How To Train Your Dragon vs. Avatar

[Txontaw]

So which do you think was a better movie? Please understand that I don't mean which affected you more. That would mean that everyone voted 'Avatar'. Else you wouldn't be here. But IMHO, I think that HTTYD was a better movie. It had a better plot & romance, the graphics were very good, not as good as Avatar's, but it wasn't supposed to be realistic. The characters were developed better, and it had a

Spoiler: HTTYD spoiler, Do not read if you haven't seen the movie!

gigantic dragon blowing up at the end

which gets very close to a gigantic tree falling down.

Avatar obviously affected me deeper than HTTYD, but it was not as good of a movie as HTTYD.

Anyway, after you vote, please share why you chose it.

[Kìte'eyä Aungia]

It's hard to put these two movies next to each other because they're very different. Dragon is essentially an animated movie for a family audience that tells your basic coming of age story. Avatar is a sci-fi action movie that combines the classic hero's journey and going native archetypes to tell a hero story with a number of political messages.

I wrote a bit about Dragon here:

Spoiler

I love animated movies like Dragon because it's so obvious that the people working on it cared about the movie. In animated movies, animated movies for a family audience especially, DreamWorks animated movies for a family audience especially, we too often get a script that feels like it was written by a team of incompetent business executives (kids movie = fart jokes and pop culture references right?) and an end product that looks like it was directed and animated by people who just didn't care.

Dragon is the exact opposite: the story was simple but imaginative and emotional, the dialogue was humorous with nary a pop culture reference in sight, and the direction, animation, and voice talent were all top notch. Specifically, the character modeling and animation was far better than is typically seen in a DreamWorks picture, because there were relatively few locations in the story, the level of detail that went in made each one compelling, the score was fun, and many voice actors were cast who you might even expect to see in their role in a live action picture (who wouldn't cast Gerard Butler as the loud and heroic viking leader?). I particularly liked the sequence where Hiccup first goes out flying on the dragon Toothless. Not sure if it was the animation or the direction, but you really feel like you're there along for the ride.

As for Avatar, and I'm going to be frank here, the characters and dialogue were pretty mediocre and cheesy at times, and the story is an old archetype told without enough new ideas to keep some people interested. Nobody is really claiming Avatar deserves praise for its story or characters, though. I know a lot of people here (myself included) really connected with the story, but it's the detail, the groundbreaking visuals, and the immersion that most people liked, and they were all god tier. Lose some of the cheesy dialogue, add some morally gray into the black-and-white story, and clean up some of the character arcs and it would have been a lot better. Still thought it was pretty great though.

Getting into specifics, it's hard to compare the characters because Dragon has some comedy elements based on its characters falling into certain cliches, whereas Avatar, which also had very simplistic and archetypal characters, can and probably should be criticized for this. This is compounded by the fact that Dragon has a very fantastic setting, while Avatar is set in a gritty, realistic future. It's also hard to compare the story writing because the genres are so different.

Casting was very good for both films. Neither really brought in named actors just for the draw. I don't recall Gerard Butler or Sigourney Weaver appearing prominently in advertisements. Dragon maybe gets extra points here because voice acting in these kinds of movies is usually horrendous.

The music for both was also good, and is, in fact, very similar in some ways. I have acquired the soundtracks to both, and found both to be enjoyable.

I'm going to have to disagree with Txontaw about Dragon having the better romance, though. I thought the romance subplot in Dragon was significantly downplayed and decidedly less developed and worse written than the romance in Avatar, probably because it was a movie for a younger audience.

And I guess one of the big ones here is special effects and animation. In my quoted post I discuss the animation and cinematography in Dragon, but while both movies were impressive, Avatar clearly had the superior visuals. Avatar also represents a significant advancement in this field. How many patents does Cameron hold for new technologies and techniques developed for Avatar? One of the nice things here is that, unlike some other movies I could name, both Avatar and HTTYD planned for 3D from the ground up, and neither tried to use 3D as a cheap gimmick. Finally, one thing I do have to say is that the flying scenes in Dragon were much, much better than the ones in Avatar. The movie is worth seeing for them alone.

Ultimately, I'm going to have to go with Avatar simply because it was a more entertaining and worthwhile experience, both personally, and as measured in ticket sales and critical reception.

[Eana Tanhì]

avatar of course... 

HTTYD is the best animated movie I've ever seen, but Avatar is simply the best movie for me... I had so much fun watching the HTTYD, but I was completed after watching Avatar... I don't have anything against HTTYD and I repeat that it's the best animated movie ever, but Avatar has absolutely everything I love in the movie...

[Étienne]

Avatar

Dragon was just about a dude on a dragon doin dragon stuff for me.

[Txonyä'ite]

I chose Avatar because while HTTYD is one of my favorite movies, Avatar is my favorite Film.

[Nìwotxkrr Tìyawn]

Avatar doesn't use FX it was all real I tell you, real!

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

You're posting this poll on an Avatar forum and expecting results without bias, LOL. And besides, Avatar uses real people and they had to create their own 3D technology. Turning animation to 3D like they did for HTTYD isn't really that hard, the technology already exists.

Avatar ftw.

[Sіr. Ηaxalot]

This topic made me want to go and see HTTYD, but I must say, that I'm really surprised how it seems that the English version have disappeared from theaters, all over the country

It seems strange that they wouldn't show the English version anywhere, when the dubbed version is 2nd most watched movie in theaters atm.

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

Avatar doesn't use FX it was all real I tell you, real!

LOL, i wish it was. If it is, then sign me up.

[Emtokay]

*goes and waits in line with Tukruya and Niwotxrr to sign for the AVTR program*

[Hufwe ta'em]

No reason to compare the both movie, avatar will alway blow away every movie with CGI FX Avatar are the top movie

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

No reason to compare the both movie, avatar will alway blow away every movie with CGI FX Avatar are the top movie

Only one thing might come close....Avatar II

[Teyl Maktoyu Ayfìwopxä]

You dare say HTTYD is better then Avatar

*stretches bow* <-- forgot arrow *puts arrow on bow and stretches*

*notices txontxaw already ran away*

o.O

I'll get you 

* doesn't really know how to control tail and accidentaly hits back of his head*

... Doing this on my own isn't fun.

* steps out of wannabe neural uplink*

*goes and waits in line with Tukruya, Niwotxrr and Emtokay to sign for the AVTR program*

[Txur’Itan]

I like fire breathing dragons.

I like Avatar.

So you need a third option...

CROSSOVER!

[Eyamsiyu]

All you need to do is give ikrans the ability to breathe fire.

[Kätsyín te Zotxekay Tsyal’itan]

All you need to do is give ikrans the ability to breathe fire.

Nah, seems like over kill. To me. I wish we had ikran here on earth...someone angers you. You grab your ikran and land on his front lawn. What now? LOL.

Mìhìl, you forgot the arrow the first time? You let the unfaithful get away, LOL. Kidding.

[Tsamsiyu92]

Kìte'eyä Aungia, Cheesy =/= bad!!

[Kìte'eyä Aungia]

Kìte'eyä Aungia, Cheesy =/= bad!!

Yeah, it kinda does. I've read a lot of reviews and talked to a lot of people about this movie, and the cheesy dialogue and characters comes up again and again as an issue.

[MaTe]

Lose some of the cheesy dialogue, add some morally gray into the black-and-white story, and clean up some of the character arcs and it would have been a lot better. Still thought it was pretty great though.

Totally agree on this... I'd even say "develop character arcs". I long for the same level of detail in story/characters/dialog as there is in Visuals. But please don't do it for the sake of doing %) (I like th story/characters/dialog of ironman 1 more than IM 2, though IM 2 had more "detail" for me).