History Headscratchers / HowToTrainYourDragon

** As HornyVikings explains it, "... [[StockCostumeTraits and the horned helmets]] [[TheCoconutEffect that they never actually wore]] [[HistoryMarchesOn except for ceremonial occasions]]." StockCostumeTraits and TheCoconutEffect is in full effect.

FridgeLogic from "Film/HowToTrainYourDragon":

* Over the course of the movie Fishlegs makes several statistical phrases about the dragons and their abilities that sound somewhat like what you would hear from the popular game DungeonsAndDragons. Were they trying to go for a ItWillNeverCatchOn plot where Fishlegs will make a reference to what it would be like if they made a game about fighting dragons and exploring dungeons and no one ends up paying him any mind? That certainly has potential for quite a bit of humor in the sequel.

*** Yeah but those stats in the Dragon Manual we see Hiccup read were written in another language, it wouldn't exactly be easy for a guy like myself who only knows English to realize that Fishlegs was quoting from the book. Well anyway thanks for clearing things up, I was honestly hoping Fishlegs being a nerd was making a reference to DungeonsAndDragons. Though I guess it would be kind of strange for that idea to come almost a thousand years early when board games weren't even in existence.

** It's a joke that works on two levels - on the surface, Fishlegs is quoting stats from the Dragon Manual. But to the viewers, it's clear that he's WrongGenreSavvy and thinks he's in DungeonsAndDragons.

** It's not a continuity error at all. The body prioritizes healing from "large injuries to small ones"--[[spoiler: an amputation]] is obviously REALLY HIGH priority, while minor scrapes and cuts aren't, so they would heal more slowly. Hiccup's immune system was probably focused mostly on healing his [[spoiler: leg stump]] and once he got well enough to eat and rehabilitate, the minor cuts and scrapes would have healed up in a week or two.

** On top of all that, remember Hiccup is the Chief's son. He'll naturally be in the spotlight more and have greater expectations put on him, so every mistake he makes will be a bigger deal. Your average Viking, like Fishlegs, could get away with being more nerdy and timid than usual as long as they did their duty. But Hiccup is expected to the strongest of them all, and instead he's the clumsy runt. So he tries to make himself the best in his own way (his inventions) but that only makes things worse.

* Retractable teeth are also useful for plucking falling kids from the sky without biting their legs off...

* Minor nitpick, but Hiccup's helmet was noticeably larger than Stoik's, yet they're supposed to be a matching pair, made from a lady's breastplate. Was this lady super lopsided, or did Gobber melt the breastplate down before reconstituting them?

* When Stoik first discovers Hiccup's alliance with Toothless (after the fight with the Nightmare in the arena), he mutters about how "he should have seen the signs". Is dragon sympathy in Berk something that happens often enough that it has visible signs?

** Funny thing, the [[WesternAnimation/HowToTrainYourDragon2 second movie]] actually answers this question. Turns out that Hiccup's mother also believed that humans and dragons could coexist peacefully, thus answering why Stoik would say that and the existence of dragon sympathy.
** I agree with the first answer even after watching the sequel, it seems pretty out of place for him to be thinking of Hiccup's mother at the time, he was angry and not thinking clearly, not clearly enough to remember (in his mind) insignificant details about his wife.

** Alternatively, it's possible that Night Furies are more resistant to the song of the Green Death than other dragons, explaining why Toothless seems fine when he takes Hiccup and Astrid to the nest; and Toothless' participation in the raids was less due to the influence of the Green Death and more Toothless wanting to protect the other dragons by prividing aerial cover. This explains why he doesn't take any food.

*** That entire group of scenes is about trust, Hiccup needs to prove to Toothless that he trusts the dragon. Which he did by disarming himself, his knife, his attention (when he was drawing rather than watching the dangerous creature hanging from a tree that could kill him with it's breath)... When he turned to look away not only is the above true in that looking in the eyes is a challenge to most animals, he's also throwing away his final defense against the dragon, his reflexes. If he can't see, he won't know if the dragon is going to attack him and he can't pull himself away or run. Hiccup spends a lot of the time in series trying to get it in people's head that training dragons is all about trust.