Fawnduu

15 Jun 2014, 19:07

[...] Also I thought the "you have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon" was a really powerful quote even though cartoon freak does not agree?
I would love to hear why you thought it was empty? [...]

puxlit

16 Jun 2014, 01:38

Fawnduu

15 Jun 2014, 19:07

[...] Also I thought the "you have the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon" was a really powerful quote even though cartoon freak does not agree?
I would love to hear why you thought it was empty? [...]

Ostensibly, that line sounds profound, but what does it mean? To have the heart of a chief evokes qualities of compassion and responsibility, but what does it mean to have the soul of a dragon? To be wild? Naïve? A free spirit? Perhaps I'm missing the context that permits you to interpret it as meaningful; to me (and presumably Cartoon Freak) it reads like a cliché.

Don't get me wrong. Clichés are fine, if executed well. Stoick's first words to Valka—"You're as beautiful as the day I lost you."—are cliché, but a confluence of factors (primarily quality voice acting, nuanced expressions, and our understanding of Stoick as a character) sell this line to us (or at least me) as sincere.

Unfortunately, I have trouble accepting the credibility of Valka's advice to Hiccup. They'd only just started catching up, so how well could she have read his character? Of all the people at that funeral who knew Hiccup well enough to dispense advice, it'd have to be either Gobber or Astrid. And yet, I'm aware the story wants us to focus on the mother–son relationship, so Valka has to deliver the sage guidance. This dissonance between story and character expectations is what flags Valka's line as contrived or clichéd, at least to me.

Fawnduu

16 Jun 2014, 02:09

[...] I think she understands hiccup because she sees so much of herself in him, but he was able to do what she was not, unite people and dragons as one. She could never convince berk that dragons and vikings could live together but hiccup was able to reach past and he was able to unite something she was too narrowed minded to try after so long. The line directly following is something along the lines of "and only you can bring vikings and dragons together". Shes basically saying he understands both sides completely and through that he is able to unite unlike anyone else. Shes reassuring his doubts in himself after the death of his father and him having to assume responsibilities he thinks himself incapable of doing.

puxlit

16 Jun 2014, 03:18

Fawnduu

16 Jun 2014, 02:09

[...] I think she understands hiccup because she sees so much of herself in him, but he was able to do what she was not, unite people and dragons as one. She could never convince berk that dragons and vikings could live together but hiccup was able to reach past and he was able to unite something she was too narrowed minded to try after so long. The line directly following is something along the lines of "and only you can bring vikings and dragons together". Shes basically saying he understands both sides completely and through that he is able to unite unlike anyone else. Shes reassuring his doubts in himself after the death of his father and him having to assume responsibilities he thinks himself incapable of doing.

That sounds reasonable. Working from your premise, presumably what Hiccup has that Valka lacks is a sense of hopeful (bordering naïve) determination, which plays well with him coming to terms with his inherited responsibilities.

I guess the remaining issue I take with that line is it seems too eloquent to have been delivered spontaneously. However, I'll admit this is a matter of stylistic preference.