A review by panda_incognito
The Art of How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell, Tracey Miller-Zarneke
4.0
This brought back a lot of good memories. I was obsessed with this movie and the soundtrack in the winter/spring of 2010-2011, and since that was the worst period of my life, it's encouraging to have a few mental spaces from that time that I can look back on with such joy. This story was a huge part of my life back then, and reading this transported me to what it was like to watch this movie, listen to the music, and feel glimmers of light and beauty when everything seemed awful and unendurable. I'm so thankful for how well my life turned out, and got a little bit choked up as this book inspired me to reflect on all of the unexpected joys and new friendships that followed that seemingly hopeless time in my life.
However, even though I enjoyed this book for subjective, nostalgic reasons, it's also a great glimpse into storytelling and animation. I enjoyed the concept art and information about the film-making process, and since I always mention How to Train Your Dragon as an exception to the book always being better than the movie, I especially valued getting further insight into how the creators selectively, wisely changed major elements of the story to add a meaningful character arc, tension, drama, and secondary character development to this movie. They did a phenomenal job, and I'm very grateful, since their work brought such consolation and joy to younger me.
However, even though I enjoyed this book for subjective, nostalgic reasons, it's also a great glimpse into storytelling and animation. I enjoyed the concept art and information about the film-making process, and since I always mention How to Train Your Dragon as an exception to the book always being better than the movie, I especially valued getting further insight into how the creators selectively, wisely changed major elements of the story to add a meaningful character arc, tension, drama, and secondary character development to this movie. They did a phenomenal job, and I'm very grateful, since their work brought such consolation and joy to younger me.