How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
An adventure for kids of all ages.
As a kid, I was pretty imaginative. I was always picturing myself doing something daring and brave. I was going to go slay the dragon and save the day. I could go on a dangerous adventure and come out of it victorious. I wanted to forge into the unknown with my quirky animal sidekicks (I did grow up watching a lot of Disney movies), and solve the problem plaguing me and my people.
It’s so easy, as an adult, to forget that side of us. But How to Train Your Dragon is a great excuse to be a kid again for a few moments. This isn’t your traditional animated movie — it’s something that I could fully enjoy today as an adult.
More than just being a ton of fun with some rather stunning visuals, this film has something important to say. The messages contained within this animated adventure are ones that adults, as well as children, can really take to heart. Breaking traditional gender roles, accepting yourself, including others, and the courage of belief are all topics the creators dared to discuss in this film.
But the message that stood out to me the most was the call to empathy.
Hiccup, the Viking, had been taught his whole life to fear dragons (which is completely understandable). He had been told by everyone he knew that these creatures were bad and out to get him. His entire village was known for killing dragons, and yet he found himself unable to follow in their footsteps. He chose a different way.
He looked into the eyes of the dragon, Toothless, and saw himself. He saw a creature that was just as scared as he was, and that gave him pause.
I wonder how many of us would be able to see ourselves in others if we just took enough time to stop and listen to them. Could we find some common ground with someone who is completely different from us if we just tried? What would happen if we, for even a few moments, walked a mile in the shoes of another?
That’s the beauty of fantasy, right? Because the film is set in this far off, fantastical land, the creators can discuss themes and topics that we might not be as receptive to if the film was set in our time and world. We can suspend our disbelief for a few moments and see the beauty of this other way of living.
Though marketed as a children’s movie, How to Train Your Dragon can encourage and inspire adults to be their best selves. Plus, who doesn’t want to experience, for even a few moments, what it’s like to have a dragon as your pet?
What did you think of How to Train Your Dragon?
Do you believe it’s possible for adults to enjoy a kid’s film as much as the kids?
Listen to our review of How to Train Your Dragon on The Strategic Whimsy Experiment here: https://apple.co/2DH63Vv.
