Revisiting How to Train Your Dragon in 2025 | TNP EP. 144 - The Nerdiest Podcast

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
But we know what you're here for.
You're here for how to train your dragon.
Now, this is not a tutorial. This is a movie review.
So everyone. Hello and welcome to the

(00:34):
Nerdiest podcast, the podcast where nerds talk about nerdy
things. I'm one of your hosts, Mr.
Jackson Glass today joined as always by my Ride or die, Mr.
Nick Barrett, the host with the most who's always sleep
deprived. And I'm going to ask him how
he's doing here in just a minute.
But today we are revisiting a movie series that I cannot
believe Nick had never watched before this because it's one of

(00:56):
my favorites, a DreamWorks classic.
And that is how to train your dragon.
Now these three how to train your dragon movies, we're going
to be diving deep into today andalso giving a little a little
twist on our thoughts on the live action remake on what that
means. But also today we get to talk
about TikTok being banned and also the switch to is real.
Everybody finally, finally the switch to is real.

(01:19):
We're going to break down our thoughts and tell you
everything. So make sure you stay to the end
to hear all this amazing conversation.
But if you want to be in on the conversation, you should follow
us on Instagram at the Nerdiest Podcast or on Twitter at
Nerdiest Podcast. Or if you want to watch
beautiful video versions of thispodcast, you can go to
youtube.com and search for the Nerdiest Podcast on there.

(01:40):
We cannot wait to interact with you and connect with you.
Thank you so much, Mr. Nick Barrett.
How are you? Today, well, you know, I'm alive
and I'm here and that's the mostI can say.
This week has been a little hectic.
I've had something every night, including tonight.
And it's just it's crazy becauseso Monday I had like Monday,

(02:04):
Tuesday church stuff as usual. Wednesday I was guessing on the
Nintend Byte podcast to talk switch to because the going
rumor since like Monday had beenthat, Oh, it's going to get
revealed Thursday. So and I was already scheduled
to be on this podcast regardless.
So as soon as those rumors brokeout Monday, though, Nintendo

(02:24):
Prime, who runs that podcast, messaged me and was like, hey,
if it's revealed on Thursday, we're doing like a whole bonus
podcast talking about it. Do you want to be on?
And I was like, 100%, yeah, absolutely.
So that filled up Wednesday, Thursday, and then Friday I was
streaming, and Saturday I was streaming.
So I've had something every night this week, granted, of my

(02:45):
own volition, right? So next week is not as much.
I was supposed to be streaming three days next week and I took
one day out because I was like no, no, no.
No, that's not what we do here. We can't be doing this.
We take care of ourselves. So I've just been doing that,
working on content. I'm a little ahead.
I have a video I need to watch. It got uploaded this morning for

(03:08):
me to look at and it had the thered like no monetization and I
was like, oh, that's not great, and then I had the red like
cross of blocked worldwide and Iwas like, oh, oh, nice, that's
awesome. This.
Is the problem. With doing anime videos is the

(03:29):
anime companies are a lot more specific about their footage, so
I might have to figure out how to use that footage in a
different way or something to skirt around the copyright laws,
but we'll see. So I'm working on that.
I'm working on some other videos.
There's one video coming out in February I think that I'm very

(03:50):
excited about, but I can't talk about it yet.
So I'm very excited about that and I will tell you guys more
when I can, but I can't right now.
So that's all I've got. Pretty chill week.
I am finding the time I will have you guys know 2 updates
from last episode. 1 I finished Epic the musical.
Very good, very nice. Two, I have found time this past

(04:15):
two weeks to actually put time into Mario and Luigi and Persona
3. Good word.
So I'm slowly but surely like I found time I think like on
Sunday or Saturday, I put a goodlike 4 hours into both and I was
like, all right, we're getting somewhere.
Just got to keep this up and keep going and they'll be done

(04:36):
in no time. So that's my update from that
and that's that's all I got Jackson.
There you go. How have you been?
Wow, I know you're. Back to school.
Yeah, very, very similarly to you.
I have nothing to say because I've been going non-stop.
I mean, I'm just school is great.

(04:56):
I love a lot of my classes rightnow.
That's all going well. I'm making a lot of different
videos for a lot of different things, and that's really
exciting. We're still wedding planning,
getting ready for the summer, kind of crazy.
It's counting down. We are less than four.
We're less than four months awaynow, which is bonkers, but

(05:17):
that's pretty much of honestly, I've just been doing homework
till like one like every night. And so I'm like absolutely
zonked. Update though I told you last
episode about my basketball endeavours.
My Tell me you did not pop that basketball.
Already, No, I did not don't worry.
My $55 basketball actually good news.

(05:39):
I've been using it a lot and I've been I've been out just
like shooting buckets like most the last like 3 days I've just
gone out and like shot hoops like everyday.
So that's great. I'm I'm getting my money's
worth. Also, little update is one of my
newest resolutions was to watch more TV and that sounds like a
stupid resolution. But The thing is, I don't let

(06:03):
myself watch TV because I feel like I need to be working.
I always need to be editing, planning, writing, doing some
school work, whatever. And so I never just take the
moment to take a deep breath andbe like, it's OK to watch 45
minutes of TV and then keep working.
Like just take a break. So new shows we started, me and

(06:24):
Amy are watching Twin Peaks, which is so screwed up.
What a weird show. But I'm so intrigued and I love
it. We just finished the first
season. Also, rest in peace David Lynch.
That kind of ruined my week. He was really such a visionary
director just of our time. And he died this week.

(06:44):
So rest in peace, David Lynch. That's a big deal.
But I also started a new show yesterday.
Me and my roommate started Severance, which is on Apple TV
Plus. And the second season is running
right now. So we were like, oh, let's start
it. And it has Adam Scott is the
main character. And we watched the first episode
and we were like, yeah, we're wehave to watch all of this

(07:07):
directed by Ben Stiller. Fascinatingly enough, I think
Ben Stiller is a better filmmaker than he is an actor.
I really like his directing style and all the movies he
directs. I feel like I enjoy more than
his acting. So anyway, update to follow.
I started two TV shows and they're shows that I normally
wouldn't wouldn't start for me. So I'm branching out.

(07:28):
Update to follow. And that's pretty much it.
I've just been doing school workor work work and watching TV.
So there you go. That's where we're at.
That's where we're at. We need a, we need a blaze
through that because we have so much to talk about because it's
news time. Wiggy, wiggy.
Wow. News time.
All right, First things first, let's get this out of the way

(07:49):
because it's big in the in the in the stratosphere right now
for tech and content. Is that TikTok?
No, OK, sorry preference. This may not be fully relevant
to everyone. I don't know what the this
entails. I'm going to go into US politics
for a minute. Everyone's favorite topic.
So yeah, miracle. All right, if you've considering

(08:10):
Fast forward, don't worry, it's not going to be bad.
So they're talking about banningTikTok in the US and this is
about the third time that they've threatened to do this.
And this is like a two year narrative of like, we're going
to ban it. We're going to ban it.
We're going to let this other president figure it out.
And then four years later, we'relike, yeah, we're going to let

(08:32):
this other president figure it out.
And I'm like, why are we so scared to ban it?
Like what do we think is going to happen?
If it's really that big of a national security concern, then
do it. It should have been done a long
time, right? And so now.
And, and I'm, there's a lot of conversation going around about
like, well, so many people rely on TikTok for income and for,

(08:52):
you know, for revenue and all this stuff.
And I want to be sensitive to those people because that is a,
a big deal to lose your income like that.
And I think about like, as me and Nick are more like YouTube
creators. And so like, you know, that'd be
like if YouTube got banned, that'd be a big deal for Nick
and for me, like the way that, you know, we, we generate
revenue from that. Well, some of us do, but it's

(09:15):
interesting. So I don't want to be
insensitive to that because it doesn't affect me.
But also I just have to think about like, we're gaining.
Like think about, think about the amount of crap that the
government feeds us, the amount of money they just randomly give
away, the amount of the amount of data that's just been

(09:38):
breached, the amount of stuff they just like, don't care
about. But TikTok has been this
conversation for over 2 years. Yeah.
Do you understand how how big ofa national security risk
something has to be for our government to say to talk about
it for this long? If it wasn't anything, we

(10:01):
wouldn't be talking about it. And so revenue sucks.
Like I hate that for creators because like I'm a small
creator, I understand that is really horrible, but also
protecting small creators cannotcome before a national security
risk. Yeah.

(10:22):
That those two things are not equal in my mind.
And it's kind of like, think about where your money is coming
from. Like these these Chinese
companies are stimulating the American economy and we're just
kind of like, this is fine. It's whatever.
There's also, by the way, TikTokhas increasingly like

(10:43):
contributed to our mental healthcrisis, has increasingly
contributed to our short attention span.
And you can say the same thing about Instagram and Twitter and
whatever social media. This is a broader social media
problem. But if you open TikTok are not
signed in versus like YouTube, TikTok is different.
It really is different. And you can so much easily, you

(11:06):
can find so much horrific content on TikTok so much
easier. And it's become a melting pot
for that. And there is good on there.
And I understand the small business conversation, but
national security risk, we we need to be concerned about the
national security risk instead of downloading this other
obviously Chinese app that is sobootleg and so like destroying.

(11:32):
Anyway, I'm just frustrated because we were so like, no, but
I want to doom scroll all day. And it's like, OK, thank God we
have YouTube shorts and Instagram reels and videos on
Twitter and Facebook reels. You can doom scroll all you want
while while Americans steal yourdata.
OK Like this is. Yeah, here's the.
Thing. Is it I haven't, like, gotten

(11:53):
into all the legal mumbo jumbo of like, the Supreme Court.
And I know Trump asked them to delay it and be like, hold on.
Like, there is a lot of like, small businesses and stuff that
we're going to lose. So can we wait?
The Supreme Court was like, no, it's getting banned.
Actually to be gone by the time this episode comes out.
In theory. So what I, what I think is

(12:16):
really interesting is it has been a conversation for such a
long time. And I feel like it was a
political talking piece for bothsides of like, oh, well, if you
don't do this thing, we're goingto ban TikTok.
And that like gets Gen. Z on the opposite side, right?
Because they're like, well, we don't want to lose TikTok.
Like you're taking away our freedom, right?

(12:37):
And it's like, all right, guys, all of you who are crying, we're
losing our freedom of speech on TikTok are the same ones who
think Twitter needs more moderation.
Like, and OK, in theory, yes, Twitter does need more
moderation. But they're also the ones who
are like, well, you're saying mean things to me on Twitter, so
you need to get banned. And it's like, no free speech.
Goes both ways, brother. Yeah, free speech is the thing

(12:59):
that everyone has. It goes both ways.
Now you can curb people in and be like, hey, that was a little
insensitive. Like maybe you shouldn't have
said that. Like you can have those nuanced
conversations. But I think the bigger thing is
it's not even getting rid of TikTok.
Like the government doesn't havean issue with TikTok as a
platform. No like, and, and the Gen.

(13:21):
Z argument is like, well, the USgovernment, they know we're too
free minded on TikTok and they're trying to silence us and
take away all of our information.
And I'm like, if that's true, then why aren't they attacking
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, all of these other big social
media platforms in the United States that are run by United
States companies? That's the problem.

(13:42):
The government doesn't care about stealing information
because it's actually quite useful for them, they just want
to be able to. Steal your information.
And not go to a foreign country who we are in kind of tense
relationships with. Right.
So here's my thing though, if you're going to ban TikTok, I
need them to have some level of consistency and I need them to

(14:05):
go down the App Store and ban all of the other apps that are
doing the exact same thing that they claim TikTok is doing.
If TikTok really is China stealing our data, all right,
that's Timo gone, that's red Note gone.
That's all these other apps, like somebody put together a, a,
a spreadsheet or like a picture on Twitter, that was, if you use

(14:25):
this American app, here's the Chinese equivalent and they're
all available on our App Store for sure.
So like, OK, go down and ban allof those.
So, and I also think it's kind of disingenuous to say we're
banning TikTok unless it can be sold to a American entity.

(14:48):
And there's a lot of people likeMr. Beast has talked about
buying it, which I think would be the craziest solution.
I think that would be the largest downfall of the
platform, like everyone would. Be I think he would buy it and
then he would just kind of let TikTok, like the people who run
it now, run it the way they wererunning.
It right? But it's owned by an American

(15:08):
entity, so it kind of skirts around.
That'd be the same thing as likeElon buying X though, so like.
Yeah, like, well, no, because Elon gutted all of like right,
Twitter HQ and then right and the whole.
Thing which you know, anyway, that's another conversation.
But anyway, that's just kind of like this is a also my biggest
question. I know we have like a broad like

(15:30):
country of listeners and it's kind of like, can I just hop on
a VPN and scroll TikTok on my computer?
No, like so that's different. Because they said one it will
not work on your phone even if you still have it downloaded.
So this isn't like a Flappy Birdsituation and if you use a VPN

(15:52):
to get around it and put yourself in a different country,
you will get penalized for it. Now this sounds oddly familiar
to win. Brazil banned Twitter for like a
month and then everyone got really upset and they walked it
back. So I predict a similar thing
will happen. Like they'll go through with it
and then by like February or March, it'll be back because.

(16:15):
In some form or in some their short.
Attention span will quickly movethem to another app and they
won't care. Which this is a huge opportunity
for another like smaller app to like rise from the ashes, bring
back Vine bring. Back Vine.
So, because you know what? You know what?
Our short attention spans need maximum 6 seconds, all right.

(16:39):
Anyway, this is what you've beenwaiting for, ladies and
gentlemen. The freaking switch to is real,
baby. All right, Nintendo Switch to
let me hit you. So here's how many.
Facts. I'm gonna hit you with some
facts and then we can just talk for a little bit about it, all
right? Yeah.
So Switch to got revealed in a 2minute and 22 second trailer

(17:02):
that also happens to be two months, 2 weeks and two days
from the official Nintendo Switch to Direct.
OK, I don't know. I don't know if that had to be
intentional. There's no way you get that many
coincidences lined up. But there was that.
It was revealed on Thursday, January 16th.

(17:24):
It was a pretty short trailer that really was just like, hey,
here's the Switch, Here's the, you know, new joy cons, here's
the new screen, here's the wholeyadda, yadda, yadda.
We get to see the joy con running across the table,
presumably in some kind of mousemode, which I'll talk about in a
minute. The joy cons are seemingly

(17:45):
magnetic now instead of doing the snap on like they which is
so much better. What else They it's a bigger
screen. I think it was 8 inches was the
number I heard, which I've seen pictures of like mock up models
compared to the OLED and it's dude, it's massive.

(18:05):
OK like it's huge and then it will be backwards compatible
with all of your Switch one games with a little asterisk
'cause there's some games like Ringfit Adventure, Labo 1-2
Switch like games that are very reliant on the old set of
joycons will not be compatible out the box with Switch 2.

(18:25):
I'm sure your old joycons will be compatible like the Wii modes
were with the Wii U and you could still use them.
They just weren't like the default.
So I'm sure it'll be fine. But for a broad statement of
like what they were saying in the trailer, it makes sense.
So like, you'll be able to pop Breath of the Wild in there and
Mario Kart 8 and which might notneed Mario Kart 8, but that's a

(18:48):
different story. And then there's a full Switch
to direct on April 2nd, which I'm assuming will not only give
us a better look at the console and like, here's how the games
are going to work. Here's how.
Here's a better look at the mouse mode and like that kind of
stuff, but also games and that kind of stuff.
So and then they also showed offwhat appears to be Mario Kart 9.

(19:13):
Man with 2424 players that's so dope that's.
Gonna be crazy if I get knocked all the way back to 24th I'm
uninstalling the game like that's it.
If I get blue shelled in first and go back to 24th like that's
it, I'm done. Can you imagine like 2 like
these 200CC online matches with 24 like double the people that

(19:35):
you have now? So crazy, my gosh, getting like
first will be such an accomplishment for that, you
know, because you're like, yeah,I got 8th, which is the new like
6th, so. Yeah, all right, give me some
thoughts before I go crazy here.All right, I'll let you go crazy
in a second. So I saw the trailer and at

(19:57):
first I was kind of like, oh, I don't know, because I didn't
expect it to actually be called Switch 2.
And I was like, it's kind of like.
You know, when everyone was likebrother of the wild too, brother
of the wild too. And then it was like Tears of
the Kingdom and we were like, that's so much better.
So I feel like this, this was that kind of like caught me off
guard. And they did like the like

(20:18):
switch icon with the two. And I was like, is this really
like what we but also like essentially by the time the
trailer was over, I'd gotten over it.
I was like, yeah, this is great.I think the magnetic system is
so much better. The amount of times I've like
wrestled with the little like locking system, sometimes it
gets jammed and then like the little like joy con like slip

(20:40):
ONS to make the buttons easier. Sometimes you wrestle with that.
I think it's super sleek, the black look.
I'm curious if they do like a white one for the switch to.
I'm also curious to see if they go for an OLED eventually
because it is the LCD screen. I'm also kind of like, all
right, if it's that massive, arethey going to do like an OLED?

(21:02):
That's like, because at that point you have an iPad like you,
you really what's too big for portability.
So I'm curious about that. Mario Kart 9 looks insane.
I think that I'm curious about the mouse mode.
I don't fully understand what that means, but I'm sure you'll
explain that it looks really dope.

(21:25):
I'm I'm concerned about the price.
I've I I have a sneaking suspicion that it's going to be
like weirdly expensive. But also here's kind of what I
thought about the trailer was I was like, this is awesome.
It looks so good. Mario Kart 9 looks great.
I'm hoping that our backwards compatible games can get like

(21:48):
upscaled in a way that's not gross.
So I'm hoping that like Breath of the wild can like look better
without just being like, yeah, we had a we had a freaking like
little AI enhancer that like makes it sharper.
I hope that that's the case. But I'm also kind of like, all
right, show me the specs and then I can really tell you like
what I think. Because like if the switch to

(22:11):
was like booty cheeks ugly, but it could run like Final Fantasy
and like run Minecraft at A10 render distance.
Minecraft. You can run Minecraft if it can
run Fortnite and Minecraft without imploding like these
standard games that like everyone plays highest selling

(22:31):
console of all time. Calling it right now.
It'll beat the PS2 like bonkers.So let me ask you this.
Well, one, OK, so you said there's a couple things you said
that I wanted to respond to and I already forgot what they were.
You talked about the oh, the white.
OK, so from what I've heard, we're back into like rumors and

(22:55):
leaks and stuff. There is 3 skews, which is 3
versions in the launch year. The one that we've seen that's
like the black with the like subtle colors, a white one that
is white joy cons white console,not just like the OLED where it
was a white joy cons on a black console and then a special

(23:20):
themed one for a game that features 9 in the title, which
everyone is assuming is a Mario Kart version.
So I think they'll end up doing a white one.
What I more want them to do and I I like this version of the
switch too. This will probably be the one

(23:41):
that I end up getting is the like black and the neon colors
underneath which I think is really slick.
I think it works great. The only thing I don't like, and
this kind of goes into what I want them to do, is more colored
joy cons 'cause like I really like my Skyward Sword ones that
are all like one solid color. I don't want all of them to be

(24:01):
like black with green and pink underneath.
Like no, make full colored ones 'cause that's what gave the
Switch its personality and it's flare.
Because then everyone could havedifferent colored joy cons.
Like my sister and I have different colored joy cons.
Right. So and that's.
How you come apart? What what does bother me is the

(24:23):
inside where the joy cons go is colored to those joy cons.
So if you get the black switch with the red and the the red and
the blue, and then you get like these joy cons that are, you
know, blue and purple, If I put them in and I take them out,
you're going to see that like, oh, these are not the default

(24:43):
joy. Comes right.
So it's like, and it's one of those things that won't really
matter because when it's in the dock, like nobody cares.
And then when it's together, like it's fine.
I think they could get away withdoing an OLED and not having to
make it bigger because if you think about the Switch OLED,
it's not physically bigger than the Switch.

(25:05):
It's a little wider because of what they had to do internally
to make the screen bigger, but Ithink that'll be fine.
I don't think it's going to be like another jump.
And honestly, if you do get muchbigger, it is going to feel like
an iPad and then it kind of starts to lose that portability.
So I think even if they did likea Switch 3, God forbid, like 10

(25:26):
years from now here, OK, hold on.
Can we think about, can we go back?
The Switch 1 was revealed in January 2017.
That was eight years ago. We've had two presidents since
the switch came out. That's crazy to me.
It feels so new, but it feels sonew, like it hasn't lost its

(25:47):
touch, which is crazy. And this just goes back to my
theory that the Switch 2 is pretty close to a perfect
console, like because what couldyou like?
Assuming the Switch to has all the like spec capabilities that
we're looking for, what else do you add to a console to make it

(26:09):
better? So here's what I'll tell you in
terms of specs and then I want to talk about the mouse thing
real quick is specs that have leaked, which again are not
official, but coming from the same people who leaked all the
joy cons and stuff and now that's legit is I think docked
it's on par with an Xbox series S and then handheld it's on par

(26:34):
with a PS4 No, that's the kind of power they're messing with
and it comes from they have all right.
Don't anybody get mad when I saythis buzzword.
It has AI upscaling, but not in like the it's not generative AI.
OK, guys, it's literal artificial intelligence that

(26:56):
takes what the hardware is feeding it and tells OK, now I'm
going to use a software to bump that up without pulling any more
from the hardware. So it's like a whole thing.
Nintendo has their own patent ontheir own technology to do that.
That's awesome. So it's specifically built for
switch to which is how you're going to get like something like

(27:20):
the switch that can be super small and portable but look like
APS 4 game. And before I everybody starts
being like PS4 games were ugly. Shut up.
Half the PS Five games are stillon PS4 like.
Right, get off my case. Anyway, do you have your switch
with you right now? I do, yeah.
Do you have access to your joy cons?
I'm going to show you how this mouse thing works so you can get

(27:42):
a better idea of it, because I didn't fully understand it until
I had it in my hand. So like if I take the joy con.
Yep, that's the right one, right?
Right. Yeah, OK.
Because you're right-handed, yes.
OK. So you're going to take it and
you're going to put it so that this part is down on.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. OK, so you're going to put that

(28:03):
down and then you just kind of hold it like it's a mouse?
Oh my gosh. Do you see how comfortable that
is? Oh my gosh, that's awesome.
Yeah. And like, you can use the
joystick or you could slide ahead and you can hit the
buttons and then you hold the other one in your hand.
So think about playing a shooter.
Think about like playing Fortnite.

(28:24):
Oh my gosh, like this? Hold on, I get it now.
And you've got your movement. Stick.
That's my basketball. Hold on.
You've got your movement stick in your left hand, and you've
got your aiming and shooting in the other hand, and you can do
both. So am I supposed to do like 2
fingers like that? No, no, no, no.
You hold the other joy con like this in your hand.
Oh, like that? Like normal, like you hold it

(28:44):
like. Normal.
No, no, no. No, no, no.
Look like this. Oh, like that?
Just like this and you use it like like a Wii mode and then
the other one is on the table and you can move it around and
like shoot it. And I was like experimenting
with this the other night of like pretending like I'm playing
Fortnite and I'm like doing the mouse whip around for the

(29:09):
camera. And then you have all your
shooting like on this side reload.
Yeah, like it's, it's actually kind of sick.
What a good idea. And it's super like, it's one of
those gimmicks that doesn't takeaway from what the Switch is,
but it adds to it, right? It's kind of like the perfect

(29:29):
gimmick that's awesome, where it's like the Switch can still
be this super Uber portable console that, you know, you dock
and take out. And it still has that like,
funky Nintendo gimmick of, well,we're going to put a mouse in
the joy con because why not? That's awesome, I understand
now. And now you can use it for like
Fortnite, Splatoon. On that podcast, we talked about

(29:51):
using it for like Mario Kart andhow you can do like you could
like motion with your hand to dodrifts and stuff.
And that's how you do your drifts is like you have to
actually hold it and then let itgo.
Like there's so much potential. Mario Maker 3 do a point and
click mouse, like there's so much potential with it.

(30:11):
And that's I'm just excited to see how it gets used like Animal
Crossing, the next Animal Crossing, if they have
terraforming again, like all of these little things that I think
would be really cool. So.
That's dope. All in all switch to very cool
I've I've shown my Switch OLED the switch to you can see it on

(30:32):
my second monitor there just so it knows that it's getting
replaced so. Hold on one second giving my
switch body dysmorphia. Hold on.
Are you going to try to get a switch to this year or are you
going to wait? I'm probably going to wait.
Because your Oled's not that old.

(30:52):
It's really not. I got my OLED, you know, like I
got it tears in the key. I got it right before I went to
college. OK, so three years old.
So like three years it there is still so much life in my OLED,
Yeah. Arguably there is.
There is in mine too but I thinkI'm going to sell it to my
sister because she has like an OG switch.

(31:14):
Right. And she doesn't necessarily need
a switch too. Right.
So. I Here's the thing, I am a Mario
Kart fiend and so the second Mario Kart 9 comes out I'm going
to get so much FOMO. I am just going to be like, but
I couldn't don't justify the purchase.
I'll come over because you'll have an.

(31:35):
Apartment by then, yeah, Yeah. OK.
So the speculation is released sometime June, July because they
have all these in person events that go until June 1st.
So they're not going to, you know, release it before that.
So yeah, I'll come over because you'll have an apartment by
then. I'll set it up.
We can. We can rock some Mario Kart 9.

(31:55):
It's going to be great. Yeah.
Maybe like maybe when I graduatethat'll be like my like, hey,
you actually have free time now present to myself.
I'll just get a switch too. Yeah.
No, because also, like if you have one, I want to play with
you. I mean, like, I know, like I
know other people that'll get one and I'm just like, Dang it,
I really can't afford that. Gosh, that's.

(32:18):
Why? All right, I'm kind of glad it's
coming out in the summer becauseI'm like, right, there's plenty
of time to save up. I got six months, five months
ish if I save a little. Savings goal, start a little
savings goal, make a little chart on your wall and you can
fill it in with marker every week.
Yeah, it'll be great. All right, so everyone, if you
made it this far in the episode,thank you so much for listening.

(32:40):
I'm going to plug you one more time and just Tay, if you're on
Instagram, the nerdiest podcast.If you're on YouTube,
thinnerdiest podcast. If you're on Twitter, nerdiest
podcast. But also we have our own
personals, little side gigs too.If you want to follow me at the
Glass Studios or making a movie commentary on YouTube videos
come out when they're done. That's my schedule.

(33:01):
Nick is also doing a ton of really awesome, really awesome
anime content on YouTube. And like, weirdly enough, I, I
kid you not, I used this as a flex in a class this week
because I'm in like a social media class and I was like,
yeah, I'm one of my best friendsis like one of the leading
voices of Christian anime Twitter.
So if you guys need any, if you guys need any clout, let me

(33:25):
know. So I was like, yeah, no big deal
or whatever. All those the second biggest
Christian anime YouTube channel you know.
Going up though, moving on up, going up that ladder.
So all those links are in the description If you want to
follow us individually. If you like Nick but hate me,
then you know, go watch his stuff and the dish podcast.
So anyway, that's where I also, if you can notice we're wearing

(33:47):
matching matching shirts. This is a space chords merch.
This is my own merch for my music.
Jackson Glass on Spotify or you can go to the.
Glass coordinated by the. Way you can go to glass studio
shop. All the links are in the
description go find us there. We really appreciate you guys.
She has been doing really great so far, but we know what you're
here for. You're here for How to Train

(34:07):
Your Dragon. Now, this is not a tutorial.
This is a movie review. So everyone How to Train Your
Dragon, we'll just go into a little history for me, we'll
start on like history and our experience at the Thing with the
movies. I don't, I do not personally
remember seeing the first one intheaters.
It came out in about 2010, I think.

(34:28):
I think that's right, yes. How to Train Your Dragon,
directed by Chris Sanders, released in 2010.
I don't remember seeing this in theaters.
I was about 7 years old in 2010,so I don't remember that.
I may have. But recently I've grown quite an
affinity for the first one. And I did watch the other two

(34:52):
movies in theaters, which is like kind of a flex.
Like anytime I bring that up. So I'm like, oh, you're so
lucky. And I'm like, yeah, it's
whatever. I guess.
It's cool. It's whatever.
It's fine. So I did see those in theaters.
I saw The Hidden World in theaters like way after it
released though, because there was like a summer movie program
where like, you know, kids couldgo to the movies for free.

(35:13):
And I went like two years ago and I that was the first time
I'd seen it and it was in the theater and it was awesome.
So I love How to Train Your Dragon and my fiance loved How
to Train Your Dragon. We watched like all three of
them like a few months ago. They're super dope.
I think they're one of some of DreamWorks best.
But Nick, you'd never seen them before this, so tell me about

(35:34):
that. So I'd like to amend that I've
seen the second one, OK, with nocontext of the first one.
And even then, I only remember like scant bits and pieces of
the first one or the second one.And my sister was really big
into it. So I've seen bits and pieces of

(35:56):
like the shows on Netflix and stuff and she's really big into
it. But I'd never like seen it.
And I, I heard they were really good.
Everyone had been like, oh, they're so good.
I'm like, you should watch. Them and I'm like.
Yeah, no, you're right. I'll watch them eventually.
And then I was at, I think I wasat a flea market and I found the
Blu-ray of one and two for like 2 bucks each.

(36:19):
And I was like, oh. OK.
Bet so I bought him you know didthe whole like DVD check and
everything. So I was able to watch the 1st 2
for this episode for free for free cuz I just popped my Blu
rays in and then which reminded me of this really odd thing that
Blu-ray that DVD's used to do that really made me mad was it

(36:41):
would loop the menu screen like five times and then just start
the movie. Right.
Right. And I'm like, wait, wait, wait,
wait, wait. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Hold on. Stop it.
So other than that though, I'm Idid not see The Hidden World in
theaters because you know what movie was out at that time.
That I went and saw instead. The Lego Movie 2 I went.

(37:05):
I forgot about that like five times I've.
Only seen the Lego Movie 2 once.I don't even remember if I like
it. Oh dude.
That movie's SO. Good.
I think it's. I remember thinking it was
underrated but I need to watch it again.
It's underrated, underrated gym.All right, so yeah, I didn't
have a ton of history with it. I just know that like everyone
had said, I should watch it and it was good.

(37:26):
And I guess to get into general thoughts, I enjoyed all three of
them. I don't think there's a single
because sometimes with Trilogy's, you know, you can be
like, Oh well that was the worstone, like yada, yada, yada.
And even then, I think, I think the second one for me personally
was the weakest. OK, but that more comes from I

(37:47):
didn't like the villain as much as the other two, right?
Cuz like the first movie doesn'treally have a villain per SE.
It's more the Dragons as a groupentity, right?
And even then, a more antagonistic force is the
conflict between Hiccup and his dad, of course, because that's
that's the enemy that has to be resolved over the movie.

(38:08):
And then there's like that really big dragon at the end
that they have to fight because you know, But the second one, I
don't know, I didn't really likehim.
But even then, I still liked theaspect of like Hiccups whole
family getting reunited in frontof his mom and like the great
relationship that his mom and dad had and like all of that

(38:30):
stuff. Spoilers for these movies.
Spoilers for How to Train your Dragon.
Yeah, sorry. This should be.
It should be like a duh, but like.
Just the way they handed all of that.
I like the villain in the third one.
He's pretty good. He's.
Pretty, I don't know if it's just cuz like aesthetic or like
vibes, right, but I liked that he was very like crafty and
cunning, whereas the other guy in the second movie was kind of

(38:52):
just like brute. Strength.
Yeah. He was just a big old Viking
like. So I like that the other guy
kind of. And I think the the strengths of
each movie is that it forces Hiccup to grow up.
Yeah, in some aspect, because the first one was like, OK, well
you have to grow out of this, wanting to be like everyone else

(39:16):
and you have to be your own person and like stand on your
own 2 feet. Well, right, you know, Yeah.
And then the second one was pushing him into this chief role
because his dad died. And like, what does it mean to
be a good leader who protects his own?

(39:36):
And like, well, the Dragons are part of our own, so we need to
protect those, too. And then the third one was this
very like, shockingly like adult.
Right. Like right?
You need to be an adult and growup and realize that it's not
always about you. Yeah, it's about what what the

(39:58):
Dragons need. And it was like kind of
emotional. Right, right.
We I got to the end where he's like, all right, buddy, you need
to go. Yeah, he like, starts tearing
up. I was like.
Toothless. No, Literally.
They were all good. I like, I really enjoyed that

(40:19):
and I appreciated how it broughtit almost made Hiccup and
Toothless feel like this brotherly bond because they're
growing with each other. And then when you get to that
third movie, that's the conclusion of, like, OK, well,
they both, like, had to go theirseparate ways and like, they got
married, had their own kids, andthen they came back together

(40:41):
and, like, reunited after all this time.
And it was like a very nice way to end.
Right. The movie.
So I have more, I'll say, but I'll stop there for now, I mean.
So funnily enough, I also watched this on DVD.
The last time we watched all these movies, we had all three
on DVD and I there's such a lostart of like the DVD extras that

(41:07):
you don't get on streaming and we're slowly trying to add more,
but it's so different. So like we, we would, we'd like
finish the movie and then watch like all the bonus features.
Yep. And it would be like how to Draw
Toothless or like, you know, thedevelopment of the cast or like
they, I think John Powell did aninterview for about the

(41:27):
soundtrack and there's all this stuff that are like they cared
so much about these movies. And I think that's awesome.
And Chris Sanders is a really good director.
He only directed the the first one.
So Chris Sanders and Dean Dubois, I don't know how to say
his name. Dubois.
I don't know. They directed the first one and

(41:50):
then just Dean finished the other two.
Chris Sanders is also known for directing more recently.
The Wild Robot was his more recent DreamWorks project.
He also directed The Croods, also, weirdly enough, Lilo and
Stitch in 2002. So if you look at all of his

(42:12):
film, I'm really fascinated by his filmography because you
realize he is very keen on the internal family dynamic.
And it's like, it's all because like you said, like Hiccup and
his dad don't see how to eye. And it's about like them like
meeting a middle ground and reconciling and that follows

(42:34):
them through all three movies. And then you think about the
Croods, which is literally like about a family trying to survive
or the wild robot is all about like creating community and
family and like the Lilo and Stitch.
So like he this is very much like his key theme and what he
wants to hone in on. And I think like, and I said in
my Wild Robot review on YouTube,I was like, I think that might

(42:56):
be one of his best, but you cannot discount how to train
your dragon. Like the first one specifically,
I think just like hits the nail on the head so hard of like they
don't make them like they used to.
They really don't, because having.
My letterbox review right and they don't make them like they
used. To no, this movie is like about

(43:18):
15 years old at this point, which is insane, by the way, but
this How to change Dragon is 15 years old and we're still going
back to it and we're still like,oh, it's about the Dragons and
it's about the conservation. And it's about like, you know,
being more than you were than you were like supposed to be in

(43:39):
like kindness and like not beingafraid to reach out and like
breaking social norms. But it's also like the
consequences of that. And so like, Hiccup is like,
he's not like the other Vikings and he's like going out and
like, he wants to, to like make the Dragons their own.
Like they're, he wants to them to be more like pets.

(44:00):
And it's not as simple as that. Because there's so much nuance
to this community that has this idea hammered into them.
Like Dragons are bad. And he like over 3 movies, he
has to try to change their mindsand like be like, guys, it's OK.
Like we can do this. And I really think what I
really, really appreciate about the third one is they they

(44:23):
handled a conversation that I don't think most stories like
this would go in and it's that we have too many Dragons.
It's like it got too much and itwas too far and it became
selfish of us to keep them here.And so I think that was such a
deep and like really awesome conversation that I don't think

(44:44):
they like other stories would have taken.
So it's all about like, how do we protect the Dragons?
But there was also so much of like Hiccup handling his own
pride in that of like, no, I need the Dragons.
Like I want the like, these are my this is my dragon.
Like I have to keep him. But there's also such a, there's
such a good conversation there about like he's like he and

(45:05):
Astrid are coming together, but then like Toothless and this
other dragon are coming togetherand they're kind of like,
they're kind of like, well, something has to change.
Like we have to evolve. We have to, like you said, you
have to keep growing. And I think one of the the
strongest aspects if you watch all these 3 movies in sequence
is Hiccups character arc. And that's like he starts as a

(45:27):
scrawny little punk kid that is honestly just kind of afraid of
fighting and is kind of a nerd and is just like really
fascinated by these Dragons. And by the end you watch him
become this huge like awesome leader that like commands
everyone and all the Dragons anddoes it so well like his father

(45:48):
before him. And you're just like, Oh my
gosh, what a what a crafted narrative that was obviously so
intentional across three whole movies.
Like there's not a there is not a bad how to train your Dragon
movie yet. We'll talk about that later.
So going off of this, would you do you think the first one is

(46:09):
your favorite or the third one? I don't know, that's, that's
hard. I because I like the third one.
I gave all of them four stars onLetterboxed and I, I don't know.
I don't know. I'm gonna, I'm gonna, I'm gonna

(46:29):
stave off on that until the end because I feel like I need to
talk about it and think about itmore.
One thing I do deeply appreciatein these movies, and it's
something I feel like most movies don't do anymore, is how
everything ties into this concept of family and how family

(46:53):
played such a big role in all three of these movies.
Because like you said, the firstone is Hiccup trying to find
that inroads with his dad. And like, there is no
relatability and he can't stay all the way over here and his
dad can't stay all the way over here.
So they do have to find a middleground, right, of his dad being
like, well, I accept you for whoyou are and you can play into

(47:15):
your strengths and your weaknesses and him being like,
well, I understand why you keep doing all of these different
things. Just trying to find that common
middle ground there. And also like, having to change
the societal norm of like, killing these Dragons that have
come in and it like attacked andterrorized our village for all

(47:38):
these years. Like, and then later you find
out in the second one, like, it's this dragon, like Dragons
had kidnapped and presumably killed his mom.
So like, I can understand why. So I did appreciate that.
And then the second movie was kind of like bringing everyone
together because there's this one interaction with his mom
where he realizes his mom is trying to get him to do the same

(48:02):
thing that his dad wants him to do, but in a different sense of
like his dad was very big on, well, we can't keep getting
Dragons because you need to be the chief and protect people
here. And then his mom was like, well,
we can't bring any more people here because we need to protect
the Dragons. And then just the way he was
able to find the middle ground of both of those.

(48:25):
Right. It's beautiful.
And obviously become chief afterhis dad dies, which I'm really
glad they didn't go the typical route of like not introducing
his mom at all and letting her actually be dead and then
killing off his dad so now he has no parental figure in his
life at all. Because then in the third movie
even his mom is there. Not even.

(48:46):
Not a super president, right? But more to encourage Astrid to
go help. Him right, because she's
awesome. His mom, like he has such a
healthy relationship with his mom where she's like, I can't
baby you forever. Like you're not marrying me,
you're marrying Astrid. So she's the one who needs to

(49:06):
like encourage you and help you and get you through that.
And I love that their relationship, like Astrid and
Hiccup was not like a 'cause, you know, it's so typical in
movies nowadays to be like, oh girl, boss, like, blah, blah,
blah. She's so cool.
Which Astrid is very cool. She is a girl boss.
Fighter and like a very good girl boss, but at the end of the

(49:28):
day, she's like OK, hiccups in charge.
If you say jump, I'll say how high and I will help you make
this a reality. And if you're not thinking
straight, I'll knock some sense into you.
Like, and the way they balance each other out, I think is
really good. And I appreciated that because
it's like you just don't see good romance in animated movies.
Healthy romance like. They're they're so hard to find.

(49:51):
They're they're one of the best.I would put them in like one of
the best animated couples of alltime.
Like without a doubt. I think it's hard to say my
favorite because I I actually really like the second one.
I think it connects very deeply,but there's one specific moment
in the second one that I remember when I saw it in

(50:11):
theaters, it cemented it as one of my favorite movies.
And it was, he finds his mom andthat was a big deal.
He finds his mom and it was likereally emotional.
But then his dad shows up and I,I don't think I've seen this
move, like seen this movie without tearing up in this
moment. And he just has this look of

(50:33):
like bewilderment. And he's like cannot believe his
eyes. And he like the first thing he
says to her, says you're just asbeautiful as you were the day I
lost you. And I'm just like.
It's. So good, like even his parents
are healthy. Like there's so much there's so

(50:54):
much good. Like not every And I hate this
is the direction movies are going because they're so
nihilistic and they think everything sucks.
But there was a point where movies were like, marriage is
awesome, like families are awesome, like relationships can
be healthy, like not everything has to be dysfunctional and
sucky like they were there. Such a core part of this movie

(51:17):
is how much they love each otherand how far they're going to go
for each other. And that and and we don't
realize that's what the people want, especially in a family
movie, by the way. Yeah, no, for real.
It's almost like when you make afamily movie with good family
values, people like it. Huh, Fascinating.
Was going to tell me anyway, I think I just think that's one of

(51:39):
the strongest elements of that, of the story.
And I think about that. But I also like it's, I kind of
feel in a weird way the same wayabout like John Wick.
Like it's really hard to pick a favorite movie in a trilogy
because you're like, or in, yeah, in a trilogy or when
there's more sequels, because it's like, OK, do I love the

(52:00):
first one or do I love that it kind of started the whole thing.
And so it's like the third one might be the second one might be
my favorite, but also like, whatis the second one without the
first one? So you're like, it's kind of,
it's really, really hard to, to decipher that.
So I don't know. I I think I'm going to say the

(52:27):
second one is my favorite because I think it had the most
individual moments that get me because like even their final
fight with like the wildebeests and like there, it's just like
the pure brute strength, which Iknow you said you weren't as
into, but like when I think of like Vikings and Dragons and

(52:50):
like this is the kind of fight that I'm expecting from this
kind of world. So I don't know.
I don't know if that's a hot take or not.
I think the second one is my favorite.
That's fair. I think something I appreciate
it. I I think it was in the second
one and and it's a, it's a themethat not even a theme, but it's

(53:13):
like a, a thing that persists throughout all three movies.
But I think the scene in particular that I'm thinking of
was in the second one and it wasStoic was sitting downstairs in
their house at the fire. And he was like crying and very
visibly upset, thinking about losing his wife.
And Hiccup comes downstairs and sees that and then is like, oh,

(53:36):
I'm just going to go back upstairs.
Like this is not a thing. And then his dad like, catches
him and he's he sits down and Hiccup, you know, being a kid
was like, are we going to get a new mom?
And then you kind of see him pause for a second and be like,
no, we don't. Like she was the only one for
me. Like that's what love is and
like talking about that. But he was this idea that these

(54:00):
movies show that it's OK for mento be vulnerable.
Like, you can have it both ways because stoic is this very like
manly brute strength. Like, oh, I'm going to punch a
dragon in the face. But then also can sit in his
cabin and cry and be upset that his wife is gone or when he sees
his wife again, like kind of let's down that tough guy facade

(54:23):
of like, oh, this is this personwho I've missed for years and
she's here in front of me again.And like I can like this is a
safe place. And then even hiccup like crying
when when Toothless. Right, right.
It's an emotional moment and notthis like, oh, you have to be
this big stoic man who's not allowed to cry.

(54:45):
You don't want to feel emotions.And I'm like, that's, that's
good. That's healthy.
It shows you like in, in certain, like your emotions can
change based on your circumstance.
If it is like, oh, you're sayinggoodbye to this treasured friend
you've known who's been like super close to you all this time
and they're moving away or whatever, yeah, you can be
upset. You can be vulnerable.
That's OK. But then you also have to be

(55:07):
able to lock in when you need toand be like, all right, I'm just
going to fight. So I don't know, I think.
Yeah, I think it's so dope. The first one I'm going to say
is my favorite just because, butlike you said, what are the
other ones without the first one, right.

(55:27):
So that's. That's the one I can go.
That's the one I can go back to the most.
Yeah, truly sorry. I am currently updating Fortnite
on my Xbox. Do you know what's crazy I just
had? This thought what?
Is so I was born in 2002 in May 2002.

(55:48):
Do you know what movie came out in May 2002?
Lilo and Stitch and then my sister was born in June 2010.
Do you know what movie came out in 2010?
I don't know if it was June. How to train your dragon?
What do you know what movies aregetting live action remakes in

(56:08):
May and June 2025 respectively? Lilo and Stitch and How to Train
your Dragon. Isn't that a little weird?
That is a little weird. Oh, that's kind of like I don't
know how to. Feel I just thought about that I
was like oh I don't like that that's weird that's.
A What a weird thought. So so OK, hold on, hold on, hold

(56:30):
on. OK.
I also love these movies becauseI think Dragons are awesome.
Yeah, Dragons are just. And I love how much depth and
world building and like how expansive that was because it
would have been so easy to just have like fire breathing Dragons
and that's it because that's allyou think of and all you expect.

(56:50):
But then there's like the night Fury and all of these other
different types of Dragons and they all do different things.
Like the two headed one, it spits out gas and then the other
one lights it on fire. Like or the the big alpha that
you know, shoots ice everywhere and all of this stuff.
Like there's so much lore there and they go into, and I know

(57:11):
they go into it a lot deeper in the shows because they have the
time to like flush. That stuff out.
But then even like the fact thatthere's dragon trappers who
would go around and trap them and catch them and kill them and
sell them, like that's a very humanistic thing to do.
So I did appreciate that becauseit makes the world feel real,

(57:32):
even though we really don't venture that far away from
Burke, ever. I mean, other than the hidden
world, no. Yeah, so but.
Even then, it's really not that far.
Like right? Like part of me probably is that
far, but it doesn't feel. That far part of me is like, did
you guys just never look like, 'cause I feel like we just kind

(57:53):
of get there. Which honestly they probably
didn't like. So I mean, they, they saw they
were going. To fall off the world, because
that's how that that's how the world works was like everything.
I was like, ah, so Flat Earth isreal.
Flat Earth is real. Well, the other thing I want to
mention and and you know, the last one came out in 2019 and we

(58:14):
kind of like figured animation out by 2019 in a way, at least
more than 2010. But also like they're all
gorgeous. Like all these movies are
beautifully animated, specifically the hidden world.
I think like once he comes out and you like see all the Dragons
in the world in The Cave, you'relike, holy crap.
Like they really, they really show the scale very well because

(58:37):
it's like the people in the Dragons are huge in the whole
like, you know, I I think this this is a very beautifully
animated movie. All of them are and I think they
just slowly get better animationwise as we like figured
animation out more 'cause these movies came out over almost a
decade and so like that's kind of awesome.
So yeah, we kind of touched on it, but what do you think about

(59:01):
this live action thing I. Think it's unnecessary?
Yeah, how did it change the mostare.
If you don't know, that movie isonly 15 years old.
No, right. And if you if if you don't know
DreamWorks did announce and there's a full trailer for a
live action how to train your dragon and, and this is
DreamWorks first like attempt atlike a live action remake.

(59:25):
I just think it's stupid. Like it's a slippery slope.
I don't want to see DreamWorks go down that that path,
especially for a movie that's not, like you said, like 15
years old. Like the fact that oh gosh.
You can kind of justify it in a way with how Disney started
doing it because Disney started with their older movies that

(59:47):
were from like the, you know, the 20s and 30s and early 50s
and 60s, like in the 70s, like movies that are multiple decades
old, right? That's understandable.
Movies that. Are kind of old in the cultural
zeitgeist and like, you know, Cinderella, Beauty and the
beast, Aladdin, like you can understand that.

(01:00:09):
And even then as they started getting into like beauty and the
beast and Aladdin and The Lion King, it was like, OK, well,
we're still enjoying like the original animated 1.
So I don't know why you're getting like this close And then
which I'm sure we'll talk about this because I know we're
planning on doing an episode on Snow White and like doing a tier
list and stuff. There was a, what I felt was a

(01:00:35):
it's a, it's a graph. And the graph is how much effort
do we need to put in to how muchprofit.
And they found that perfect markwhere like the lowest amount of
effort but the highest amount ofprofit was right at the live
action Lion King at a billion dollars at the box office and no
effort put in in terms of makingit a new creative movie that

(01:01:00):
adds things to the original story and like kind of makes it
a justifiable remake. Because that's how they got away
with the other ones was like Beauty and the Beast added all
this stuff with Belle's mom and how she died and all these
original songs and all this stuff and made it so much
better. And Cinderella kind of did the
same thing. And then Maleficent was a
completely different take on Sleeping Beauty.
So there was only just effort put in, and now they're kind of

(01:01:24):
like phoning it in and they're picking recent movies instead of
continually doing old ones. Like we have Lilo and Stitch,
Tangled, Princess and the Frog. Like all of these movies that
are not that old. No.
They don't need a live action remake because the animated 1 is
not that old and does not. It still holds up.
Look. Bad SO.
And I think it's my biggest frustration is that making a

(01:01:47):
live action version of an animated movie implies that
there's something wrong with theanimated version.
And I think it would be his animation.
Which is true, there are some parts of like if they did a live
action Peter Pan, it would it would definitely have to be more
culturally sensitive because that movie was kind of wild.

(01:02:07):
But but to to throw like how to train your dragon live action
remake, you're like literally why, Like why?
And I think, and I think that what concerns me more is that
the director, it wasn't Chris Sanders, I think it was Dean
Dubois commented on it because he was kind of like he kind of

(01:02:31):
trained the director for the thelive action one and they had a
long conversation. For the live action one.
Is he? Hold on.
I think Chris Sanders is an executive producer, but Dean
Dubois is the director. Because one of them said
DreamWorks was doing it either way, with or without me.
So I may as well work on it to make it as good as it can be,

(01:02:53):
which I I respect that attitude so much of.
Like, because they don't think they need a live action remake
and it's the studio executives that think it does.
So they're like, all right, fine.
I will not let you ruin this project without me.
Right, Right. No, you're right.
Dean Dublose, whatever his name is, I'm sorry, Dean Dublose is
the director. I remember it's also being

(01:03:16):
produced by Mark Platt, who is actually a very highly credited
producer. He worked on La La Land, Spot,
Crow, Scott Pilgrim, Versus the World.
He worked on Drive, Legally Blonde.
He worked on Wicked, he worked on Mary Poppins Returns, he
worked on The Little Mermaid. He worked on, I Did.

(01:03:37):
They got Gerard Butler playing. Yeah, he's coming.
Stoic in 11? Oh, that's kind of sick.
So I don't know it. I'm just like the the problem is
here's my theory, here's my theory and you can you, we can
come back and see how we how we feel about this after.
I'm terrified because I think how to train your dragon, the

(01:03:58):
live action is going to be bonkers successful.
I think it's going to be like maybe not to the level of Lion
King, but like close. I think this is going to blow
everyone away because it's it's DreamWorks first attempt at

(01:04:19):
this. And so they're going to be like,
oh, sick. But who's to say that they don't
also go down the path of like, oh, well, people will go see
this. So like, you know, what's the
lowest amount of effort we can put in?
Because DreamWorks is not like, we praise DreamWorks so much for
their filmography. And I think they have some
incredible movies that honestly most of the time blow Disney out

(01:04:42):
of the water if you think about like really unhinged classics
like Megamind or Madagascar or my mind is blanking on other
ones, but like movies like that.Also this is the same company
that made I think two or three Trolls movie and two Boss baby
movies. So it's so true.

(01:05:03):
Don't feel like DreamWorks is not is not out of the realm of
possibility of doing a cash grabbecause they also like Puss in
Boots Last wish is a phenomenal movie.
It's awesome. But they also made that other
puss in boots movie where HumptyDumpty was the main character.
OK, so like don't don't pretend that they're perfect because we

(01:05:27):
hate Disney. Like they are prone to do this
as well. And so I'm kind of scared.
But with it with every boss baby, there's a wild robot or
with every trolls, there's a howto train your dragon.
And so it's like, what is this one going to be?
Because it's either like a huge hit or like, what a miss.

(01:05:49):
Why did you think you were doingthis right?
I just watched the trailer for it again, like kind of in the
background. And here's the thing, it doesn't
look bad. It looks like the trailer looks
great. As someone who's now seen the
1st movie right, I still think it's unnecessary.
Oh, for sure. You can think, oh, this movie
looks good and it might be a well made movie that looks and

(01:06:11):
sounds great. Doesn't mean it was necessary,
like, especially if it's just going to end up being a one to
one remake of the original. Like, why did you do that in the
1st place? That just seems like wasted
money. Like, I don't know.
Yeah. And I think it goes back to this
whole like there's a cultural zeitgeist amongst boomers and I

(01:06:37):
guess Gen. X at this point where animated
movies are for kids and not evenanimated movies like family
movies have to be for kids. There is no.
Like I saw this really bad take from Matt Walsh a couple weeks
ago where he was talking about how Sonic 3 is a terrible movie
and it made him want to like hisvideo title was like the Sonic 3

(01:07:01):
the movie that broke me as a father.
And he admits like, oh, it was, you know, it wasn't, you know,
it wasn't dark enough or, no, hesaid it was too dark in terms of
tone, not lighting. And, like, Jim Carrey was the
worst part of it or something. Hold on, Let me find the tweet.
Because it's that is horrifically it's.
Really. Stupid.

(01:07:22):
That is a painfully bad take. I will say I watched Sonic 2
last night and it is a banger. That is a great family movie.
And I also think, and this is I have a video coming out about
this at some point so I won't gosuper deep into it.
You can watch that if you want, but the problem is family movies

(01:07:44):
are always wildly profitable because you'll always have
families that just want to go. I grew up in a movie theater
family. Like we would just go see
whatever was out like every other week or every week based
on what was out. But back then, Disney was
constantly putting out bangers in the theater.
Like like once or twice a month you would get some crazy good

(01:08:08):
Disney animated movie in the theater and it would blow our
minds every time. I'm talking Big Hero 6, I'm
talking Zootopia, like those kind of movies.
And now that we've realized thatwe can, they can make a profit
with lower effort. Families that want to go to the
movie theater don't have a choice but to support these
movies. Because if I take my kids to the

(01:08:29):
movie theater in, you know, however many years, am I going
to pick from the third How to Train Your Dragon remake, the
second Lilo and Stitch remake, the 4th Lion King remake?
And it's like, what are my children have?
You're not making anything new. And I can't take them to have
those memories. And, you know, make live action
remakes from their memories for their kids.

(01:08:51):
I don't care whatever. Like, but but why, why do we
need a live action version of a,a really great, like close to
perfect movie from 15 years ago?Like, OK, money, Because that's
why. So I found I found the tweet
that summarizes everything he says in this video.
The title was Sonic the Hedgehog3, the movie that broke me as a

(01:09:12):
father, and the thumbnail says kids deserve good movies.
To summarize, he said the Eggmandance made no narrative sense.
The plot was too dark for a kidsmovie.
Keanu Reeves can't voice act. They should have made it with
AI. And then the last one, he wasn't
paying attention, which completely undermines every
other point he's ever made. And and it's, it's I can't stand

(01:09:35):
him because he has some terriblemedia takes.
Sometimes he says something politically that I'm like, OK,
that makes sense. Like yeah, just stop talking
about media 'cause he's the sameguy who's like all anime is
satanic and it's evil and if youwatch anime you're overweight
and fat and obese and ugly. Right.
And then he said something in this video of like, well, there
were too many adults in the theatre, and they didn't have
any kids with them. And I'm like, have you looked at

(01:09:56):
the target demographic of a Sonic franchise?
Like these are just nerds like. It doesn't have to be for kids.
That's the brilliance of it. Yeah.
Like it's for like. The two of us who are very much
adults and not kids went and sawthis movie and then did a
podcast about it. And we even talked about on that
podcast how it's a good family movie because it has good values

(01:10:17):
and it promotes all of these things.
And like, it is a little dark inthe sense that, like, I don't
know, Maria dies and Sonic kind of almost kills Shadow.
But like have you seen any moviefrom work pre 2000s?
Like The Lion King had Scar throwing Mufasa off a Cliff to

(01:10:39):
get trampled to death, and then Simba had to discover his
father's dead body and be chasedaway to not be killed.
You're not going to act like we didn't watch like this angry mob
of townspeople try to like, shotgun the beast in the face
just to get thrown off this Cliff to freaking die.
Like or like Tarzan, where the villain falls off and like, it

(01:11:02):
hangs himself in the right. Like, get out of here, kids.
Movies have always been dark. That was kind of the point.
We also are like how to train your dragon.
It's kind of dark like the like their their world gets destroyed
like. We need to stop infantilizing
our children. Well, the whole point.
Making them think that like lifeis this everything, sunshine and

(01:11:24):
rainbows like that is so unrealistic and it's terrible
kind. Of the that's the freaking Oh my
gosh, this is such a long windedrant.
This is the point of children's media.
This is my this is my take. Why do we make movies for
children? Why?
Because media is a way to to understand the world from a

(01:11:45):
different perspective. It transforms you to a different
world to take big confusing topics and push it down into a
story that you can understand. That's literally what Jesus did.
He told parables. They didn't get it, so he told
them a story that helped them understand a separate
perspective. This is what we're doing.
We can't take these stupid freaking kids movies that are

(01:12:08):
like, yeah, just be nice and everything will work out because
that's bull. Just being nice and everything
works out doesn't happen. That's not real.
We have to take these big deep concepts for them that they
don't freaking understand because the world is so
confusing and we're slowly making it more confusing for
them. So if we're like, oh, if you

(01:12:28):
watch The Wild Robot, this is a great example.
That movie is literally about death.
Everyone dies in that movie. Not really.
You know, if you've seen it, youknow, it's all about dying.
And it has this credible dark humor that huge that adults
appreciate but also kids pick upon of like, oh, interesting.
This makes me think. Have conversations with your

(01:12:50):
children about this stuff. Gosh.
Yep. Anyway, you want to wrap this
up? Yeah, all right.
So anyway, this is a really, I really appreciate this
conversation. I think there's a lot of a lot
of really good, really good stuff to talk about here.
And honestly, at the end of the day, how to train your Dragon's
a banger. All three of them are bangers

(01:13:11):
and I really like, I'm curious to see what they do with the new
one. I'm going to go see it just to
know. And I'm comfortable giving my
money to that because it's like I have to give them a shot like
because I'm not on the live action remake bad train.
I'm on the unnecessary live action remake bad train.
So maybe, maybe they will find away to justify the necessity of

(01:13:35):
it. That just blows my mind.
Who's to say? I'm not super hopeful now, but
I'm going to go see it. But at the end of the day, we'll
always have all three of these How to Train Dragon movies as a
time capsule of just great cinema for anyone to enjoy.
So unless you have anything elseto add, I think we're ready to
wrap it up. Thank you so much for listening
to this episode of The Nerdiest Podcast.

(01:13:56):
If you like what we do here, please give us five stars on
Apple Podcast or Spotify or Pandora or Amazon, wherever
you're listening. They would really appreciate us.
And if you think this episode tobe something that you or a
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way for us to grow. Follow us on all the socials,
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description for your convenience.

(01:14:17):
So we will see you very soon in the next episode.
Feel free to interact with us onall the social medias if you
have any questions. Anyway, we have great plans for
that. So thank you so much for
listening once again. We will see you in the next
episode. Until then, bye.

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Revisiting How to Train Your Dragon in 2025 | TNP EP. 144

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Revisiting How to Train Your Dragon in 2025 | TNP EP. 144