be happy? I don't think I can cope knowing that Hiccup and Toothless's friendship, the thing I have always watched and wished was real, will eventually end. The most beautiful friendship in all of fiction... and it's not going to last? It's Frodo and Sam all over again.
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