How To Train Your Dragon is a rare movie franchise. It isn’t simply an entertaining and award-winning set of films, but the characters grew up alongside your children too. They face challenges and triumphs, much like your children do. Sure, the kids don’t have a dragon to train or bad guys to fight, but they can all relate to Hiccup, who grew from an insecure teen finding himself, to coming of age, finding his heart and his courage, and overcoming the obstacles that came his way.
Before the third movie hits the screens in a few days, we take a closer look at some of the important life lessons kids can learn from How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World – don’t worry, no spoilers here! – and what you can expect from the latest (and last!) movie.
Lessons for your kids from How To Train Your Dragon
1. Don’t hate!
Acceptance has played a big role in the previous movies, and will also play a big role in the third installment of one of the most beloved film franchises. During the first movie, remember how Hiccup was trying to hide his non-dragon slaying ways from his tough chief of a daddy? Or how Hiccup attempted to show that dragons were harmless, so that the battle between dragons and humans would end, once and for all?
Wholehearted acceptance of someone allows kids to be themselves, and become the best version of themselves. Most especially, don’t hate – and yes, it applies to dragons, too.
2. Keep getting up – even when you have only one leg
There were countless times when Hiccup could have given up. The odds were stacked against his favor from the beginning – remember how he only has one leg? But that didn’t stop him.
The same goes for Toothless. He lost his left tail fin, but that never stopped him from being the fearless dragon that we know him to be.
During the second movie, Hiccup momentarily lost Toothless when he was brainwashed by the evil Drago’s Bewilderbeast to switch sides. Even worse, Hiccup also lost his father, Stoick the Vast. He could have let sadness take over and wallowed in his misery, but he decided to move on and get up.
Resilience means you keep on standing up after each fall, overcoming all obstacles – both literally and figuratively. When you have resilience, you always win, and no one can keep you down. Through the third movie, the grand finale of the franchise, find out how you can teach the kids to overcome the challenges they face – just like Hiccup and Toothless.
3. Rise to the challenge of responsibility
Hiccup has always been a hero, even if the people of Berk or even his own father didn’t think much of him at the beginning. He could have chosen to do to Toothless what the Vikings did to dragons. But he chose to let Toothless live and show the Vikings that they can co-exist with dragons. He always does what’s right, even when it’s difficult.
And now that he’s all grown up, Hiccup is learning how to be the chief of Berk, just as Toothless is getting used to being the alpha of the dragons. The responsibility that’s thrust on both of them isn’t easy, but as you’ll see in the third film, they will both rise to the challenge — even if it means coming up with an unlikely solution that might make you shed a tear or two!
4. Have courage to explore the (hidden) world
As our own children gradually venture into the world, so do Hiccup, Toothless, Astrid and friends. As a dark threat to the village of Berk arises and Hiccup faces a dangerous new villain, Hiccup’s and Toothless’ true destinies are revealed. Dragon and rider will fight together to protect everything they’ve grown to treasure.
On their quest to save those they love, Hiccup and Toothless are forced to leave the dragon utopia they call home. They travel to the Hidden World – a glorious universe with stunning landscapes, bewitching magic, more dragons and surprising new creatures.
As parents, it’s a fact of life that our children will eventually navigate through the world on their own. But let’s take comfort in the fact that we can continue to guide them to be discerning – just like Astrid guides Hiccup. We can teach them to learn to let go of the world that they’ve gotten used to, in order to find the world they’re meant to have.
Watch Hiccup and Toothless fight together to protect everything they’ve grown to treasure when DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, opens in Philippine cinemas on February 20. Grab the kids and watch the trailer here!