How To Train Your Dragon is a great film to watch around Father’s day this week-end. Charles Merritt helps Christian parents consider its messages around masculinity and fatherhood.
Film: How to Train Your Dragon
Age rating: PG
Runtime: 116 minutes
See this if you liked: How To Train Your Dragon (2010)
Synopsis:
Hiccup lives on the Isle of Berk, a Viking island sworn to protect the world from dragons. Despite his best efforts, Hiccup is not a natural born dragon killer, much to the disappointment of his father. This all changes though when he manages to injure a Night Fury – the deadliest dragon of them all, a legend that no one has ever seen up close. Unable to kill it, Hiccup finds himself healing the dragon, Toothless, and ultimately earning their trust. But how will Hiccup convince the rest of the island that dragons are not the enemies and, most importantly of all, his Dad, the chief?
Pre-review notes:
I have only seen the animated version this live-action remake was based on once. It was on an iPod touch which will give you a good idea of just how long ago that was… Therefore, walking into this movie, I didn’t have as much nostalgia or reverence for the animated film as others may have.
What I liked:
The first note I wrote after watching this film was ‘Oh my gosh that was good’. Sometimes you go into a film and want to have your mind blown, sometimes you need a film that is the equivalent to a warm hug. I would say that this leans heavily into the latter with a healthy dose of the former to be an incredibly satisfying trip to the cinema.
For Universal’s first live-action remake, Disney should be taking notes. It’s still as charming as the animation but felt more grown up in a way that doesn’t take away any of the movie magic. It’s a classic family feel-good film that I imagine will be enjoyed for many years to come.
Hiccup is played by Mason Thames, a relative newcomer with a handful of other roles in smaller films, and he does a brilliant job of being the unlikely hero who finds himself becoming more than he had ever hoped to be.
Gerard Butler reprises his role from the original animated film and is a delight. I’ve not watched many Gerard Butler films, but I imagine after this film he’s going to be a lot busier as he plays it so well and provides a stellar performance as the hardened chief who struggles to be a father to someone he doesn’t understand.
Toothless is adorable, keeping a lot of the charm from his animated counterpart (I mean, he’s still animated but less cartoonishly). Kids will love him, as I’m sure adults will too.
It is a visually stunning film, and the flight sequences were particularly beautiful, enhanced by the rousing soundtrack from the film’s original composer John Powell.
What I didn’t like:
My only note is that the first scene of the movie was difficult to see as it was too dark but the later nighttime scenes were fine (probably helped by there being more fire…).
Notes for parents:
This might be a little too scary/slow for young audiences, but I imagine 8-year-olds and above will have a brilliant time.
Faith thoughts:
There’s a lot of talk about male role models at the moment off the back of Adolescence and Gareth Southgate’s BBC lecture. So, I was really struck by the film’s protagonist, Hiccup, who bucks the stereotypical trend of male heroes of being muscular and quick with their fists.
There’s a running gag of people pointing to Hiccup and saying that ‘all of this’ is wrong with him, and by ‘all of this’, as Hiccup responds, they really mean everything he is. He isn’t a dragon killer; he doesn’t have the same thirst for blood like those around him. But he does have the same interests at heart. Both Hiccup and his dad, Stoick, want to protect their people – they just have different ideas of what that looks like.
Hiccup is resourceful, studious and inventive. He helps Toothless to fly again and, at the same time, learns how to train dragons without killing them (hence the name of the film I guess). He has the one quality that the world has tried to train out of men in the past – empathy.
Read more:
As Gareth Southgate considers a generation of lost boys here are some reflections for Christian parents
Answering your child’s questions: Why is God a Father?
Lilo and Stitch – Finding life after death
Empathy makes Hiccup unique in his community. He doesn’t kill Toothless because he realises that Toothless is just as scared of him as he is of him.
Being a man doesn’t mean that we must be void of empathy. Understanding and relating to others is crucial. Jesus was hugely empathetic. He felt others pain and understood their situations, not only physically healing them but enabling them to rejoin community again.
That’s not to say that Stoick is a bundle of ‘toxic masculinity’, he clearly has a big heart and wants to see Hiccup succeed, but perhaps he doesn’t quite have the emotional maturity to see that his son, though different to him, has plenty to offer the Isle of Berk.
Overall, the film seems to play on the themes of 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. ‘Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you has a part in it’.
By the end of the film, each villager realises they have something of value to offer. Hiccup leads the charge and the rest follow.
What do you bring to the body of Christ? What parts of you do you dial down to fit in with those you seek to impress? What would it look like to play to your strengths and embrace everything that God has made you to be?
