VikingontheBackofaDragon Review of the VR Experience!

Hello, Vikings! You may have heard about the Hidden World virtual reality tour that just finished traveling around the Western and Southern regions of the United States. I was pleased to get to attend a few weeks ago; you can continue to the “Read more” for my review.

Dangerous Dragons

Although I have used a gif from the second film, I really want to take a moment to appreciate the trilogy as a whole on this subject. I want to tackle the inherent danger of any interaction between humanity and the dragons, how this is balanced in the films, and why it makes the friendship Hiccup has with Toothless all the more remarkable. I was particularly pleased with two scenes in the third film... so let's dive in!

As Long As He's Safe (Happy Secret Odin MandalorianDragonTrainer)

Well, it's time for Secret Odin! I only have a teaser image above... because the whole image is a SPOILER. I sneakily tried to figure out your favorite moment, Mando, so I hope you like the art piece! You can view the whole thing by clicking the "read more"

How They View Their Dragons

Now that we've seen the last chapter of the HTTYD story, I want to expand upon a post a wrote way back comparing Hiccup, Valka, and Drago. This will be my attempt to analyze the mindset of each of these characters, especially in regard to the dragons that inhabit their world. This will contain spoilers, so please only read ahead if you've seen the third film!

Toothless: The Motives Behind His Actions

Although I think the second movie is a strong sequel to HTTYD, one thing did feel lacking until the third act. Unlike the first film, Toothless's actions in the beginning of the second had very little impact on the plot. He was there, and it was fun to see him interacting with Hiccup, but I know myself and many other fans wished the film would have given him a more developed arch.

Then we get the third film. Every one of Toothless's actions has shattering impact on the story as a whole. It was fantastic, but also kinda scary! He isn't a speaking character, so often times we are left to interpret how much he knows and what he is thinking. I am going to address some instances in the third film where I think it is critical to look at Toothless's actions in the proper light if all the themes are going to be woven together... and more importantly, these areas need to be viewed properly for Toothless to feel in character.

Deathgrippers

HTTYD3 gave us many new things to appreciate and analyze (along with taking our hearts out and stomping on them). One such new jewel is Grimmel’s personal pack of hunting dragons: The Deathgrippers. In this post, I want to analyze their anatomy and abilities, and also discuss why I really enjoyed their involvement in the plot.

HTTYD3: My Interpretation of The Ending

So, I plan to analyze the very final scenes of HTTYD3. Obviously, this will have spoilers, so please only read it if you've seen the film!

Friendship vs Romantic Love: Which one Triumphs in HTTYD3?

This is the first of my posts with SPOILERS. If you haven't seen HTTYD3 yet, don't read this post. I'll be diving into numerous important scenes and discussing the plot as a whole. What I want to tackle is the issue of whether or not HTTYD3 replaces the core heart of the franchise (which has thus far been the strong friendship between Hiccup and Toothless) with romantic love.

No matter how this ends, it ends TODAY!

'Nuff said. See you guys on the other side!

One Day More!

Well, this is it. The last day before we see the last chapter of Hiccup and Toothless! I've been a mess of conflicted feelings, but it's totally worth it! 

This was my calendar image for today! Man, how perfect! This moment is one of many that I am extremely eager to see... because I have no idea what might trigger this or how it will end.

And for old time's sake, I've been listening to this song! Haha, I bought it and listened to it all day back in 2014 before I saw the second film (and then consequently hated the song for several months!). It's so strange to be so happy! Everyone else is walking around like it's a normal, simple day... but I am having a really hard time not just exploding from nostalgia, excitement, and feels!

My little brother is coming up to stay the night with me. I'm hoping to play the Dsplash rpg with him, and I know we'll play some smash brothers. I'm just trying to keep it together at this point! We are so close to the end!!!

Watching (sobbing) through the Second Film... the Last Time Before We See The End

Whew, well... I tackled the second movie this evening! Gosh, it's basically just one day until seeing the third one! I knew this day would come eventually, just not so soon! I don't feel ready! I've made notes while watching through the second film, but they probably aren't as thoughtful as the ones I made for the first one (because I was crying too much, tbh!!). If you'd like to see my thoughts, click the "read more".

Watching The First Film... The Last Time Before I See The End

Well, I just finished watching the first film! I jotted down a few of my thoughts and reactions that I had during that watch-through. If you wanna see me be sappy, click the read more!

ONE WEEK

Well, it's just one week now until I will have seen HTTYD3 (roughly to the hour)! It's so crazy to think that the sequel is so close. I've had a much weirder ride building up to it. For one, I spent the entirety of last year so miserable and stressed out by my job/boss that I hardly had time to focus on fandom stuff... so the third movie has kinda snuck up on me! On the other hand, we got a lot of news dumped on us that had a bunch of fans arguing over whether it was good or bad (especially the Light Fury). Unlike waiting for the second film, I wasn't really concerned at all waiting for this one. I feel like a part of that is because I saw how well Dean handled Hiccup's development and the story as a whole in the second film, and I trusted him to do it again. Plus, I'd heard the reactions of people like Cressida Cowell and Steven Spielberg, and they both said they loved the film.

So, yeah, I'm gonna watch HTTYD, GotNF, and HTTYD2 this week in anticipation of Saturday. It's a really surreal feeling... drawing this close to the end. I'm both excited and kinda sad! It is going to be the end of an era. It will be the last time we wait in eager anticipation for our heroes to soar onto a theater screen. It will be the last time we sit down not knowing how the story will end. It's the final step in this epic tale that has shaped me so deeply as a person, and I am a little scared to take it.

That being said, I think I've made my position clear on being happy that the story will be given genuine closure and not be dragged out in horrendous style like other animated franchises have been. It may be the end of one ear, but it will be the beginning of a different one. It will be the start of being a nerd of a franchise that has immortalized itself as a classic and an icon. It won't be the same, but there will still be this immense joy of having witnessed every last moment of this amazing story. It will be so satisfying to place the HTTYD trilogy on a shelf and proudly look back at it years from now and say: There were dragons when I was a boy.

HTTYD3 Funko Pop Review

Well, I picked up my favorite Funko Pops to date (Although that Roy Mustang Pop gives the Light Fury a run for her money!)! I'm gonna take a bunch of pics and give a few comments on these guys. If you are interested, click the "read more".

HTTYD3 EARLY SHOWINGS

Go. Buy. Tickets. Now.

If you live in the US, you probably are somewhat on edge right now if you are an HTTYD fan. Lots of other people in the fandom who don't live here have gotten the chance to see the climactic final part of Hiccup and Toothless's story, but you are stuck waiting for MONTHS until the US release! I. feel like I'm missing the party, missing all the initial spazzing out and discussions and analysis!

Thankfully, we do get this one golden opportunity to see the third film 20 DAYS EARLY. That's right! After the second of February, I will have seen the movie, and this blog will no longer be an anti-spoiler zone (I'll still keep spoilers under a "read more" cause I know not everyone can make it)!! 

I'm so excited!! 

My thoughts on the second HTTYD3 trailer

Well, the gifs aren't mine, but I do wanna finally sit down and talk a bit about what we saw in the trailer! I'm kinda short on time, but I'll try and get my thoughts together and have something worth reading!

The new trailer!!!!!

Well, the new trailer dropped! I will be typing out my opinion on this WONDERFUL little glimpse of what we are gonna get, but I don't know whether or not I'll have time to do it tonight! Seriously, it is great!! Feel free to let me know what you guys thought :D

New (Somewhat Panic Inducing) Developments!

So, we have some new HTTYD3 news, and it is causing a bit of a stir in the fandom (as far as I can see... it has kinda spooked me as well!). So, you might could have picked this detail up when you watched the trailer, but I'm still gonna give you a spoiler warning! Continue reading at your own risk.

Light and Dark: Happy Birthday Toothlesslove!

Happy birthday, Toothlesslove! Man, I barely finished this in time! I've been super, super busy recently (I'm presenting at St. Jude tomorrow, and I'm super nervous!), but I just HAD to make you something! I don't think it's as nice as what I managed to do last year, but I'll blame that on my time constraints! Anyway, if you want a version of the image without the birthday message, as well as to read a little bit of commentary about the art piece, click the "read more"

HTTYD3 Spoiler Policy

Ok, so after seeing/reading TONS of info that Dean or the other creators of the film have been giving us in interviews, I think I may need to start avoiding spoilers. I really do LOVE talking about the third film and speculating what will happen, but I also don't want to be able to predict it completely. I still want to be shocked and moved when I go, so here is my spoiler policy for the blog.

I intend to read no more interviews by the director or other staff unless I deem it absolutely necessary. I will soley be discussing what we get in trailers. I will also probably not watch straight clips from the film, as I feel those spoil the moment.

Please do refrain from commenting on the blog in a way that discusses what is being said in the interviews, or what leaks from the upcoming film festivals (that will be showing a full 20 min of footage). I do want to keep posting, but I don't want to ruin the film.

So, what this means is, I'm basically gonna be blogging blind. I'll be watching the few trailers we get and trying to analyze them... and I'll probably be wrong, and many of you will probably know it! Please just mercifully spare me in the comments, and don't correct me unless you are doing so using footage from a trailer, not info from Dean!

Haha... so, yeah, this is gonna be kinda lame because it will certainly inhibit the quality of my posts as the film approaches, but I think the experience of watching HTTYD3 in theaters will be worth it in the end.

So, you guys remember how Thanos demanded our silence, well... now it's Toothless doing it. And, by what we see in the trailer, I'd say we shouldn't ignore him if we wanna avoid a lightning bolt XD