1.Prologue
The other day I got to interview director Dean Deblois for Sekai e Hasshin! SNS Eigojutsu on NHK E-Tele. Deblois was in Japan to promote the third installment of the How to Train Your Dragon series, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
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2.The How to Train Your Dragon Series Returns to Japan
Set in the Viking village of Berk on a fictional remote island to the north, the How to Train Your Dragon series centers on Hiccup, the young son of the village chieftain. Their island is frequently attacked by dragons, but the scrawny Hiccup is deemed too weak to fight; instead, he fosters his talent for creating mechanical devices and works as an apprentice under the village blacksmith. Hoping to earn the respect of his fellow Vikings, he uses a bolas he developed to shoot down a Night Fury—considered the most dangerous and rare dragon in the sky. But when Hiccup finds the downed and injured dragon in the forest, he is unable to bring himself to kill it. He befriends the dragon and names it “Toothless", and gradually resolves to change the minds of his clansmen.
This series is about how the bond between Hiccup and Toothless inspires him to change the minds of his fellow Vikings and teach them how to live in harmony with the dragons. In the process, he gradually comes into his own as a leader in his own right. (Side note, Toothless is given the name Tooth in the Japanese version.)
The sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, did not have a Japanese theatrical release. When the first How to Train Your Dragon had its U.S. release in March 2010, it became a massive hit both in terms of box office and critical reception. In Japan, however, the film was released in the dog days of summer, after films like Disney’s Toy Story 3 and Studio Ghibli’s The Secret World of Arrietty had captured the moviegoing public’s attention. Its box office receipts were mediocre at best.
In response, hardcore Japanese fans mounted a campaign on the petition site Change.org to get the film a theatrical release in Japan. Deblois himself signed the petition and posted about his support for the campaign. Ultimately, it was not meant to be, and the film got a straight-to-DVD release (what the Japanese call DVD suruu, or “DVD through"). (The total number of signatures on the petition is 7,108.) Foreign-made computer animation films that are not under the Disney/Pixar banner have had a difficult time of breaking the Japanese market.
So the theatrical release of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a much-awaited return for many Japanese fans.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Hiccup and his friends have been saving captured dragons and bringing them back to the island of Berk, and as a result the Viking village has become considerably overpopulated. Remembering that his father used to speak of a long-lost dragon haven, Hiccup and Toothless lead the villagers in search of a new home for all of them.
3.Director Dean Deblois’ Hero, Miyazaki Hayao
Deblois, who was born in Canada, grew up watching and being inspired by Japanese animation films—namely the work of Miyazaki Hayao. When I asked Deblois what he hoped Japanese audiences took away from the film, he replied, “So much of my own sensibility is influenced heavily by Miyazaki-san. So I hope that they see some of the wonder, and the world creation, and the relatable characters that have inspired me to now translate it into our world."
Dublois explained that his favorite Studio Ghibli film is My Neighbor Totoro, and that his own breakthrough film, Lilo & Stitch, was strongly influenced by the believable human relationships depicted by Miyazaki. Specifically, the sisterly bond between Lilo and Nani in Lilo & Stitch has echoes of the relationship between Satsuki and Mei in My Neighbor Totoro. The more obvious parallel, of course, is the arrival of a mysterious creature that gives the movie a fantastical feel.
In addition to the believable characters and fantasy elements, the How to Train Your Dragon series shares the same love of flying that permeates the bulk of Studio Ghibli films. The sense of speed and excitement in the scenes where Hiccup rides Toothless echoes works like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and Porco Rosso. And in one of the key scenes of Spirited Away, the protagonist Chihiro even rides a white dragon.
Finally, the How to Train Your Dragon series also tackles many of the same themes that are depicted in Miyazaki’s films—namely, human folly. The Vikings are obsessed with subjugating nature instead of living in harmony with it, and cannot see dragons as anything other than their enemy. The way the film depicts the wonder of nature and our relationship with it feels to me distinctly Canadian, and is what sets Deblois’ work apart from other popular computer animated works.
4.Star Wars Influences in the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy
While I didn’t get the chance to get into the topic in my interview, Deblois has spoken in the past that the story structure of the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy is influenced by the original Star Wars trilogy directed by George Lucas in the 70s and 80s. In both series, a new hope rises in the first film, while the second film is characterized by a darker tone and numerous twists and revelations, and in the third film the hero faces his greatest test.
There are also similarities between the heroes of How to Train Your Dragon and Star Wars. At the beginning of A New Hope, Luke Skywalker is a humble farmboy, a far cry from the hero and warrior that he will eventually become. He sets off on an adventure to rescue Princess Leia, an Imperial Senator and one of the leaders of a Rebel movement against the Galactic Empire. However, Leia is no damsel in distress, and is thoroughly unimpressed by Luke upon their first meeting. Hiccup has a certain farmboy Luke-like vibe to him, not to mention the fact that he is often saved and encouraged by the much tougher Viking warrior (and his crush) Astrid.
In the sequel The Empire Strikes Back, there is an iconic scene where Luke realizes that Darth Vader, the enemy that he believed had killed his father, is his father. Meanwhile, in the second installment in the How to Train Your Dragon series, there is a shocking moment when Hiccup’s father sacrifices himself to save his son from a dragon.
The similarities don’t end there. Luke loses his hand in a climactic duel; Hiccup loses his leg at the end of a massive battle. The revelation of Hiccup’s loss is a shocking moment that feels like it breaks the rules of how a children’s animated film is supposed to end.
5.Movies for the “Adult in Every Child"
As I’ve covered in this article, the How to Train Your Dragon series is an animated film for children that also features a lot of grown-up themes and story beats. From my interview, I gleaned that this can be attributed to both Deblois’ sensibilities as well as DreamWorks Animation’s approach to storytelling.
When I asked Deblois about DreamWorks Animation, he explained the studio’s philosophy as follows: “Disney makes movies for the child in every adult. The DreamWorks philosophy was...they want to make movies for the adult in every child."
The How to Train Your Dragon series contains many loving homages to Miyazaki’s work as well as the Star Wars series, and this sentiment might just be the grand idea that connects all of these films. The greatest lesson Deblois learned from his influences is that children’s films should not treat children as children.
6.My Wardrobe for This Interview
Brown necktie by Luigi Borrelli
