Ok, wow. I
appear to have stumbled on a modern classic in the making. Not only did this
one make the IMDB Top 250, it was nominated for 2 Oscars® and a plethora of
other awards besides. I really, truly can see why. I mean yes, it is an
animation, it is definitely a film suited for children but on the level of
artistic work and on the level of the message it gives, it is one of the most
surprising films I have seen in a while.
So, meet Hiccup
(voice of Jay Baruchel). Hiccup is a viking. As such, he is expected to be a
fearless warrior, loud, athletic and good at killing things. These are all
necessary qualities to have where Hiccup lives as his village is on a small
island in the middle of the sea. And said small island is plagued with…
Dragons. Dragon killing is now quite a
prestigious job, and Hiccup is the son of the village chief so technically he
should be going straight for it only… Hiccup is puny. He cannot take orders.
And is much better at inventing, fixing machinery and the like. He isn’t
completely “off topic” as it were though, as he also invents a machine for
catching dragons. No one believes him at first. And even when the machine works
and a dragon is caught, no one but Hiccup is there to witness it. But then
something strange happens. Hiccup fully intends to kill the dragon and bring
its head back to the village to prove he isn’t a complete waste of time. The
thing is… He can’t bring himself to. The dragon is injured and cannot fly and
these two outcasts begin making friends. As Hiccup learns more and more about
his dragon, he begins to suspect that there is another way to cope with the
island’s “dragon problem”. The thing is, can he convince his entire village to
try his method?
Now, I love
this film. I love it because of the messages it gives children. The message
here is twofold. One, the most obvious, is not (as classical videogames would
have it) to automatically go about killing something that is different from you
but to try and learn more about it. Observe, understand, “make friends”. It
encourages children to look for the peaceful way out even in the most
unpromising looking situations. I mean come on, with the recent exception of
Shrek, how many stories has the dragon been the good guy in? Ok, there was
Narnia – but that was a while ago, what else? Exactly. So moral? Even the bad
guys with the worst reputation can be understood and maybe even turned around
from their evil ways. Don’t assume. Think first.
Secondly,
ok, Hiccup is the typical “outcast” character. You know, bookish, not
physically fit, bad at fighting, all that. It isn’t exactly uncommon for films
to encourage the young to follow their hearts against societal pressure but
they rarely encourage them to actually stand up to the order of society and
change it if they feel something is wrong. I mean, not only is that basic
message brilliant in itself, in this story a single person CAN make a
difference. With nothing less than scientific observation to actually back him
up – as opposed to magic or some other deus ex machine. Isn’t that something? I
think you should get your little ones sat down in front of this asap. They will
both enjoy and learn.
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