Laws of Physics in "How to Train Your Dragon"- Outline

1.       Introduction

a.       How to Train Your Dragon is an animated film that, despite its obvious fantastical elements, really sells its experience through believability that is grounded in reality

2.       Improbable balance in characters- whimsical character design

a.       Adult Vikings are large characters that seem to be able to move a lot faster than they actually can

b.      Most of the teen characters, notably Astrid and the twins, seem improbably skinny to pull off the physical feats that they are able to do. Hiccup? Well, he kind of makes sense since he is actually pretty weak.

c.       Gobber is probably one of the most impossible characters, designed only in the name of stylization; his peg leg does not seem like it can carry his weight. That inbalance is really felt in his limp

d.      Fishlegs also falls under this category as he is able to move rather daintily when running away, even though he is extremely overweight

e.       For God’s sake, Gronkles do not look like they can fly.

3.       Laws of Inertia felt and pushed with the character designs

a.       First scene where Stoick jumps on top of a Deadly Nadder, his heavy weight forces the dragon’s head down rather heavily

b.      Friction from Hiccup’s shield due to his bad rolling technique stopped his roll from completing—outside unbalanced force that stopped his forward motion

c.       Many of Hiccup’s actions with heavy objects; obvious that it takes more of an effort for him to get these objects to move

d.      Gronkles move slow and do not turn very well due to their heavy weight, as opposed to Toothless who is designed aerodynamically, looks like it can cut through air

e.       Training sequence with the Nadder: the dragon slips and rams into an obstacle wall, the wall breaks down

4.       The dragons themselves are grounded in reality

a.       The shot limit. The dragons are not just able to spew infinite amounts of fire indiscriminately. Conservation of mass

b.      Toothless’s missing half of the tail. Needed to control the air flow in flight.

c.       Dragon proportions and its effects on inertia.

d.      The “Test Flight” scene. Sharp motion arcs in faster aerodynamic turns, drag against Toothless and Hiccup (inertia). Break down this scene.

e.       Behavioral movements of the dragons based upon actual animals

5.       Conclusion

a.       Though there are obvious fantastical elements to How to Train Your Dragon, the realistic aspects of the film make the fantasy seem real. You believe you are there along with Hiccup and Toothless.