How To Train Your Dragon

[ar]

How to Train Your Dragon has two supporting female characters: Astrid, the love interest, and Ruffnut, one of the comic relief characters. Despite the fact that they are both in dragon fighting classes together, I can't recall a single instance in which they ever speak to each other. Astrid speaks almost solely to the hero, Hiccup, and Ruffnut to her male twin brother, Tuffnut. The film is very much a horse-and-his-boy story, substituting "dragon" for "horse;" what dialogue doesn't involve Hiccup in some way isn't very substantial, no matter who's saying it.

That said, I personally found the film enjoyable despite the fact that it fails the Bechdel Test at rule 2, and I hold out hope that if it does well enough to garner sequels, future movies might be Bechdel passes.

Comments

[foxfirefey]

I am glad you posted about this! I want to see this movie because zomg cute dragons. I was kind of hoping that it might pass the Bechdel Test from the trailer, but, I guess that was too much to ask!

[ar]

I think it does some interesting/valuable things despite not passing the Bechdel Test, so you might still consider seeing it? (I'm going to have to mention the biggest spoiler here, so do skip over the next paragraph if you don't want to hear them!)

The biggest one is the fact that Hiccup ends the movie having lost one of his legs in the big final battle; he gets a prosthetic made out of wood and iron. If the film ends up the start of a franchise (the film was clearly written to support sequels if it proves profitable), it'll be a franchise starring a disabled character who goes on adventures and saves the day, which could theoretically be awesome. I like the overall themes of friendship/teamwork and finding creative, non-violent ways to defuse conflict that pervade the film; Hiccup becomes the most talented of his class of dragon fighters not by beating the tar out of them but by using what he's learned about dragons to defend himself against them. He discovers they're scared of eels and brandishes one until they back away, he finds the dragon equivalent of catnip and distracts them, etc. Plus, it's a movie for children that doesn't rely on easy grabs like pop culture references or scatalogical humour; while it makes a few references (to Dungeons and Dragons especially), it doesn't beat them to death, and I am always a fan of movies where I don't have to sit through jokes about bodily functions.

...Also, the dragons remind me so much of kitties that I want to pet them. D:

[thedivinegoat]

I don't suppose you've read the books and know how closely the film follows them?

I was thinking of taking my [austitic] son, who adores the books, but might get upset by huge deviations in the story.

[ar]

I haven't read the books, but I really want to now. According to wikipedia, there are several changes; it sounds like Toothless is quite different, and Hiccup's best friend has a smaller part than he did in the books, and the initial relationship of the village to the dragons is changed in a way that could be upsetting (they fight the dragons rather than training them). I'm sorry I can't be of more help.

[scaramouche]

Spoilers in this comment as well.

I literally gasped out loud at the reveal of Hiccup's prosthetic leg, because that's something that'd never been done to a lead character in an animated family film, and I seriously just wanted to stand up and applaud at that point. Hiccup is still very much a hero and the loss of the leg isn't treated as something that reduces his worth. Also, it perfectly mirrors Toothless' incomplete tail.

Also, the dragons remind me so much of kitties that I want to pet them.

YES. I kept getting flashbacks to my own cat while watching this. Why doesn't my cat have wings? D:

This film didn't feel like a Dreamworks product at all. I'm still amazed. I looked up the director, turns out he's the guy who directed Lilo & Stitch, which explains a lot.

[ar]

I felt basically the exact same way as you, augh; I especially liked his comment that he might make some adjustments to his prosthesis.

Watching it made me want a cat so bad. The market is clearly ripe for a dragonkitty, salfkjhdskjfh. And I didn't know the director was the guy behind Lilo & Stitch! That's brilliant--I can definitely see the resemblance here.

[foxfirefey]

I AM SO SEEING THIS MOVIE STILL AND THUS I WILL NOT READ YOUR SPOILER YET.

If I only saw movies that passed the Bechdel Test, I'd see a lot fewer fun movies.

[ar]

OKAY EXCELLENT. :D Honestly, I was worried that it wouldn't be worth the price of admission (where I'm living right now, it costs twice as much to see a movie than where I'm from!), but I left feeling quite satisfied. I hope you enjoy it!

[esoterrica]

I saw it yesterday and couldn't remember if it passed or not, hence no post. The dragons are adorable, and it was a fun movie despite a lack of Bechdelness.

[anthimeria]

I'm not sure, but I think the movie might squeak a pass. There's one training scene where Astrid and Ruffnut are paired, and the night they sit around the fire telling stories and bragging.

That being said, even if it doesn't pass, it's worth seeing for numerous other awesome reasons (including the spoiler you mentioned, which made me gleeful).

I was also really pleased to see a bunch of kickass, butch female Vikings in the crowd scenes.