What A Cartoon Movie! - How to Train Your Dragon
Added 2025-02-24 05:00:06 +0000 UTCIt should've been a disaster: Dreamworks adapts a popular British kids' book series, and aren't happy with what they've made after years of development & artwork. Yet, with the late arrival of two of the best artists to work in the Disney Renaissance, we end up with one of the studio's biggest franchises. Learn how Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders rehabilitated this injured dragon story as we celebrate the 2010 film that turned around the creative fortunes of Dreamworks Animation.
Comments
Deepest apologies for that one. I am a firm supporter of Irish independence. - Henry
Talking Simpsons
2025-03-20 21:08:52 +0000 UTCDespite more or less being in the age bracket that this movie was intended for (I was a few weeks shy of turning 14 when it released), I never ended up watching it until I did as preparation for this podcast. It's perfectly cromulent, and CERTAINLY much better than the majority of Dreamworks films, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. I strongly appreciate the messaging against genocide and races being an evil monolith (which too much fantasy seems to fall into), and it's engaging enough, but something is missing for me. I think it also does not help that Jay Baruchel, who I have been inundated with my whole life as a Canadian and DO actually enjoy most of the time, is not exactly the person you want to hear talk the most in an animated film. -- I also (of course) love Nick Frost, but it is a little disappointing it's not just Craig Ferguson reprising his role for the live-action film. I LOVED his Late Late Show and it was a very sad, disgusting day when it was passed onto James Corden. I'll never forgive that bastard for thrusting his mouse balls at the camera to promote that Cinderella movie nobody saws or remembers.
Dylan (batmanboy11) Freitag
2025-03-10 18:54:38 +0000 UTCI was a big fan of the first HTTYD movie, but I absolutely hated the sequel. Mainly because it made two tropes I simply cannot stand the crux of the film's plot. As such I've never seen the third.
Dennis K
2025-03-07 01:58:36 +0000 UTCHearing the DeBlois is gay was really fascinating to hear in the context of the trilogy. You can see it a lot with the Stoick/Hiccup relationship and how much of films breakdown or test ideas of masculinity and relationships. It really enriches 1 and 2; however it unfortunately makes the 3rd movie even more awkward. You guys joke about the compulsive heterosexuality; but The Hidden World makes some very uncomfortable subtext about following that when you get to the ultimate conclusion. It's something that bothered me and other queer animation friends at the time. That being said, the quality of these movies definitely upped the reputation of Dreamworks; with 1 and 2 being some of the studio's best. And they all had incredible 3D that was greatly incorporated in the film rather than being added in post production that many blockbusters did at the time. I'll be very curious to know how you all feel going into the sequels!
SilkiePJ
2025-03-02 05:20:27 +0000 UTCI came to also make this comment. I watched Tintin in 3D some years back on PSVR. And there is a good chance bob or Henry have a PSVR laying around.
Jonathan Mitchell
2025-02-28 19:11:51 +0000 UTCI just logged on from the actual UK for the same reason!
Cody C.
2025-02-27 21:32:15 +0000 UTC"Ireland is part of the UK so that's why it's easy to hire Canadians" God DAMN IT Henry.
CaptainBoomer
2025-02-26 08:01:38 +0000 UTCSince Bob/Henry asked out to the audience; I'll update on the status of 3D Animated Films about Dad-Stuff as someone who tries to keep up with all the major releases. It's still around for sure, but there are less than there were 10 years ago. Though there's less stories about the typical stoic/unemotional/disappointed dad; now there's more variety between stories about overprotective dads, workaholic dads, dead dads, deadbeat dads, and dads as main characters. In the past 5 years, Disney has only done 1 (Strange World), Pixar has done 2 (Onward, Elemental), and Dreamworks has only done 1 (Dog Man). Illumination is the most guilty for the standard dad stories lately; but they've always felt a decade behind culturally and comedy wise. Stories about parents are pretty universal and very recognizable for children, so I don't think they'll be leaving anytime soon. I believe Bob/Henry have just had a bad string of luck covering dad-centric animated films (Chicken Little, Hotel Transylvania, HTTYD) and the more recent ones they've seen like Garfield or Super Mario Bros had dad stuff outta nowhere. PS: You guys would probably really enjoy Dogman. Peter Hastings brings his Animaniacs/Freakazoid style comedy to Pikey's work very seamlessly and has a snappy, loud, slapsticky sense of humor that pokes a lot of fun at the ineffectiveness and foolishness of cops. Even the dad stuff here is a bit subversive since it covers more of a queer-coded idea of separated, single-parent relationships.
SilkiePJ
2025-02-25 03:59:07 +0000 UTCI have those sets, I can confirm that's a feature on them.
Harry Thornton
2025-02-25 00:36:08 +0000 UTCThere's actually one way I know of to watch 3D blu-rays in the modern day and it's very funny, If you own a psvr and a PS4 you can watch 3D movies in VR I did this with my copy of The Lion King diamond edition I think
Covey M.
2025-02-25 00:34:04 +0000 UTCA minor Don Bluth update, he's fairly active on Twitter and for the last few months has been posting a lot of production stories from his various works. Including an incredibly depressing one (that he later deleted) featuring a picture of him and the cat he had that inspired Banjo the Woodpile Cat. He detailed how he tried to take it to Ireland with him but it was subject to their intense, long quarantine process for all incoming animals where it ultimately did not survive. It was written up like a fun fact but I can only imagine he got some blowback from animal lovers and decided maybe he should have kept that one to himself. It really bummed me out but I'm sure animal death is very unceremonious to a mormon born on a farm. On HTTYD, I was in my final years of high school when it came out when it would raise eyebrows if you talked about being into an animated movie too much but I really tried to bang the drum on this one if only to convince people it was worth seeing instead of the live action Alice in Wonderland movie which I still consider to be the ugliest film ever made. I do think something was lost along the way when Chris Sanders departed the series as a director but the sequels are very strong with some great character moments. A major weakness is that two and three bring in human villains to mixed results. I still think the first one is the strongest in that the Red Death is simply a force of nature that the smaller beasts are conditioned to following through a pecking order. On the live action remake, Deblois' sentiments seem to be a resigned "if I didn't do this, someone else without the attachment to the IP was going to." which I can respect though it is a shame that he has to essentially make the same movie more out of necessity than any real passion.
Blake R.
2025-02-24 19:29:43 +0000 UTCI read somewhere the Star Trek blu-rays have the original special effects accessible through the "angle" feature, (because the standard version of the episodes you see today have been redone with CGI special effects) That's what I read at least, I don't know if that's actually true though.
Covey M.
2025-02-24 17:44:03 +0000 UTCI was a freshman in college right after this came out. For whatever reason it became a drinking game movie in my social circle where you had to drink and shout “dragon!” every time they say dragon. I think the combination of light fantasy and vague adolescent issues made this a very solid base for the many sequels and spinoffs.
Peter Hanneman
2025-02-24 13:42:54 +0000 UTC
