IMDb News!

Wow... just WOW. How To Train Your Dragon 2 is currently the second highest animated movie of all time on IMDb. That is phenomenal. I just got onto the grapevine and found this, and my jaw dropped.

To be honest... it makes me feel lucky. Lucky that DreamWorks did not give us a cheap spin off... Lucky that Dean poured so much heart and life and fire into the second movie. It makes me feel lucky that the second one truly did live up to the first, and it makes me glad that I've seen it four times in theaters already! We who have been in the fandom really are just so fortunate to have gotten such a great second step in the story, and it is amazing to see people outside of our crazy little huddle appreciating the story of the characters that we have grown to love so much!

It also makes me so happy that I enjoyed the movie so much... that I related to it every bit as much as I did to the first one. Not everybody, not even every fan, got that. But I loved the second film. I was completely satisfied with it, and I am just floored to see it so positively received by the critics!

Perfect... Just absolutely perfect.

Here's just a continuation of thoughts on why I personally could not have been more satisfied with HTTYD2. It will contain spoilers or at least hints at them, so I'll use a "read more".

Sorry!

Ahhhh... sorry readers! I know I've not posted in a while, and I DO have SO many things I want to discuss about the second movie! Everything from the themes, to the character arcs, to the lighting and graphics, to the (gorgeous) soundtrack! But I just have been so, soooooo busy! I work about ten hours each day, and when I get back to my room I still have reading that I want to do and emails that need sending and phone calls to make. So, I do want to post more, but I may or may not post frequently. Bear with me XP

Well... I'm just flabbergasted!

I'm extremely excited to say that this last Saturday I got to meet Rima (justoffravenpoint from Tumblr) in person! She had not yet gotten the opportunity to see the sequel, so we went together, and I had a great, great time! Then, heh, after finishing the movie went spent SEVEN straight hours chatting about HTTYD, HTTYD2, the series, Glory and Toothlesslove's webnovel, and even Dsplash! It was so extremely fun. I was actually ever so mildly worried that we wouldn't have much to do for the rest of the day, but boy was I WRONG. I have not had such enjoyable discussions in ages! We delved into so much! I kinda felt bad though... because like most of us I think she sorta left the theater in shock. That's the general reaction of most fans... sort of an inability to process everything they just saw! But, once we got into discussing it, the themes displayed in the second movie and how gorgeously done it was, it was just the funnest of times. Plus we exchanged some art, listened to the soundtrack, and looked over the art book. There were many, many predictions made on what the third movie would be like, but in the end we are just guessing, and probably not guessing right because I know neither of us predicted just how serious HTTYD2 would be! Anyway, if she's reading this, thanks again to her for getting in touch, meeting up, and spending the day with me! Boy, the friends I've made in the fandom are really fantastic people, and I'm so thankful for them!

Red Rage

Major spoilers will be in this post, but I intend to delve into how I believe the "Red Rage" works in HTTYD2, and how it can be broken. This was a hard post for me to write... for many reasons. It's a complex subject, and to be fair a very emotional one. Click the "read more".

On opening night!

I did get a few pictures taken of myself on opening night (thanks to my good friend who came with me [and paid for our tickets!]). So, if you are at all interested, here they are. Click the "read more"... as usual.

The true first reaction...

So, after seeing HTTYD2 for the second time in theaters, it just struck me how different I felt leaving it the second time. My first reaction, the first time I saw the film, was just absolutely unbelievable. I have never, ever, ever been moved by any story like I was by that one, and I wrote a sort of emotional gush expressing how traumatized I was. I sent it in a mail, but I figured I might as well display this mail to the world so that you all can get just a tiny glimpse of how much this film shocked me. I imagine I was not the only one who felt this way upon arriving home from the theater! Spoilers follow. Click the "Read More".

Alpha

So, I'm gonna give my thoughts on the whole Alpha aspect of HTTYD2... and why I liked it, and why I think it works quiet well. Though a bit more fantastical than what we saw in the first film, it remains more realistic than what we see in the books, and in the end I think there is a very realistic and logical explanation for the entire Alpha system! That's always fun, having something truly extraordinary and unique in a film, but being able to reconcile it with reality at the same time. Click the read more to view the post. It WILL contain spoilers.

Father's Day

So, today seems to be a good day to do a really, really heart felt post in praise of Stoick. BUT, it will contain spoilers, so I'm gonna use a "read more". Click it if you've seen the second movie.

*Spoilers Follow* Goofy Quote Parody

These are some goofy quote parities I made from other films that felt adequately suitable for the traumatizing events that occurred in HTTYD2. Enjoy :)

Bolt:
Me talking to Drago (or the Alpha): "Hiccup is the most wonderful person ever, and he loves Toothless, and he's awesome, and you're a monster! How DARE you disrupt their relationship with your EVIL? DIE! DIE!"

Mega Mind:
Me trying to prepare a fellow HTTYD fan for what is coming in the sequel: "Imagine the most horrifying, terrible, evil thing you could possibly think of, and multiply it by SIX!"

Doctor Who: Forrest of the Dead:
Toothless speaking to Drago as he stands on his Bewilderbeast at the climax: "Don't play games with me! You just killed someone I liked. THAT IS NOT A SAFE PLACE TO STAND!"

Pacific Rim:
Hiccup decides to give an epic speech directly after Stoick's funeral: "Today... Today. At the edge of our hope, at the end of our time, we have chosen not to believe only in ourselves, but in each other. Today there's not a man or dragon who will stand alone. Today we FACE the MONSTERS that are at our DOOR, and bring the FIGHT to them, TODAY WE ARE CANCELING THE APOCALYPSE!"

*CAUTION SPOILERS FOLLOW* My first opinions written down about HTTYD2

Click the "read more" to see a massively spoiler filled post.

The Day is upon me.... (KEEP BREATHING)

This is just.... WRONG! It's today? Today's the DAY???! Like, today? This PHYSICAL rotation of planet earth? Really? C'mon, you can't be serious? 

IT'S BEEN FOUR YEARS, and I am feeling soooooooo weird right now! HTTYD2 is no longer one of those things you look forward to but feel like it will never get to (like me getting out of college...). It has snuck right up on me, and I was even using a countdown to try and keep myself up to date! But it struck me last night, and it follows me today... HOWEVER THIS ENDS, IT ENDS TODAY!!!! 

Oh yes, I'm feeling on top of the world... and at the same time I just wanna bury myself under several tons of concrete I'm so nervous! After so many years of waiting, Hiccup, Toothless, and I are about to finally meet again, and I couldn't be happier!

1

The number of incredible, beautiful, heartwarming, irreplaceable, and utterly unique Toothlesses in HTTYD, and the number of characters who will ever capture my heart so completely.

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!!!!!!!!

P.S. I am watching a preshowing tomorrow!

2

The number of times Astrid kisses Hiccup in HTTYD

The number of Bewilderbeasts that are in the second film

The number of strike class dragons confirmed thus far

The number of HTTYD sequels we haven't yet seen

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

3

The number of times characters gestured to all of Hiccup

The number of HTTYD shorts released to date

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

Musical Strike Class!

Soooo... I got a bit of free time, and I'd been doing a whole lot of work/good reading recently and I wanted to do something a bit fun. I grabbed a spare sheet of paper and scrawled this out. It is actually quite funny! I wonder how many of you might could catch what song I'm making a parity of. This idea mostly came from the idea of Toothless and Skari falling into a dimension which is musical (so, like Frozen's world or something, where every ten minutes or so the characters burst into song). After finding that idea comical, I just needed a song for them to gurgle out (because of course they wouldn't be singing in English), and the song written on the sheet seemed pretty perfect for them. Anybody want to take a stab at what this song is/where it is from? You'll get Night Fury bonus points if you do :)

4

The number of times Toothless has regurgitated fish up for Hiccup

(why say anything more, that's just perfect)

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

5

The number of nights in a row in which I had AWFUL Nightmares after seeing the above image

The number of dragons who were usually working in the academy in RoB

The number of dragons Hiccup was forced to face in the arena during the first film

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

6

The number of teens in HTTYD

The shot limit of a Gronckle

The (incorrectly given) shot limit of Toothless

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!!

Two Months of Peace: Part III

Ok, it's been a while since I've posted my last Chronicle, and it may be a while until the next one too (not sure, depends on my mood!), but at long last I can release it to you! Sorry, it is not illustrated like my last few. I will probably make an illustration and post it sepperately, but right now I am away from home doing some work, and this work eats up a lot of time. I'm very happy to be here, but I'm just too busy to make art.

Anyway, this Chronicle has some incredibly important issues and some developments in growing character arcs. I hope you enjoy it.

7

The number of different dragons species we physically see in the first film

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

8

The number of eyes on a Snaptrapper

The number of ears/nubs Toothless has in the first film

The number of digital paintings I have done of Hiccup and Toothless together

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

9

The number of prosthetic arms Gobber uses in the first film

The number of head spines Toothless has in HTTYD2

The number of letters in the name "Toothless"

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

10

The number of episodes in a volume of RoB or DoB

The number of incredibly significant Lost Things in the later HTTYD books

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!

11

The number of HTTYD books currently released by Cressida

The number of Main human characters in HTTYD2

and

THE NUMBER OF DAYS UNTIL HTTYD2!