War Horse competition entry by Chloe Lau Hong-ching
We asked our readers to write a review of a film or book about a meaningful relationship between a pet and its owner. Here is one of the entries. It has not been edited
The third and final movie of How to Train Your Dragon has a beautiful but bittersweet ending for the dragons and Vikings. It was one of the films that moved me to tears, and with reason too. If you haven’t watched the movie, be prepared for spoilers coming up!
In the movie, Hiccup and his Night Fury dragon Toothless started off with freeing the dragons captured by Grimmel the Grisly and his soldiers, succeeding in freeing all of them except one, a Light Fury. The evil dragon hunter then used the dragon to lure Toothless, making him hopelessly in love. Hiccup was glad to see Toothless finally making a girlfriend, and gently told him to have fun with his Light Fury. Little did he know that Light Fury was controlled by Grimmel and he soon caught the two dragons. After some battle and gore, Grimmel the Grisly was finally no more, but the dragons and Vikings still had to be separated.
Through the film, the most touching thing was the extraordinary relationship between Hiccup and Toothless. The pair was so close that they seemed to be a part of each other, and did everything together. They even understood each other so well they did not need words to communicate. Simply a look or an action would do.
Moreover, it was obvious Hiccup and Toothless were becoming the leaders of the Vikings and dragons. This huge responsibility often wore them down, and the pair relied on each other when facing hard times. In everything they had gone through, there wasn’t once which they had solved the problem alone, again showing the great cooperation between them.
It was obviously more than difficult for Hiccup and Toothless to be separated at the end. However, they still did, for the good of the dragons and Vikings. Although they loved each other dearly, they still understood and set each other free to lead their own tribes. This is the biggest love of all, to love one but also love enough to give the best to them, even if they have to be apart. This deep love between the twosome was most unforgettable to me, as it has the purest love in all the films I’ve ever seen.