"HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON" SERIES FROM DEAN DEBLOIS
As Anima School Blog, we have compiled Peter Sciretta's interview with Dean DeBlois, the director of the "How to Train Your Dragon" series, for you. Here are DeBlois's interesting statements about the development of the series from past to present and his plans for the future...
How much of the dragon trilogy was predetermined?
If we are talking about the first movie, I can say that Chris Sanders and I actually got into the game quite late. We had about 15 months before the movie was released in theaters and we were kind of asked to work on the story from the very beginning. So we had to concentrate and focus quite a bit to get the movie to develop on the screen. There was no thought of a sequel to the movie yet. This was the case until the film was prepared and released for the studio.
Chris returned to work on The Croods for a while, and I was tasked with coming up with ideas for the sequel. Because of my general allergy to sequels, "Why don't we do a trilogy?" I thought. So we could create three parts of a story. We could have benefited from unexplained questions in the first movie.
We were inspired, although not very intensely, by the books to tell the story of the character who turns from a reluctant and lazy Viking brat to a self-sacrificing Viking chief who is destined to be. Thus, we would be able to use moments such as the opening narrative of Cressida Cowell's first book. “There were dragons when I was little…” I thought there was something very emotional about this narrative. But this sentence also meant the end of an era. The disappearance of the dragons, the mystery behind the disappearance and the emotions it brings... So yes, at this point, we started talking about the movie being a three-film series. The only point Jeffrey Katzenberg required me on this was that each film should contain independent themes that have meaning on their own. There shouldn't be sequels based on the previous movie and shouldn't end at an intriguing juncture. All films had to make sense independently and together.
I feel like the second movie has a pretty intense "Star Wars: Emperor" vibe. When you started this movie, did you start thinking, "We need to find out why the dragons disappeared"?
That's a big compliment, thank you. The movie you mentioned definitely as a tone was a source of inspiration. So if Hiccup was to become a seasoned, wise chief, how could the disappearance of dragons accompany his rise to this role? Also, could it be his decision? What could have caused this? What drove a man who was trying to instill the idea of coexistence into his people and everyone who would listen, to this idea of separation?
When it comes to animation, we don't see much of the characters grow over time, especially in serial films. We saw Andy grow up in Toy Story, but he wasn't the main character either.
It's probably the only example you're talking about. Yeah. I can't think of any other characters growing up on the screen before our eyes. Timeless living is almost a tradition in the animation world. Although the sequels and television series progress, the characters' age and clothes do not change.
So why did you decide to show the change of characters?
This was a functional decision because for a story to be worth telling, a character needs to go through certain transformations. If you look at the first movie, especially at the end, you'll see that Hiccup achieved everything he set out to achieve. He won his father's love, the town's admiration, Astrid's attention, and the coolest dragon. It ended a war that lasted years. This actually means a character who has no problems at all.
This is an issue with all sequel series, isn't it?
Yeah. Because this situation can push us to focus on problems that are quite superficial in a way. For example, someone steals my car, and this gives rise to another pointless adventure that five or six of the same characters pursue. I wanted to avoid it. Thus, we come across a Hiccup who is in the process of moving from carefree youth to adulthood with responsibilities that we will all experience by turning the clock forward and facing a more grown and universal problem. With a Hiccup who is going through the process of finding his identity in the company of two authoritarian parents… It seemed to me that this was something many people could identify with because it was an internal problem rather than an external problem.
I think one of the most interesting things about animation is that the development phase is very long and when you listen to the stories about this process, how many things have changed during the production process… I wonder what changed between your initial plans for the movie and the final version of the movie when you started making the third movie?
If we go back to the second movie… Valka was actually going to be the sympathetic antagonist of the movie. In other words, Hiccup was encountering him as he appeared onscreen, and was quite impressed by the presence of another dragon rider entering the dragon world. But Valka's core belief was that humans cannot be trusted and dragons must be protected from them. This belief also went against Hiccup's desire to teach humans to get along with dragons.
So towards the end of the original version of the second movie, Valka was flying to Berk and taking them to safety. Because Drago Bludvist, an unknown force, was approaching. But Bludvist wouldn't be a major character until the third movie. Also, Hiccup was battling with his own mother, Valka, to protect his life on Berk. Although his mother was defeated in this struggle, she was convinced of her son's decision.
Thus, Valka was returning in the third movie, when Drago attacked the shores of Berk with all his might. He began to think like him, pondering what his son stood for, and became his son's greatest ally with the dragon pack.
So we fundamentally changed the idea because this fight with Hiccup's mother could have been particularly problematic for viewers. Young children who come to see the movie turn to their mothers and say, "Why is her mother fighting with her? Why is her mother taking away dragons?" he could ask.
Thus, this story line that I was talking about collapsed. This meant that Drago appeared in the second movie in a one-dimensional, superficial way. Drago was just such a rude guy. But the original idea was to feature Drago in the third movie. At the end of the second movie, he would survive his defeat and find himself on a wrecked island with a very aggressive dragon who would like to see it dead.
When Drago realized that he had actually succeeded in his own navy through the character named Grimmel, he would decide to go back and reclaim his old position. The only way to get off the island was to befriend the dragon. Thus, this meant that the stubborn, tit-for-tat character was trying to gain the dragon's respect and trust. In doing so, he would feel an affinity towards the dragon. This would allow him to take the side of the dragon riders as he flew towards the battle in the third episode. In short, it would be a step towards redemption for the character.
This story took a lot of care and time to get it right. Unfortunately, we had to abandon this story as we knew we had to focus on Hiccup and Toothless.
Did you feel bad for making everyone who watched it cry?
No. This is actually a victory for me. Because one of my weaknesses is when people come to me and say, "I was so impressed with the movie that I cried." That means you've almost succeeded. So if we can make someone cry, I feel great. This is what we wanted and intended. Creating an emotional ride that takes people from laughter to tears... So if we're getting tears, it gives me particular pride.
Does Guillermo del Toro still advise films?
I haven't seen him around lately. I think there's a consulting thing going on, but it's been a few years since I last saw Guillermo. So this is about DreamWorks… I went to meet him at Bleak House and he had read the first script of "How to Train Your Dragon". He is always very generous in sharing his time. He just spoke, but even that inspired me to connect a little more with the adoring boy in me. Guillermo told me that doing a trilogy is a rare opportunity and that I should do it without hesitation. He advised me to include everything I wanted to see on the screen and to stay away from an unoriginal approach to the continuation.
What's the story behind the Drew Struzan posters? Because there was one at Comic-Con, the last one… And then a few that were put on the internet… What happened to them?
Yeah. I actually spoke to Drew about this last night. When the crew was at our party, I told him I wanted him to do the posters for the second movie. Approval was also received from the marketing department. But then Drew fell ill and was only able to do roughly a few studies. We reprinted these few sample works he gave me and distributed them to our fans at Comic-Con this year. Later, Drew recovered and decided to start his own business and enjoy his retirement. I invited Drew to the preview of the movie. Dylan and his wife too… This made them very emotional. I told Drew that he would be very happy if he did the triptych work for us. He also accepted it. Despite his retirement, he painted these awesome posters.
What's next for you? So this series has occupied a long period of your life, like 10 years of your life. Is not it?
Yes, it's been 10 years. 10 years. It's like the end of an era. I'm pretty proud of this series, but I'm still pretty excited to finally be able to concentrate on other projects that just sit around the corner. I hope that at some point I can also do live action works.
You already made some live action music videos, right?
Yeah. "Lilo and Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon?" I had already sold 3 live action movies to studios to write and direct. Lighthouse and Sightings… The aforementioned productions were stopped due to the change of directors in the studios. I really want to pick up where we left off in some of these productions and see the fruits of the work, or to work on something someone else has done that I feel a connection to… All of these films are live action productions. All possibilities are possible. But first, I want to take a short vacation to collect my thoughts.
This series has created a wonderful world. So when will we get an amusement park of this wonderful world or a vehicle where we can ride dragons?
That would be a dream, wouldn't it? I remember the Mulan era… Chris Sanders and I were joking about having a Disney-like ice show. That would be a great success. But yes, now that we've created a world from scratch, a Harry Potter-esque amusement park would be great. Who knows, maybe this will come true one day. As much as a movie theater can offer, we tried to make the act of flying feel like an internal organ in the audience. But I agree with you, a complete amusement park vehicle that could provide that would be pretty impressive.
Avatar was released about a year before your first movie came out. That's when they announced they were going to make five movies, and you finished the trilogy. What I'm wondering is, in what ways Avatar affects you or not... Because there are some similarities in terms of dragons, myths and bioluminescence.
I remember the first time I saw the Avatar trailer with the Banshees flying around. I thought now we'd look like we cheated on them. However, we had been working on our movie for about 15 months before the trailer came out, and now we were at the completion stage. So our flying scenes were already ready, and all we can hope for at this point is that, despite all the excitement about Avatar, our own flying scenes would take a stand on their own.
When it came to designing "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" production, we were fully aware that Avatar did a pretty good job in terms of bioluminescence, and if we were to include it in our movie, we had to do it in a completely different and unique way from Avatar. Therefore, in terms of the color palette and the use of this color palette in the tunnels connecting larger areas, we wanted to use a use close to the black light effect, which will allow the dragons to reveal their own patterns as they fly. To mention something that feels magical within our understanding of geology and biology on this planet; There were certain things that carried light from deep magma veins, such as phosphorescence, bioluminescence, and crystal caves. So we wanted to create a salty atmosphere so that all the dripping water and lava sequences could create a misty atmosphere where coral can grow in the air.
All of this was the sum total of what we were trying to do to create a world that didn't feel like an Avatar replica and that was our own. I hope that what you feel when you watch the movie is not the world of Avatar. But because of the influence of an atmosphere as powerful and iconic as Pandora, I can also understand how people relate to it.
Source: Slash Film