Berk's Forumvine

Should Dreamworks kept Valka anonymous in the trailers? would her anonymity make the movie experience any more different then now?

rather then a trailer that shows the scenes when valka reveals herself to hiccup, and the fact that the adverts spoiled the confirmation of hiccups mother's existence; the adverts should have kept her as an anonymous character (you know when she has her mask on?) and doesn't reveal her face whatsoever nor do they show the scene --> (..you were only a babe, but a mother never forgets...) and (..you're as beautiful as the day i lost you...).

I personally believe if they kept her as an anonymous character, it would have make the scene ...even more emotional, powerful, and stronger making the film even better

I've gone back and forth on this but I think I'm now firmly on the side that they should have kept it a secret. I think it would have been really cool if they hadn't shown her at all, not even in her mask stuff. No hint of her, nothing. I know she plays a large role in the movie but I think they could have easily avoided it in the marketing if they tried. It would have gotten people talking the same kind of way Hans in Frozen did, which worked really well in that movie's favor as far as word of mouth.

By the way, when I saw it with my dad and his girlfriend, who hadn't seen any trailers, they were shocked that it was his mom and thought it was a guy before she took off her mask, which I'm pretty sure is what the filmmakers were going for in the first place. They loved her introduction because they had no idea she was coming at all. Its a shame that got lost on everyone who saw any of the trailers.

Eret

11 Jul 2014, 17:06

I've gone back and forth on this but I think I'm now firmly on the side that they should have kept it a secret. I think it would have been really cool if they hadn't shown her at all, not even in her mask stuff. No hint of her, nothing. I know she plays a large role in the movie but I think they could have easily avoided it in the marketing if they tried. It would have gotten people talking the same kind of way Hans in Frozen did, which worked really well in that movie's favor as far as word of mouth.

That is actually a good point. I didn't see Frozos but, in the Godzilla 2014 film, the adverts shrouded Godzilla as a mysterious figure, rather then revealing all of him all together. Then when i saw the film and that made the film more exciting and surprising.

Eret

11 Jul 2014, 17:09

By the way, when I saw it with my dad and his girlfriend, who hadn't seen any trailers, they were shocked that it was his mom and thought it was a guy before she took off her mask, which I'm pretty sure is what the filmmakers were going for in the first place. They loved her introduction because they had no idea she was coming at all. Its a shame that got lost on everyone who saw any of the trailers.

Lucky father of yours. I have been lurking at the Grapevine but when the clips began to appear i did my best to avoid them. I did that with the first HTTYD and by avoiding the clips and trailers it made the movie experience frackin' amazing.

If Valka was completely anonymous I would of believed that the mask character was actually Drago, especially when hiccup called Valka a dragon trapper and Drago to see of she responds.

Airbusjack

11 Jul 2014, 17:21

If Valka was completely anonymous I would of believed that the mask character was actually Drago, especially when hiccup called Valka a dragon trapper and Drago to see of she responds.

Yes! But they also would have had to get rid of the Drago flashback, and found a better way to explain his history with Stoick. It would have been so awesome if they lead the audience to believe it was Drago but then pulled the rug out and revealed its actually his mom.

I think they should've kept Valka's identity a secret too. It would've been cooler to find out who she is while actually watching the movie. They missed a big chance for a mind blowing scene.

Hopefully Dreamworks tones it down on the sneak peeks, clips, and advance screenings next time.

Erm, since I figured it out about nine months before the movie came out (yay for pattern recognition) do people want me to keep things to myself for the next movie? Cause that's part of the fun for me, and what makes watching the movie the fifth time as fun as the first. However, if it ruins your fun, I will not post my guesses.

I think the trailers should have left her anonymous. Maybe just as some lady like a mentor, but not mother.

The less you know, the better will be the experience. I wish I'd only seen the teaser and nothing else.


@MartianArchaeologist

You can always post your guesses. As long as they aren't confirmed or there are no explicit evidence you don't even have to tag them as spoilers.

I agree that they should have kept her a secret. It seems to me that revealing a fairly significant plot twist in the first trailer like that worked against building a buzz for the film more than anything. I'm fairly spoiler-proof myself, but I'd venture to guess that most people would have far rather been surprised by that scene than to know about it 6 months ahead of time.