When I first saw How to Train Your Dragon, it was around when it first released. At that time, I didn’t care what time period it was about or whether it was accurate or not. I just knew it was about vikings and dragons, and that is all that mattered to me at the time. Now having to watch it critically, I realize how important some of the aspects I didn’t care about are. This movie could possibly be the first time kids are introduced to vikings, and with that they will come to associate things from the movie with the vikings and the Middle Ages. Some aspects are correct, like that they were fighting people, albeit not actually with dragons. However, some may also associate having helmets with horns as a viking normality. We know from our class discussion that those helmets are inaccurate, yet it is one of the first things most people think of when it comes to vikings. It is kind of weird to think that a movie can impact someones knowledge without really meaning to.
I also think the animation in the movie is cool. You can see the depth of the animated characters that we are use to today. It is the kind of animation used with the more recent animated movies like Tangled (2010) and Frozen (2013). It’s also interesting how many action sequences are in this movie. Obviously, they probably used a computer during the animation process, but image if a computer wasn’t used for these scenes specifically. I don’t think the animators would have thought about including them at all.
This movie also shows a common theme that has been seen in a lot of the movies we watched; that everybody can get along. Instead of different religions like that of The Crusades (1935), its peace among the vikings and the dragons. Its interesting how that theme continues to present itself over time.
hollywoodhistorysite 
I too first watched this film when it was initially released and had the same reaction- I did not care what-so-ever if it was historically accurate. Now that I know more about Vikings through this class, I think I will naturally criticize films more to see if they are portraying history accurately. I enjoyed your comparison of this films to the other ones we have seen in class; I have not thought about comparing them, but I agree. I think this film is a great introduction of Vikings to children.
LikeLike
When I watched How To Train Your Dragon, I also thought about how inaccurate it was about vikings and the Middle Ages. The costumes and helmets and weapons they used were not historically accurate. At first, that also kind of seemed weird to me, but then I thought about how kids would think it’s more inserting. Kids love dragons so that is probably why the director added dragons, to gain interest from young children. It makes sense why they add some modern things in, but it is inaccurate and that is how kids will see vikings now.
LikeLike