Wait, this was a book series? Never heard of it, and I read like a deranged lunatic (and by that, I mean I read Twilight).
I think this movie looks pretty interesting, I think I might see it. I remember last August I was going to this bible camp thing and the guy who was driving us was actually an animator who was working on this movie, which I thought was really cool 
Yeah LOL He does look like Andy a little bit xD And I will probably see this one. Looks pretty intresting…
Well, I sort of see what you mean. But I’m a fan of minimalist design that conveys strong emotions. I guess the second poster is more exciting visually (though I don’t agree with the background, it’s underlit and plain, IMHO). But the first one appealed to me more because it cuts out all extraneous elements to focus on just the two protagonists’ relationship. It’s a bit like the Ratatouille posters:
Or Up:
One grabs your attention with the ‘action-comedy’ aspect, and is very entertaining visually. The other is more quiet and understated, and features the underlying themes/relationships in the movie.
In my opinion, I like the latter. But again, different folks, different tastes. 
Badger: Has the Chris Sanders’ touch. I’m also quite annoyed with the slapstick moments, but no ‘fart’ jokes so far (emphasis on the words ‘so far’…).
Buzz&Woodyforever: I read HTTYD over Christmas. It’s quite entertaining for children fiction. I liked the Viking names and amusing rituals. Wait till you get to the actual book that the title is based on…
mo: Cool you know an animator! Maybe you might see his name on the credits?
…
HTTYD has its own Youtube channel, taking a leaf out of Pixar/Disney’s book by having interviews with the creators. I’m particularly piqued about the ‘Romancing Flight’ scene.
Okay, it’s official. I’m really excited for HTTYD. I borrowed the ‘Art of’ book from a public library here (yes, they get books in libraries faster than bookstores in Singapore) and the visuals looks amazing. I may post a review in the ‘Books’ section at a later date.
I’ve also been watching a bunch of their featurettes, and the animation looks great so far (though the backgrounds still remain a little uninspired).
Here’s the new poster:
It’s my favourite so far.
And the third and final trailer, of which I’m refraining from seeing as much as possible. I did take a peek at a few sections though, and it looks very heartfelt and pretty ‘Pixar-like’. I may have to watch the whole movie to make sure those pesky fart and toilet jokes aren’t present, but so far it looks ‘clean’.
3rd trailer
I think this stands a chance to be the next ‘Kung Fu Panda’. Only one more month to go!
I was extremely impressed by the new trailer. Unlike many Dreamworks films, it looks like HTTYD takes its story totally seriously, and doesn’t resort to a bunch of gags to flesh things out. It definitely looks like it’s gonna be one of the best Dreamworks films.
I hope so too, Bryko. For Dreamworks’ sake as much as ours.
Anyway, I couldn’t resist the temptation and watched the entire trailer along with Toy Story 3’s yesterday. Now, I’m stoked! This is the kind of movie we’ve been waiting for, Dreamworks! No genre spoofs, no stupid pop-culture references that will be dated in a few years time, no big-name celebrity voices (with the exception of Gerard Butler, if you count him as an A-list)! Just good ol’ fashioned storytelling with heart and soul. Just lose a couple of the slapstick jokes and this will be the best since Kung Fu Panda!
Here’s my ‘observation notes’ according to this trailer:
0:06: Great opening. And that water hasn’t looked this realistic since The Incredibles!
0:14 “Pain. Love it!”
0:18 Ah, the Gronckle.
0:20 Possible love triangle? Most likely a throwaway joke.
0:38 Cool scenery. But poor framing. What’s on top of the cliff, I want to see more.
0:48 I love this scene. It’s like Toothless was impatient of waiting.
1:00 This looks like it’ll be a pretty spectacular sequence.
1:11 This part looks like Lilo & Stitch/ET. Of course, the love interest will be the next to discover the ‘creature’.
1:20 From this point on, my jaw drops. What is this music? It’s beautiful.
1:30 This must be the Monstrous Nightmare. That’s one BAMF.
1:40 Holy crap. Vikings go to war!
1:43 The bad guy?
1:53 Big mother-freakin’ explosion against elegant silhouette!
2:05 Oh no…
2:15 Daw… isn’t he cute?
I have high hopes for this. I wished they had shown more of the Viking village than the dragon ‘colosseum’, and tone down on the lame ‘adult’ jokes (ex “Heh, he looks no bigger than my…”), but other than that, I’m ecstatic.
That new poster is impressive. But then, I’m a sucker for starry skies, dramatic lighting and ginormous moons. xD
I also like how Dreamworks FINALLY went and stylized the humans. Say, for example in Shrek, they were all so painfully realistic, creating somewhat of an ‘uncanny valley’ thing. I know it was in the Madagascar films as well, but eh… I quite like this stylized look.
(still hoping there won’t be any flatulence or other toilet jokes. D: )
It’s looks pretty good so far, though I’m not quite sure about the design of the dragons. Well, at least Dreamworks have decided to do something a bit different for once. It’s not something I’m actually going to pay money to see, but I’ll probably watch it on TV eventually.
Yeah, I’m glad you knew about the ‘uncanny valley’ theory. Wrote about it for a critical essay once. But yeah, Shrek The Third was an all-time low for Dreamworks-made characters. And I didn’t really like the angular look of the Madagascar characters, so this more ‘Pixar-like’ rendering appeals to me more. It’s a bit like Monsters Vs Aliens, whose character designs were also highly caricatured.
Yeah, that and the lacklustre backgrounds were the only two disappointments for me. The only designs I liked were the Monstrous Nightmare (the scary-looking red guy) and the Terrible Terror (the miniature green one). I read in ‘The Art of’ that Toothless was originally supposed to be the Terror, but they changed him to a ‘Night Fury’ instead. It would’ve been a lot more interesting I guess, but then Hiccup wouldn’t be able to ride him. Night Fury’s design was a mixed bag for me, he looks a bit too harmless to be considered fearsome.
…
The new website has gone through a 360 revamp! This is sooo much better than than its previous iterations, and you get a better feel for the ‘style’ and design theme of the movie. It’s certainly much more impressive, navigation is through the menu bar or scrolling sideways through the Viking village. The soundtrack also sounds great, with the usual John Powell cues of french horns and crashing cymbals. Overall, you get a more unified, cohesive aesthetic, and it has just succeeded in increasing my expectation level.
wwwkingogurucom has posted all the Dragon Training and Winter Olympic videos, a 3-D version of the trailer, and part of an interesting vignette on the the dragons presented in book form.
SergeGreatvillage has also posted the various vignettes which shows additional footage from the movie and some nice behind-the-scenes-look at Chris (I didn’t know he was silver-haired!:shock:) and the team.
Exciting stuff. Only two more weeks to go!
Yes!!! Yes, they are ripping off the Incredibles!!!
How to train your Dragon is going to suck. The end. If this movie is worth a crap, I’ll personally give someone $50. You can tell from the Facebook page and the trailer that it’ll suck.
I’m curious. Please elaborate.
Except Dreamworks’ marketing is always terrible, regardless of the final product’s quality. And you seem too quick to dismiss it and not give Chris Sanders a chance. Plus, that early review from Aint It Cool News makes me really optimistic.
You know, I’ve basically avoided any hype for this movie, but the more little things I see here and there, the more it intrigues me. I intend to see it at some point, though how good it will be is anyone’s guess.
Heck, in my opinion, a lot of Pixar’s marketing (at least the basic trailers, posters and so forth) is, at the very least, underwhelming. The only Pixar film that I can think of that had good trailers was WALL-E. Yet, the films always work.
Of course, you can often tell a fair bit about the film from its trailer and other advertising material. Primarily, if there’s nothing decent shown in any of it, then I can be fairly sure that the film will suck. However, the TV spots and posters for HTTYD (I haven’t watched a proper trailer yet, so i can’t comment) show a tiny bit of promise. I wont’ deny that if I do see it, it will be a bit of a gamble on its quality, but then I again, I only first saw my favourite film (The Land Before Time, for anyone who’s curious) on a whim, so who’s to say? [/code]
I just have a grudge against Dreamworks from the Shrek trilogy, as well as Shark Tale, Bee Movie, and stealing the idea of a CGI superhero movie. I HATE DW SKG!!! 
I hope it’s okay, but at the same time, I want Toy Story 3 to beat the crap out of it.
Fairy 'nuff. But Dreamworks has been working on its movies since Bee Movie. If you’ve watched Kung Fu Panda (its best since Shrek 1) and Monsters vs Aliens (which is better than average), it’s taking the right route. I personally don’t think HTTYD will ever beat TS3 in terms of emotional content, but maybe it will still surprise me. To judge a future movie on past releases (unless it’s a sequel) doesn’t make sense. You can also form first impressions from trailers, but that’s about it. Just give it a chance, and if you didn’t like it, then you can rant all you want.
Anyway, Aceshowbiz has released new images from the film. I just love the one of Hiccup and Astrid on Toothless flying.
I have never been this excited for a Dreamworks film since, ever. Maybe it’s my personal bias for dragons, maybe it’s cos’ I’m looking forward to what Chris has been up to since L&S, maybe the 3rd trailer just raised my hopes so much since the mediocre teaser and previous trailers.
Am I crazy? Have I gone over to the ‘Dark Side’? Will HTTYD disappoint me, or will this be Dreamworks best since KFP? Jeez, the suspense is killing me!
This one may actually be a good Dreamworks film for a chance. Almost Pixar-quality, even. Not too much name-dropping either, if I recall correctly. I don’t care who voices a character, as long as the voice fits and the guy can act, goshdarnit!
And, of course, I’ve always liked dragons.
I really, really hope so too. I’m still annoyed the final backgrounds are so lackluster, especially after seeing the gorgeous concept arts in the ‘Art of’ book. But maybe there are more inspiring shots that didn’t make it into the trailer, so I’m keeping my hopes up.
Oh, nice dragon art, BTW! An OC?
I’m so happy! After countless trawling and search queries, I’ve found the music that plays at the end of the final trailer on ChasingtheFrog. It was a specific Google search combination of the title and ‘trailer music’ which I can’t recall, but anyway, I should’ve thought of this site first! 
Anyway, it’s Future World Music - Dream Chasers. Listen to it. It’s just spectacular and makes your heart soar (Now that sounded corny).
If the movie is half as good as the trailer soundtrack implies, I’d be a happy man.
The official channel has posted some new employee interview featurettes and the rest of the ‘Dragon Guides’.
Channel 7 (a local channel in Oz) also has an ident where they replaced Astrid with its TV mascot in the Deadly Nadder training video. And the usual bus wallpaper and poster stands are starting to spring up around town. Kung Fu Panda didn’t get this much marketing…
Whoa, that song is pretty epic… Cool that you found it.
Heh, thanks. That dragon is one of my own characters. He’s a main character in one of my stories.