A Boy and His Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon (2010) is a children’s film that tells a tale about Vikings and the lives they live. In this film, that life consists of defending their village from the dragons that ravage their land. The main character, Hiccup, is a young Viking who doesn’t quite fit in with everyone else and as son of the chieftain, life is made much harder. His life only gets more difficult when he catches a dragon but can’t seem to do what the others would do, kill it. While this only makes his social situation more difficult, he actually learns a lot from his time with his new friend and is able to save his village indefinitely from the threat that looms over them.

As possibly one of the first encounters children will have with the middle ages, it will leave an impression on what children associate with that time period. A common association with Vikings is their look: fur clothing and horned helmets. This film is no different, all of the Vikings inhabiting the island are large, like they are well fed, and sport the fur clothing and horned helmet commonly known to them. Just because this is a common association, doesn’t mean it is an accurate one though. However, the rest of the village is an accurate portrayal, like their buildings and their ships. Children don’t really care for historical accuracy, in fact most of them probably don’t even realize a real time period in history is being portrayed. Kids are more interested in the story that is being told.

Overall, the story line tells a heartwarming story about loving someone for who they are, not who you want them to be. At first Hiccup’s father walks around his village as if he is ashamed of his son because he is unlike the other Vikings on the island. So, when he gets a glimmer of hope that is shattered by Hiccups actions of trying to prove dragons are not what they think they are, he devastatingly tells Hiccup he is not his son. Being more bold and daring than any other Viking before him, he pushes for what he believes in and proves his entire village wrong. In the end, Hiccup really didn’t change himself or anyone else, he just opened them up to new possibilities in which the village learned from.

This film also teaches children not to judge others by what they see on the outside. Everyone judged dragons as vicious and ruthless killers, never giving them the chance to show their true colors. By spending time with toothless, Hiccup was able to learn new thigs about dragons no one in the village knew and proved that they are more than just killers. Making this is a great tale for kids and adults alike, who wish to enjoy a story about a boy and his best friend.