Watching my favourite movie scenes over and over again is something I love to do. I have previously written articles on some of my most frequent revisits including from Return of the King and Mad Max: Fury Road which scratches the surface of my full list. One of my most enduring favourites is the ‘Test Drive’ sequence from the first How To Train Your Dragon which never fails to remind me why it is one of my favourite animated films and in fact one of my favourite movies in general.
We begin the scene at a point in the movie where Hiccup, a young boy who does not fit in with his fellow dragon-killing Vikings, is beginning to form a friendship with an elusive Night Fury, Toothless. After being shot down by Hiccup, Toothless is unable to fly unaided and therefore has to put up with Hiccup as his rider. This scene marks their first test drive together, with Toothless frustrated at his lack of freedom and Hiccup unsure of himself. What follows is one of the best scenes in an animated movie, and, I would argue, in cinema.
The Thrill of Flight
What makes this scene so cinematic is its portrayal of flight- the sheer joy, adrenaline and fear associated with it. Every movement is realistic and the ‘camera’, which feels turbulent at the high velocities, invokes the feeling of the wind rushing by us. Combined with the utterly gorgeous visuals of Berk (which can be partly attributed to legendary cinematographer, Roger Deakins) this sequence is a stunning showcase of animation.
It actually reminds me of Buckbeak’s Flight from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which also features the beast gently touching the water mid-flight. Whilst Buckbeak’s talon skimming water evoked wonder and even tranquillity, with How To Train Your Dragon, having the camera so close to the sea reinforces the speed at which Hiccup and Toothless are travelling and heightens the adrenaline. Just looking at the GIF below, the camera looks like it is about to overshoot, until it levels out along with Toothless.
As things start to go wrong, we see the two in free fall, reminding us of the current incompetence of the protagonists. With the ground coming closer and closer, Hiccup manages to rejoin Toothless and, again, we feel their sheer momentum as they struggle to slow down. What makes the next sequence so intoxicating is the music (see below) and the contrast between the slow, clunky movements at the start- with Hiccup obsessively checking his cheat sheet- and the now purely instinctual flying.
The shot of Hiccup throwing away the cheat sheet, and the subsequent editing between his foot changing gears (if that's the right term), and the tight turning is masterful. The tension in this sequences rises and falls, with a nail-biting sequence as they hurtle to the ground which culiminates during the instinctual flying through the rocks. That tension is then purposefully dissipated as the pair come out into the open again and celebrate their achievement, leaving the characters and indeed the audience elated.
The Music
John Powell. He’s the composer for the Bourne trilogy, Mr and Mrs Smith and Kung Fu Panda. This is definitely my favourite soundtrack from him and one of the best animated film scores, which is saying a lot considering Pixar’s offerings. I’ve written about this score before, but focussing on this scene in particular we can see the importance of the music in the movie. Yes, the animation, cinematography and character work is incredible here, but the music makes this scene. This seems to be a pattern with my favourite movies- nearly all of them have incredible soundtracks.
The beginning of the clip features the main theme in its grandest fashion, allowing us to enjoy the majesty of flight. It is not quite celebratory or fast-paced yet; the characters are still hesitant and learning to work together. Once the pair are in free fall, the music increases the tension and then we get one of my most re-played moments in cinema, purely due to the change in music. It comes at the 1.46 mark when Toothless spreads his wings in a desperate attempt to slow down. The music here is so exhilarating- not quite triumphant, which comes later- that you feel as though you are trying to slow down along with them. It just gets better from there: the main theme comes back in full force, but this time confident and assured as Hiccup progresses from hesitant passenger to fully fledged dragon rider. Once they’ve overcome the danger, the score then relaxes for us to fully enjoy the triumph of the two characters.
The friendship between Hiccup and Toothless is one of my favourite cinematic duos. Something I mentioned in my article about the motorcycle scene in Mad Max: Fury Road is that the incredible action is elevated by the character work in the scene. Without characters to care about, an action scene will only remain technically impressive rather than standing the test of time in our memories. Test Drive serves to show Hiccup’s progress from self-doubt to finding his true calling as a dragon rider. Toothless begins the scene frustrated at Hiccup and ends up trusting the young Viking after he proves himself worthy (though the dragon still expresses his annoyance at his lack of freedom by ‘accidentally’ letting out a fire blast right in front of Hiccup).
Also, and I’m sure this is not a controversial opinion, Toothless is one of the most adorable creations in cinematic history. Objectively.
Thank you for reading this article, revisiting this scene just solidified how much I love this movie. Shout-out to the ‘Forbidden Friendship’ scene as another contender for best scenes from the film. I have not seen How To Train Your Dragon 3 yet, but I’ve heard it’s great. Would love to hear your thoughts on this scene or the third movie if you’ve seen it- leave your comments below or through Instagram (cinematicwallflower) or Twitter (@filmdomblog).
I do not own any of the images or videos used in this post.