How To Train Your Dragon teaser

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It doesn’t show much footage, and the video quality is poor, but this is our first glimpse at Dreamworks next feature – from Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois:

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  • OldEuropean

    What does it say about Dreamwork that the words “from the directors of Lilo & Stitch” are nowhere to be found? “Hey, look at us, we produced the retarded Madagascar movies, and this is more of the same! Instead of, y’know, actually a good movie, like that one recent Disney film that everybody liked!”

  • http://www.pbcbstudios.blogspot.com pbcbstudios

    Chris and Dean are awesome – can’t wait to see this story!

  • http://tresswygert.blogspot.com Tres Swygert

    Hopefully they will have better designs for the characters (or at least the dragon). Remembering what the dragon looked like from the DreamWorks website, it looked like crap to me. Also, it will be interesting to see if DreamWorks will have a more successful project that’s gonna be in 3D….Monsters vs. Aliens was fine, but compared to Pixar’s first 3D project, it couldn’t compete in the box office. True fact.

  • http://scuzzbopper.blogspot.com Ken Priebe

    As a mega-huge fan of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ , I hope Dreamworks is giving them the same amount of directorial freedom that Disney seemed to. Seems like being at the smaller Florida studio they were able to create something fresh and new.

  • http://debbiessketchbook.blogspot.com/ Debbie

    Why do movies have to be “The 3D ride of your life”? Isn’t just telling a story good enough anymore?

  • Rodrigo

    OldEuropean: Perhaps because most of America doesn’t have as snooty standards as we artists do. And really, this teaser isn’t aimed at you.

    I’d also wager that either Shrek, Madagascar, or KFP are currently bigger household names that Lilo, and on top of that DW is more interested in promoting it’s own i.p. (like any sensible company would be).

  • fishmorgjp

    Looks bad: they invoke the crappy “Shrek” right off, and 3D logos keep jumping out at you. Remember the 3D “boom” of the early 1980s?

  • Doofus

    That didn’t show anything. The trailer looked crap.

  • gatebuider

    Is joke…no!?!

  • Lucky Jim

    Nice to see Chris is directing again. Wasn’t he working on Crood Awakening before this?

  • http://www.warnerart.com Eric

    I assume the trailer was intended to get us all juiced up for what’s to come?…..FAIL !!!

  • TheGunheart

    Just a teaser, so not a whole lot to go on. Plus, they probably don’t want to provoke Disney’s lawyers by mentioning Lilo & Stitch.

    Anyway, it wasn’t a one-note joke trailer, so that’s a good sign. Maybe it might actually be more in the style of Kung-Fu Panda instead of Monsters Vs. Aliens.

  • optimist

    OLdEuropean: Please give one example you’ve ever seen of a major studio touting ANOTHER, competing studio’s still-current product(for sale in stores on DVD, much merchandising in parks and referenced on rides, etc) in its trailers?
    And it has to be an example that’s not an indie/oneshot place trying desperately to get a boost from a top ten hit that another, major studio released) That would be not terribly bright from a Dreamworks marketing POV. And like it or not, the films they mention WERE huge hits and what do you know-that’s why they name drop their own films.

    Anyway, all that matters is that ALL the people out there who would and do give a damn about these things-other animation pros/geeks/fans like you and I-already KNOW what Chris Sanders’ past credits are. No one else cares or frankly really knows the diff. There’s too much confusion over who makes what among the moviegoers as it is.

    As to the person who cites the dragon that “looked like crap”: that would be the work of Nicolas Marlet, a brilliant designer who was responsible for a Kung-Fu Panda as well as “Monsters, Inc.” for Pixar.

  • http://www.kohrtoons.com Robert K

    OldEuropean: There are issues with Dreamworks making claims about another studio’s film. Studios only every acknowledge their own films. It would be a legal mess and brand suicide to do otherwise.

    IN 3D!!

  • Mandy

    Back in my day movies had a good story to ‘em and it wasn’t about all this gimicky 3D hibity jibity. Wait! That was 15 years ago! 1994…gas costed less than a dollar and movies without quality didn’t make this much money.

  • Mike Russo

    I’m so sick of 3D being used as a reason to see movies. I really am.

  • http://robcatview.blogspot.com robcat2075

    Obviously just the beginning of the “awareness campaign” and not meant as the basis for critic opinions.

    But, of course, licensed critics know that already.

  • Julian Carter

    Lucky Jim, I believe he’s still working on Crood Awakening. It’s just further down the DreamWorks production pipeline.

    And why all the negativity? There’s barely any footage to see. I’m sure the animation will be first-class. Let’s hope the film also excels at design and story. (With Chris Sanders at the helm, I somehow don’t feel too worried about design, but we’ll see. Chris must have been busy on this film for a long time, seeing as his Kiskaloo comic has remained neglected for ages.)

  • Robert Barker

    The only ‘crappy’ Shrek was the third one. King Fu Panda had a lot of unrealized potential. The Madagascar films are entertaining, though hardly great animation. It’s hard to judge what this project will be will be without seeing more. Coraline is still the only truly great 3-D animated film.

  • Bob

    I’m not sure where my dragon teaser is much less have any desire to train it… Or am I missing the point?

  • Ptarii

    In my OLD COUNTRY people judge movies AFTER they see them, not before!!

  • Tom Heres

    I hate that their most successful franchise- the Shart films- is the thing leads all of their trailers. And KFP is head and shoulders better than everything that has ever sported the Dreamworks logo. It’s a shame to have it mentioned in the same breath and Shart and Madagascar.

    I just watched the Pixar documentary on the Wall E second disc, and they call out Jeffrey Katzenberg for almost destroying Toy Story (and, by extension strangling Pixar in its crib) with his call to make the movie “edgy”. A bunch of double entendre and insult humor, with a soundtrack of hot-at-the-moment stars and hip hop music, no doubt. Other than KFP, I can honestly say I’ve never enjoyed watching a Dreamworks picture. Just the one. Kung Fu Anomaly.

  • Sam Filstrup

    Was hoping for more but eh what are you gonna do? It looked as if it was going to look more realistic which bums me out a bit. Making it seem like more of a live action film, also how come all studios have to point out what they’ve done recently? I mean do they think the audience is so dumb that they don’t know who Dreamworks is and what they’ve done? Pixar does the same thing, I just figured they’d stop doing it eventually.

  • http://jedaniels-adventures.blogspot.com Jpox

    I’m excited to see another Chris Sanders film! Hope the art direction is similar to his style. :)
    I’m getting pretty tired of having “3D!!!!!!!!” crammed in my face every time I see a movie trailer these days. It’s starting to get old people. |:(

  • http://tresswygert.blogspot.com Tres Swygert

    Everyone has their own opinion optimist. If I believe the design for the dragon looked like crap when I first saw it, then so be it. That does not mean that I am attacking the artist directly though.

  • TheGunheart

    You know, I always hated it when people whine about the story after seeing the trailer. How exactly do you advertise the story? You can’t go beyond the basic premise without potentially giving away the plot, so you can’t actually use the story as a marketing bullet point.

    All a trailer can really do is show off some clips of action scenes, spectacle, and humor. The trailer can’t actually tell you the story. That’s what the movie itself is for.

  • Pedro Nakama

    I would have liked to see more.

  • http://www.themightynomad.com Craig

    Welp…At least its in 3D!! Bwwaahahahahahaha!! Executives should be put in a zoo….some strange creatures those fellas.

    Dean is a great storyteller, and an amazing talent. I’ll look forward to seeing it…but not as much as the Frog Princess :)

    Twoooo Dee …Twooooo Dee…Twooooo Dee…..

  • weee

    yeah, Madagascar is really retarded, shrek franchise is just going hopeless, panda is a highlight but then monster vs aliens challenged your taste so bad, still looking forward to this production though even the tease doesn’t really show anything yet

  • Steve Gattuso

    A perfectly serviceable teaser, but nothing to write home about. I shall save any other opinions until I see more from this production.

  • Jason

    I agree about the dragon. What a weird-looking head. Looks like a cross between a Komodo dragon and a Boston Terrier.

    Of course for me the gold standard for dragons is Maleficent. Why can’t more movie dragons be as cool?

  • http://www.bishopanimation.com Floyd Bishop

    This is a teaser. I’m glad they’re not giving away everything like most trailers seem to do.

    This is the kind of piece that plants a flag in the minds of kids, giving them something to look forward to, but not giving anything away. With names like Shrek and Madagascar, that flag is firmly planted.

  • http://www.spiteyourface.com Tony Mines

    Jerry, I think you just accidentally posted the Pixar ‘Mr Box’ trailer twice.
    oh no, wait..

  • http://www.elliotelliotelliot.com Elliot Cowan

    I for one am pleased it’s in 3D.
    3D is the future, people.

  • George

    “also how come all studios have to point out what they’ve done recently? I mean do they think the audience is so dumb that they don’t know who Dreamworks is and what they’ve done?”

    Sam, you’d be surprised. Just after Monsters vs. Aliens was released I heard not only movie goers, but several radio and television news stations say “Pixars new film was #1 in the Box Office” or “Pixars new movie Monsters vs. Aliens was awesome”. It drove me kinda nuts, I called one radio station to correct them, they played the correction, and said I must have been a Pixar employee (I’m not).

    With several major studios producing CG Animation, it’s been apparent to me that you’ve got to distinguish yourself from the pack, because people will get confused.

  • OldEuropean

    Yeah, I know about the realities of the business. Which is why I didn’t ask “where’s Stitch?”, I just commented on the state of Dreamworks’ animation history when theoretically invoking a Disney film would instantly elevate the teaser to more than just “meh.”

    By the way, is it bad business to mention a competitor’s film? I’m not sure it is, especially if it’s a well-known film that the audience would already know, anyway. I can see why the studios aren’t doing it a lot, but I just don’t see the fear as particularly warranted.
    As for legal problems, that’s just silly. I don’t believe for a second that it’s illegal to cite other projects filmmakers have done. The Jarhead trailer, for instance, clearly states the film’s from the director of American Beauty (a Dreamworks film); and Universal would have been silly not to do that.

    Will we see Disney/Pixar tout Brenda Chapman as the director of Prince of Egypt? Probably not. But The Bear and the Bow has the Pixar brand behind it, that’s a plus, critic-wise, that How To Train Your Dragon doesn’t have.
    Commercially, that’s true, mentions of Shrek and Madagascar are probably enough. But as far as I’m concerned, I really don’t care about which studios good films come from, and if I hadn’t known already, the trailer *would* have made me more excited had it told me what the directors were responsible for in their Disney days.

  • http://www.dailygrail.com/blog/8389 red pill junkie

    Myself, I would have preferred less logos & more dragon in the teaser.

  • Freeman

    Not only is every upcoming 3D film “The Ride of Your Life” but nearly all trailers since about 1975 have used the words “Beyond Your Imagination”…

  • David Cuny

    > when theoretically invoking a Disney film would instantly elevate
    > the teaser to more than just “meh.”

    And bring lawyers crashing down on you. They’d say that you’re attempting to co-mingle brands and create confusion in the marketplace by attaching your name to a Disney(tm) product.

    Since I’ve complained in the past about trailers giving away too much of the film’s plot, I guess I shouldn’t complain when a teaser gives away nothing.

  • OldEuropean

    > And bring lawyers crashing down on you. They’d say that you’re
    > attempting to co-mingle brands and create confusion in the
    > marketplace by attaching your name to a Disney(tm) product.

    Again, I have a hard time believing that. I’m not a lawyer, but if that really is how it is, that’s beyond ridiculous and yet another area of retarded copyright legislation. In live action, directors move between studios all the time, and trailers use their achievements regardless of studio at least some of the time. Why would animation be different?
    The films aren’t made by Walt Disney’s frozen head or Jeffrey Katzenberg himself, they’re made by directors and their crew. It’s not a lie to say Sanders and DeBlois directed Lilo & Stitch. It’s not even misleading, like the “from some of the people who brought you…” line you sometimes see (with “some of the people” being some meaningless exec producer or what have you).

    Again, I can see why studios don’t usually do it (promotion of enemy material, and an admittance of a lack of a quality track record), but illegal?
    Isn’t it legal for a company to put out a commercial that says “don’t buy from the competition, they suck, because they have fewer vitamins per ounce than we do; buy our product instead?” If that is legal, why would there be a problem saying “you know that one product you liked from that other company? they pissed off the creators of that product. those creators now work for us?” Seeing as how the Dreamworks logo is on front of every trailer, and seeing that the brand is pretty well established by now (as a competitor to Disney), I don’t see the problem.
    But, of course, I don’t have a particularly corporate mind…

  • http://www.joshuathejames.com/ JtJ

    Hole Lee Mole Lee,

    No one can save that movie from this design..

    http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/zz7c45ca4c.jpg

  • Mr. Semaj

    My concern for this movie is whether Chris Sanders will have to surrender his unique style to the DreamWorks style.

  • Kevin

    I worked at DreamWorks this summer, and saw quite a bit of “Dragon”. I won’t give away anything that hasn’t been mentioned in the official press releases, but honestly, this looks pretty promising. A nice departure from the older DreamWorks style, and more along the lines of a straight fairy tale (if that’s the right phrase) like “Kung Fu Panda”. (And this is coming from someone who really doesn’t care for “Shrek” and his friends all that much.)

  • Sylvain

    JtJ,
    > “No one can save that movie from this design..”
    Yes. Someone can. Pierre-Olivier Vincent is the art director, and this is one of his concept art for HTTYD :

    http://www.slashfilm.com/wp/wp-content/images/theone.jpg

    By the way, the picture you posted is very old and I believe it dates back to before Chris Sanders and Dean Deblois were chosen as directors.

  • 3-D Trend

    JtJ is one to talk. After clicking on his name I checked out his juvinile video game concept artwork blog full of twisted, uninteresting aliens and wanna-be graffiti style human character designs. I think he’s the last guy that should be casting stones on Nico Marlet’s beautiful dragon designs based on one teaser image.

    There was recently a test audience screening of the film “How to Train Your Dragon” last weekend and here’s what one person had to say about it.

    “My son and I were invited today to see a pre-screening of the movie, mind you it was not complete yet and there was quite a bit of unfinished storyboard areas. But it didn’t matter in the least. It was such a great movie, and stayed true to the story. It was so well done, that even though some parts were still storyboard, they were heartwarming. I don’t think anyone will be disappointed with this one. :) They have a true classic on their hands..Excellent Job Dreamworks!!!”

    via this website:

    http://screenrant.com/teaser-trailer-how-to-train-your-dragon-pauly-25741/