Film Theory: How NOT To Train Your Dragon! (How To Train Your Dragon)

[@williamwright4813]

I get what you're going for here, but I feel like there's a couple things worth pointing out: 1. You only mention Toothless in this video. Hiccup's peers all have their own dragon by the end of the first video, and none of them have the handicap Toothless does. 2. In virtually any story or myth about Dragons, they are usually much more sentient (of that's the right word) than most other reptiles. Especially in this movie series. Dragons often display much more emotion (among other things) than ordinary lizards. You can see that Toothless and many other dragons express non-primitive emotions. For example, in more than one seen you can see that the dragons actually enjoy being petted. There obviously isn't any scientific basis for this, but dragons always seem to have more advanced brains than you give them credit for. But hey, that's just a theory. A counter-theory. Thanks for reading.

[@ryanellis8541]

To add on in the recent movie I believe toothless tries to woo the "light fury" which shows not only emotion but more than just find the most fit mate to make the best babies

[@Stormkrow280]

Their behavior seems to be more aline with feline traits rather than reptilian ones

[@238Hero238]

Thank you, now I don't have to type out all this myself!

[@witchBoi_Connor]

Huge problem with people’s interpretation of dragons; they aren’t just lizards with wings and magic propane breath. Dragons in most of their iteration are the ultimate creature. They have the evolutionary superiority of reptiles combined with the intelligence and emotional complexity of mammals. Their physiology is similar to birds in order to fly. They are _WARM BLOODED,_ and, finally, they are as smart as if not smarter than humans. Dragons are meant to be superior to every other animal in every way. It’s what makes them scary fundamentally.

[@thatcringykey9946]

I think that matpat was just trying to be more realistic but I love your observations👏

[@DarkSoulCross]

Yeah not a great basis here. 1. Hiccup did not intentionally injure Toothless, he only realised the injury after setting him free (e.g. he didn't even consider training him until after the fact). 2. Why drop Stockholm syndrome if lizards do not have any form of emotional capacity? 3. Throughout the movies Toothless actively defends/interacts with Hiccup, for example in the first movie when Hiccup screamed from being attacked in the Dragon arena Toothless ran to defend him, and on other occasions seemed to emotionally care about Hiccup and others. 4. Toothless (and other dragons) do show degrees of higher intelligence other than emotional complexity. In the first movie Toothless stays hidden and only attacks towers and other important offensive structures instead of simply 'going on a rampage' like a simple animal. Showing almost a degree of tactics, something lower lifeforms could certainly never achieve. 5. In the 2nd movie, if Toothless was simply relying on whoever was riding him, then why did Toothless overcome mind control to side with Hiccup instead of the current alpha? Sorry MatPat but we're going to disagree here.

[@yamirmathur]

Damm

[@charliehall200]

Red-Rabbit I fully agree with you

[@tylerisad413]

👌🏼

[@breadlord7491]

round of applause👏👏👏👏👏

[@verydepressedmuffin9590]

I think the dragons should’ve been compared to cats rather than lizards. Nice point making.

[@Solvita_]

Your forgetting the fact that toothless when hiccup gave him the first fish to win him over, toothless vomits half of the fish back to share with him and this was before he even got the tail on

[@jihad5569]

@@auzhengyu6325 yeah

[@isabellavel4416]

@@auzhengyu6325 its super true

[@legoeggosenpai2467]

@@auzhengyu6325 yup. there are clips of it here on youtube actually. Also when toothless in the small christmas movie thing got the solo flying tail he smashed it to the ground. destroying it.

[@pichuoleander]

oh yeaa he did that. That scene was disgusting but your right it does seem to show a bond of sorts.

[@NoSubsWithContent]

@@pichuoleander Toothless just did something dramatic because he wanted Hiccup to really understand he wants to stay

[@styphen2651]

i love that mat pat ignore that all the other dragons were dommesticated without being beat or forced and toothless didn´t want the tail that make him fly alone a lot of times until the last movie

[@KING-tv8ci]

6:39 what system of control did hiccup have? Literal SECONDS after the scene you showed, TOOTHLESS FLEW AWAY FOR A WEEK, and when he returned HE BROKE THE TAIL MATT

[@calvinjohnson6242]

dragon slayer1146 ~ Why did MatPat make this theory? He is blatantly wrong!

[@Kimi-uk6lf]

This whole theory doesn't make sense, the movie clearly shows a mutual friendship and not a master slave relationship, evidence is the fight with the red death in the first movie, toothless wanted to fly with hiccup to fight, he trusted hiccups decisions during the fight even though he was clearly in doubt. He knows this is clickbait and he made the theory so half assed just so he can capitalize on the movies sudden popularity

[@audreykirsten9511]

Joaquim Gancia YES

[@raiden6425]

Joaquim Gancia how else are you gonna stay fresh and new. It's not like out of no where you know a theory about a franchise hundreds of years ago. Its just my opinion though. You do what you want to do to get more fans.

[@aishmumtaz177]

Edgar Mystic the one important thing to remember is that this is a THEORY, theories can be wrong.

[@awesomesausome1557]

This doesn't seem fair of a comparison though, sure in real life lizards aren't emotionally complex, but in the movies and shows they're shown to be intelligent, have emotions and be capable attachment. I think a more fair comparison would be something like birds of prey whom evolved from dinosaurs or maybe other large intelligent predators such as lions, polar bears, etc.

[@catapult5884]

yea

[@jasminebaldwin7615]

That looks alot more like the movies

[@leozimmer6140]

Even further the dragons are shown to act almost human like and are much more complex than even dogs or cats. The dragons in the movies are also shown in the Netflix and earlier Cartoon Network adaptations to be mostly peaceful animals and matpat doesn’t dig in to how much the red death control was affecting the dragons

[@samthelion3925]

I was just looking for someone in the comments to say this. Dragons aren't real animals, but in the movie we see that they have some form of compassion. Some dragon species more than others. So that must mean that they developed from a sort of prehistoric lizard, in order to become the emotionally capable animals we see in the movie. They experienced a form of evolution.

[@Big-Chungus21]

Technically birds ARE reptiles, so comparing the dragons to birds makes sense

[@cryingwithrage]

Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs theory: A) How much damage would a worldwide food storm cause? B) How much damage would a meatball the size depicted in the movies actually cause? C) How sanitary would Chew and Swallow actually be with food falling every day?

[@masterfulmelon3769]

Itd be more of a positive than a negative. Lets just highball an d say a trillion dollars property damage. All of hunger is solved. no one has to by food anymore. we can focus on mvoing society forward.

[@lucmcgalarneau3966]

And an undertale multiverse theory (look at underverse for info)

[@haileyguinn5770]

Fun fact: if you drop a penny from the empire state building and it lands on your head, it most definitely can kill you. Now think about what would happen if that was a 20 oz steak, from a greater distance.

[@haileavemealone5368]

Masterful Melon but then everyone who has jobs related to food would be unemployed

[@randomrayquaza2044]

I would love this theory XD

[@Unagam1GD]

There are several times in EACH movie where Toothless has the chance to leave Hiccup, but he CHOOSES not to. In the first movie, when Hiccup falls off Toothless after fighting the Red Death, Toothless could have flown off on his own, but instead CHOOSES to save Hiccup. In the second movie, Toothless could have flown away again while fighting Drago's Alpha, as Hiccup was not riding him, and we saw him earlier in the movie getting better at flying on his own. And of course, in the third movie, Toothless has MULTIPLE chances to leave hiccup, but every time he does, he eventually comes back.

[@hunterthixton7577]

Because toothless Love's hiccup like a son

[@nathalia120]

(Spoilers for race to the edge) - Also in the spin off series race to the edge there's an episode where they run into a tribe dedicated to dragons and treat them like royality so when they see hiccup and co. riding dragons they assume that they are being abused and capture the riders and put hiccup in a pit full of quite aggressive dragons as punishment. The riders dragons were given fruit which basically makes very sleepy and relaxed but toothless sensed that hiccup was in danger and pushed through everyone to save him. This showed the tribe that hiccup wasn't abusive bc a dragon that has supposedly been abused wouldn't try and save him, especially after eating fruit meant to make him very sleepy and relaxed.

[@Bappos0708]

THAT IS BECAUSE HE IS DOMESTICATED-. If you take your dog outside and let the leash go they won’t care and probably run or walk away. But they will probably COME BACK. Because free food and shelter is WAY better. It’s a tactic. If you do train your dog, it’s normally to stay put- and not move because you believe it “needs” you think you have a bond. Toothless only really needed hiccup for food and for the fact he never had a proper tail. The only time he got one was at the last movie. Where he finally found another dragon of his kind. Toothless was depressed and probably felt like crap every time his friends would leave to mate and he couldn’t. He finally got a life. A proper one

[@jeremyzapsmash]

But he can't fly without hiccup. So he is forced to need him or else he dies.

[@ItsJust_Crumbs]

@@jeremyzapsmash in the 3rd movie, hiccup gives him a tail prosthetic that allows him to fly, and he definitely has multiple chances to fly away and just leave him, but he chooses not to.

[@jazzylps7134]

What about all the other dragons who aren’t Toothless that were trained with just kindness and trust and without being injured (ie every other dragon)?

[@aidang7278]

Not only that, but Toothless has risked his life to save Hiccup countless times.

[@realm_hopper]

@@aidang7278 Yes, to save the person who enables him to fly

[@glitchdragon9019]

@mega one You have clearly not watched any of the shows...

[@Nickster891]

what about thornado ? okay yes his friend was the one that was hurt but he and stoic before stoic started helping him defend said friend from a group of wild boars were at each other's neck and thornado had to be muzzled cause to quote stoic "he tried to bite his hand off"

[@komodo7044]

Norbert Mojsej but in gift of the night fury he’s able to keep the tail that allows him to fly on his own and he destroys it and it is shown that hiccup isn’t the only one able to fly toothless

[@maddiecarney7577]

How to Train Your Dragon Step one: live in a world where dragons exist good tip

[@evanhardy8651]

So we all fail then

[@evanhardy8651]

... or do we?

[@hisc0rehq843]

Hi

[@giantslayer9335]

Dinosaurs could be the dragons from the tales of old

[@tankart3645]

Sadly I couldn't find one we're to live, litterly all are 1biljon years in the past

[@gridman2742]

But reptiles CAN be trained. I personally watched Chris Pratt train a squad of raptors.

[@sayhallo3769]

*Mind blown into states of nuclear radiation*

[@Empty_Carbon]

Raptors are birds

[@tears_of_asariel3198]

this should definitly be upvoted more, since MatPat LOVES Chris Pratt, if he would listen to nothing else, he would listen to this comment.

[@hydrofake9574]

I actually laughed out loud thank you for making my day :D ^-^

[@typus6471]

@@Empty_Carbon birds are reptiles

[@Oliver_The_Goblin]

Mat, in the 3rd movie when hiccup is making toothless a tail he can fly with, it is stated hiccup had made one for toothless and tried to get him to use it but toothless didn't want to, and instead destroyed it.

[@CouldntFindAUser]

Yeah Toothless really didn’t have a reason to go, Until he met the light fury!

[@wideeyedsurfer9728]

I think that Dragons are a bit smarter than your average lizard They are depicted in the movies as having an emotional range

[@dark3rthanshadows]

in those movies? not really

[@danghoang7455]

there are crocodiles capable of listening to commands and names

[@thephoenixlegion4538]

my lizards respond to there names and show affection towards me

[@Jarichi]

@@dark3rthanshadows Correct me if I'm wrong, since it has been a long time since I've seen the movies, but I'm pretty sure that Toothless shows sadness when Hiccups father dies, and some other things I can't remember.

[@sakrefunholy]

Also these are not the normal kind of dragons we see fra classical movies. These are like their own universe where dragons have a huge Range of species from some who vomits lava to dragons which can produce fire through their whole body. Also they do show they can be loyal and follow commands and even shows emotions as you mentioned through out the movies and series. Cause it's not just a movie trilogy but Also has two series.

[@gracegalley786]

Dragon: clearly displays emotion throughout all 3 movies MatPat: no you can’t feel anything you cat-lizard

[@jackbartlett4402]

Dragons: *Have Emotions* MatPat: I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that

[@mraltoid19]

Well, MattPatt didn't really dive too deep into this....Not realizing that like Dinosaurs, Dragons are more closely related to birds...hence why a majority of them fly, unlike reptiles.

[@grumpyaustralian6631]

He didn't even stop to think about birds being raptors... Feels a bit rushed to me honestly.

[@maikomarx]

He also mentioned they act like glorified cats. I assume if they act like cats, they can be trained like cats.

[@mimf9808]

Why is he relating real life lizards to dragons? Obviously, the dragons can't be really real according to this realities physics because of the whole flying thing, so why would there be no possible way to have a more complex brain like a dog or cat?

[@oathkeeper005]

Matpat: "Dragon's effectively act like a giant cats, so lets evaluate them as Giant reptiles" A lot of fantasy stuff even claims dragons are more like mammals then lizards

[@WhiteTigerShiro]

*than

[@reggiesveggies994]

The closest to actual dragons we have had on earth would be dinosaurs... Right? Didn't they evolve into birds? Like a chicken from tyrannosaurus?

[@matthewtaylor744]

EXACTLY!

[@matthewtaylor744]

Would have been more interesting if he based it off of training cats.

[@reggiesveggies994]

Even training birds would have been better. He forgot basic observation of source material and shoe horned in his own misconceptions. Toothless behaviour is modeled after cats... Like httyd 101 Matpat

[@leonardomachado9423]

Counterpoint: The Christmas special is set only a few months after the first movie, in the winter season. In the winter, the dragons leave Berk to breed, but Hiccup didn't know that. Seeing Toothless eager to leave with the already departed dragons, he designed an automated tail for the him before anyone even knew why the other dragons had left. He didn't even project a retrieving mechanism like it's said in the video, Mat just made it up! There's even a line where it's stated that if Toothless chose to leave, he'd be gone for good, when Astrid asks "But what if he doesn't come back...? Oh, who am I kidding? Of course he will come back! ...Right?". Toothless then promptly leaves Berk, but as his genus seemingly mates for life, he doesn't want to breed since he doesn't have a mate yet. Insted he retrieves Hiccup's helmet, which had fallen in the ocean. After his task is done, Toothless destroys the new tail and asks for the old one to be re-attatched. Now here's a bit of a mini theory of why Toothless came back (other than the fact Dreamworks had money to make): In the end of the first movie, Toothless shows great empathy towards Hiccup's missing leg and does his most to help him get around without it. Hiccup seems to realize the dragon is sensible to his limited mobility, as he states in the second movie, when they're play-fighting: "Oh, come on, you wouldn't hurt a one-legged... Whoa!". Toothless takes pity on his wounded friend, as he himself once lost a body part and thus his ability to move with ease. After being tamed and taught to fly with the new artificial tail, Toothless now thinks his duty as being the wings for this injured human who can't move well anymore, like a service dog. He's more than willing to walk on a metaphoric leash until he feels his duty of taking his dear friend to places he can no longer reach is done, which makes his reaction to seeing older Hiccup in the end of the third movie that much sweeter. He reacts happyly seeing an old friend and that's a very beautiful moment on its own, but he also feels great joy on seeing that Hiccup can now reach the dragons' nest on his own, without the aid of wings. That's when Toothless is really free. Or, you know, maybe not. Maybe it's what Mat said. I'm just a random in the comments overthinking details from an animated movie.

[@dweebteambuilderjones7627]

Toothless wouldn't have gone to the breeding island anyway. The second movie establishes that he's Hiccup's age, meaning that in Gift of the Night Fury he would've still been undergoing dragon puberty and thus wouldn't be old enough to sire offspring.

[@AlastorFan5900]

to be fair, matpat is also just a random person overthinking details from an animated movie

[@AustinJASMR]

MatPat: "Dragons are basically a large cat." Also MatPat: "Dragons have the same intelligence as other lizards."

[@zaneflores3963]

over 200 like no one commented...

[@Complex.History]

@@zaneflores3963 for 8 months too

[@zaneflores3963]

@@Complex.History yeah XD

[@Aabergm]

Yeah this is generally why I dont bother watching Game Theory and related channels. The script states one thing (Dragons in HTTYD) are like cats then immediately goes of on a tangent of how reptiles cant be trained because of primitive brains. Its like well that's nice but the dragons here obviously have a limbic system if they are behaving like cats DUH. At least get your thinking complete before rambling for 15mins. Also its a cartoon so whatever.

[@mossiest_moss]

@@Aabergm MatPat implies that the dragon are *portrayed in the movie* as huge cats, but in real world they just would have been like any reptile

[@oneoneeightoneone]

Toothless: *Shows jelousy when hiccup introduces him to Astrid* Matpat: *I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that*

[@blizzkinggaming6587]

Like that's my human you can't have him

[@KingYoshiGoD]

Ikr

[@norsetrack945]

Toothless: *Literally overcomes his Dragon nature to obey the Alpha due to his love towards Hiccup in HTTYD 2* Matpat: *I'm gonna prettend I didn't see that*

[@CoolCarGuy]

Toothless: Forms a bond with Hiccup where he destroys the mechanism that would allow him to fly by himself just so he could continue to fly with Hiccup MatPat: I'm gonna pretend I didn't see that

[@kristiathehalfling5358]

In the Netflix series toothless was given a tale but didn't want it they even saw that in the last movie.

[@mylittledashie7419]

MatPat: Dragons in this universe behave like cats Also MatPat: Now I'm going to spend the whole video as if they behave like lizards.

[@flarecoils1573]

Also would like to point out that only warm-blooded animals would be capable of achieving flight, so this comparison falls flat immediately.

[@pigeon3130]

@@thegoldenking225 they might have to be another species entirely. Mammals dont lay eggs. But they need warm blood. It's possible they belong with birds though, that might've been a better theory tbh

[@lineeskildsen2036]

Exactly!😂

[@flarecoils1573]

@@nonoctoro4933 are you saying that I forgot Pterosaurs or that matpat did?

[@dragonafro4462]

Nero Mudkip aren’t platypuses warm-blooded mammals that lay eggs? (I know that would just be the exception to the norm but still it shows a possibility)

[@the_chubby_jedi9189]

In literally every historical piece of writing that involves dragons they're always depicted as wise Beyond humans understanding or at least in the couple that I've read the dragons and how to train your dragons are actually picked it as stupider than the average dragon

[@Randomdudefromtheinternet]

To be fair, the dragons in the HTTYD are WAY smarter and emotional than the average reptile, so regular training can be applied. But yeah, don't expect a lizard to love you.

[@DrowsyLemon]

the notion reptiles cant experience emotion or bond with somebody is outdated

[@zegelth9436]

@@DrowsyLemon but they very rarely bond with a person like a dog would. I had a pet crocodile for a year and it was only towards the end of the year that it seemed like he actually trusted me and was showing reciprocal emotions during our interactions.

[@dedrae6929]

@@zegelth9436 how did he recipricate emotions exactly I need more information

[@Allybestleadernocap]

Like he said they are glorified cats with wings so you can train them like a dog or a cat

[@monstermaker73]

@@Allybestleadernocap Saying the dragons are glorified cats with wings is like looking at the most vast candy shop in the world and saying "Oh, WeLl iT's AlL sUgAr So It'S jUsT tHe SaMe."

[@indodinoyoutube]

The only problem with this is that in the same short where Hiccup makes Toothless a self-controlled tail, Toothless destroys said tail as an excuse to stay with Hiccup and only used this tail to retrieve Hiccup's helmet... essentially showing that Toothless actually did end up enjoying being ridden by Hiccup. And that isn't even mentioning the multiple times Toothless saves Hiccup... most notably when he escapes his little hole WITHOUT his tail flap to save Hiccup. Had he been so very desperate to get out, he could have... and he did. He was only desperate enough to escape when Hiccup was in danger. Also the fact that Hiccup tried his best to respect Toothless in the actual bonding process by letting Toothless come to his hand as opposed to forcing the dragon to accept it. Heck he even goes the length of eating a barfed-up fish head to make the dragon happy. I mean, sure... what Hiccup did in the beginning was wrong... but he does genuinely try to undo said mistakes.

[@testerwulf3357]

The short doesn't count as it happens way later after toothless is forced to be his pet for a while to the point he decided to not leave (why leave free food and shelter?)..besides once he gets a reason to leave (mating) he up and leaves. Toothless saving hiccup could be seen as it's only chance at survival..it can't survive without hiccup so letting hiccup die is a net-loss.

[@indodinoyoutube]

@@testerwulf3357 Even then, if you read the last paragraph you'll know that it wasn't entirely forced. He mostly let Toothless come to him. Also, when Toothless does leave, he shows emotion towards Hiccup, even hugging him goodbye. Not to mention in the final scene where Toothless is excited to see Hiccup after so long. I don't think Toothless would care to see him if the relationship had been completely forced.

[@mae2241]

​@@testerwulf3357 (HTTYD: Hidden World) When Hiccup made the individual flapping tail for Toothless and the light fury to actually bond for the first time without Hiccup around, Toothless actually hesitated to leave and looked back to Hiccup as if asking like "Is it okay if I leave? Are you gonna be okay?" kind of look, Hiccup said it's okay and Toothless was happy to hear that and flew off, testing it a little, and before actually flying off, he looked back at Hiccup for the last time as if checking if Hiccup was really okay and showing him that he's going now.

[@darren2706]

@@testerwulf3357 toothless did not want to leave he left cause it would be safe for him and hiccup and his tribe

[@random6033]

Stockholm syndrome

[@jamesquarterman491]

Sound logic MattPatt, but a couple of major flaws with this theory: 1. (As the rest of the comments have mentioned) Based on their interactions with humans, the dragons of HTTYD are clearly more like dogs or cats than lizards, possessing the necessary brain parts to develop emotional responses. 2. The title 'How To TRAIN Your Dragon' comes precisely from the books that these films use as their starting point for worldbuilding. The films don't adapt the books because in the books the dragons are even more advanced creatures, capable of communication by language with humans who speak Dragonese. But hey, it's all a fiction, so let's not get too worked up over it!

[@thatrandomnerd6996]

There is only one thing I have to say to this comment: Funnel cake Please ignore my randomness. Anyway I really do agree. It is fiction and we should not get too worked up about it. Let me just get a gun and some bleach first. Seriously though, come on guys. It's not worth it

[@MangoMang]

@Laith Ramzi you serious, mate? James Quarterman already stated in his second point "The title 'How To TRAIN Your Dragon' comes precisely from the books" - Which means yes, the books are literally called How to Train Your Dragon, and that's the point he was making. The film doesn't follow the books very accurately so you can't really pick at the use of the word "train" so much. Anyways, they're by Cressida Cowell if you're interested in reading them, so you have all you need now. Enjoy!

[@drawingaccount9590]

The movie franchise never said that dragons are just glorified reptiles. If I were to guess, their ancestors probably split off from reptiles at about the same time mammals did, maybe even earlier considering most dragons have 6 limbs. For anyone not aware, the reason no terrestrial vertebrate has more than 4 limbs is because their common ancestor, the first fish to come on land, only had four limbs. So it is very much possible that dragons have a completely separate ancestor from the common ancestor of all land vertebrates. An ancestor with 6 limbs. Even if dragons were just lizards, you could take a look at dinosaurs. Dinosaurs split off from the reptile lineage about 250 million years ago, they quickly changed into the largest terrestrial creatures ever. They dominated the lands they lived in. This has nothing to do with how smart they are, just about how quickly they can change. For dragons to have enough time to completely change into creatures who are warm blooded, with a fast metabolism, and an extra set of limbs, they'd need at least 100 million years, probably more because no creature has ever been able to make that shift. And in that time they would easily be able to gain an intelligence equal to or even better than a humans. So your argument that "you can't train dragons because you can't train lizards" is invalid because dragons are not ever stated to be lizards. They have very obviously different behavioral patterns and are physically extremely different from reptiles, except for the fact that they have scales and lay eggs. I know you will never see this as I am a few years late, but I just had to say something.

[@augustrempelewert4377]

I said this as well when the video came out (though not quite as scientifically), but it didn't seem like anybody wanted to hear it. :/

[@Hellbender03]

10 minutes of watching toothless n hicuups interactions and its clear that toothless has more intelligence than an average dog or cat i would say its around as a much as a toddler even maybe THEORY DEBUNKED

[@voilet-the-non-violet-vulpix]

Did you know a dog can be smarter than a young human child? I think the age for exceeding dog intelligence is almost two years old according to some studies.

[@Hellbender03]

@@voilet-the-non-violet-vulpix interesting n thats kindof why i said average dog or cat bcz some animals are definitely smarter n some kids are just dum XD

[@voilet-the-non-violet-vulpix]

Savio Varghese But, even with dogs being that smart, I think dragons may be a bit smarter than the average dog or cat. Have you ever seen a kitty draw a maze?

[@Hellbender03]

@@voilet-the-non-violet-vulpix my point exactly

[@Coolsomeone234]

Good job

[@sglyph]

Matpat - "The dragons in HTTYD are basically cats" Also Matpat - _Well yes, but actually no_

[@darbiesamson676]

qctually toothless is only dragon based if a black panther

[@TheCreepyChronicless]

@@darbiesamson676and bats

[@micahbirdlover8152]

@@darbiesamson676 I like your picture ☺️

[@SpagEddie8113]

Anyone: *Shows affection* Matpat: “THERE IS THE STOCKHOLME SYNDROME!!!!”

[@claireshnowske1224]

Um did you see the third movie because toothless gets his freedom

[@QuiteRelative]

@@claireshnowske1224 it's an joke...

[@unlem7626]

@@QuiteRelative ''an joke''

[@Cassiopea525]

@@claireshnowske1224 Nope. Haven't even seen the second one yet.

[@ioanbolfa6983]

Lol

[@SapphireKing472]

I think Matpat changed his mind about dragons not having any emotions or caring about their owners after he saw Toothless give Hiccup a hug before he left for The Hidden World. It was truly heartbreaking and i think Matpat, if he watched the full movie, cried at that scene just like the rest of us.

[@lackleedaranikone2171]

Fr tho

[@Random_stuffs583]

SAME

[@anemptypapercup]

Liking in spirit, can’t mess up the 111 likes

[@SapphireKing472]

@@anemptypapercup 👍

[@morganc.m1830]

I didn't, but okay.

[@Snow-sx5ev]

But dragons are really smart, toothless can understand drawing, shows complex emotions and rejects a working tail Hiccup offered him

[@jakoblent4694]

Matpat said it himself They are just like cats

[@xmun0360]

This is true.

[@aryanisantoso]

Cuz it's Fiction

[@Snow-sx5ev]

@DelinquentTV oh, sorry, please forgive my transgressions

[@tamaramazorra6028]

HEY MAYBE YOUR RIGHT BUT STILL GO EAT SOME FIDO POO FOR DISRESPECTING MAT PAT REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[@jakhva]

What about ALL the other dragons that are trained without any injury? Also: dragons in this universe have a few diferences from IRL lizards. They can fly. They breathe fire. The're cat-smart. The 2 premisses are false.

[@tiagotiagot]

At least cat-smart, possibly more

[@kaischreurs2488]

or even smarter depending on which one

[@julietteelton8406]

Like Toothless is smart but I'm not as sure about Gronkles XD @@kaischreurs2488

[@lunaeticinks9143]

Strike Class dragons are said to possess supreme intelligence so...

[@D3niz3n]

@@tiagotiagot most likely more considering the bonds seen and the seemingly stronger understanding and quicker uptake of human language/speaking cues

[@lotuux]

Petition for a second episode where MatPat considers dragons having emotions like shown in the movies and tells us how to actually train a dragon. (I just really want to know.)

[@voltsiano116]

Exactly.

[@regulargoat7259]

@Anthony Richard Bezerra Martins Shit man that reminds me of 'Does Bruno Mars is gay?' my god I haven't thought about that in yours

[@banki121]

i guess the answer is just like u train ur dog or cat. Unless it can be proven that these dragons are as smart as humans in which case fken learn dragon.

[@banki121]

or be daenerys.

[@NintendoSegaandHasbroFan]

If he did ut would be a miricale

[@Jade-uc3qk]

One thing to point out is that in the short film "the gift of the night fury" which takes place not too long after the events of the first film. Hiccup gives toothless a tail fin he can control himself, at the end of the film, we see him destroy it and insist on using the saddle and original tail fin controlled by hiccup.

[@IdgfBitches]

To be honest, I’m pretty sure he did not watch riders of Berk, defenders of Berk, or any of the sequels, because only a real fan would watch those and see the actual development in the character because character development is important

[@adriannaa545]

Here is the flaws with this theory. 1. OK, Hiccup had an injured dragon, but what about stormfly? Hookfang? Meatlug? Literally evey dragon. They join willingly. Also, the dragons aren't domesticated. They are utilized for flying, attacking, defending and target practice. You need to TRAIN the dragon how to do this with a riders command instead of by instinct. 2 Hiccup in a 'Gift of the Night Furry' attempted to give Toothless a tail that allowed him to fly independently and toothless smashed it. TOOTHLESS smashed it. 3. Dragons DO NOT EQUAL LIZARDS. They are way more intelligent than Lizards and that's literally established in the first episode. A lizard does not show compassion, doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, and like you SAID YOURSELF, can't be trained. 4. Dragons show numerous emotions for their own kind and their riders. Saving their riders, demonstrating loyalty, and showing genuine sadness when someone passes away are all obvious signs of their emotional capabilities. 5 They are arguably probably smarter than dogs or cats. For instance, they don't just know basic commands. They can have the capability to understand full sentences. Toothless is easily able to comprehend what Hiccup is saying and responses accordingly with a growl of protectiveness, a purr of delight, an eye roll, and numerous other parts of body language. 6. Dragons still need survival. They fight for their riders and their villages. They aren't just trained, they are utilized for battle as well, like a horse. 7. Although, what Hiccup did was dangerous, that was essentially the point. He was the first so of course He's not gonna do it effectively. In Race to The Edge they demonstrate much more effective ways such as using sounds (like in the episode when Astrid becomes blind). 8. If toothless was so afraid of Hiccup, why didn't he kill him when he had the chance? He sparred him because even though he shot him down, he didn't kill him. That entire time he was with the "dangerous human" he could have easily just killed him with one shot. And prior to him fixing the tail, he had to earn Toothless's trust.

[@calvin2914]

Adrianna Arcuri #7 click click click

[@OlliOtter]

And to back up this notion of dragons being different than lizards, in the book series the movies were based on the dragons had their own language called dragonese. AN ENTIRE LANGUAGE

[@patrickhf8298]

Also that: 9. Hiccup obviously didn't made a device to make Toothless fly by himself cause he was just a little kid trying to figure out how to make the dragon fly and failinv many times. He had go test it so he had to be there with the dragon and he just stood with the one that worked effiently. 10. Dragons are intelligent enough to develop emotions; even in Cressida Cowell's books you can learn the language dragons speak, because they do talk (in the book, obviously)

[@abigduck4943]

Sorry my dude but *SPAIRED**

[@parkerphelan2473]

Could not have put it better myself.

[@scrimblo3]

I agree with the comments. Like at the beginning he was talking about how Hiccup was controlling Toothless by making inventions only Hiccup can control. Well, he is not a master inventor and that was probably the only thing he could do at the time. And it shows that Hiccup was improving throughout the movie franchises and he even said himself that in the end Hiccup made an invention that Toothless can control himself. Hiccup just wanted to show that he can hunt a dragon to the rest of the community, and in the end he actually wanted to help Toothless and he corrected his mistake. Also, these dragons have shown emotions and if you watched this movie, you can tell that dragons are way smarter than a lizard. Hiccup and Toothless have a great, unbreakable bond and Hiccup was not trying to make Toothless his pet or jeopardize his freedom, like I said before he didn’t know how to help him and he did the best he could. I really like mat pat, but this theory was mediocre at best and it is clear in the comments that people are not happy with this one I’m sorry and I mean no disrespect or to be rude. And at the part when i said “if you watched the movies” I know it sounded rude but I didn’t mean to.

[@littlemegzilla917]

I’m Weird :/ toothless can control himself even with the tale hiccup gave him

[@junkhead7379]

Another thing he blatantly didnt mentioned is that seconds after the moment he showed in the christmas special is that toothless trashed the automatic tail for the old one

[@ToxicPea]

Oh jeez, it's like that Kirby theory from 2 weeks ago. It's as if Matpat is stretching his theories a bit too far by manipulating/ignoring data. I hope Matpat gets his game on soon. Speaking of which, where is the part 2 of of the Kirby video? I want some juicy lore that I already know about known to the world..

[@Kyrrinx]

Dragon head looks a lot bigger than a human’s...

[@dd_trotz185]

I’m Weird :/ honestly there was a Christmas movie were hiccup gave toothless a new tail so he can go home but toothless didn’t want it

[@Cgar-mj1on]

*Dragons showing emotion throughout all three movies* Matpat: I’m gonna pretend I didn’t see that

[@nailahahmad4285]

He based his theory on real life facts (not from the movies) to answer the hypothetical question “Could you train a dragon in real life”

[@regulargoat7259]

@@nailahahmad4285 But he's assuming that a dragon would be just like a lizard, which is a huge mistake. Dinosaurs, for example, (the closest things to dragons irl) have been proven to be very unlizardlike, with herds, packs, etc. and also at least sudo-warmbloodedness.

[@prez.cookie980]

@@PsshIm2Cool Hey, hey, guess what? *This movie used scientific facts. They did their research.* Just look at their flying dynamics.

[@justrandomboi4187]

Matpat:Compares A giant reptile that can shoot plasma draw pictures understand languages control other dragons and recognize people after years and the personal values to Items from other people they lost to a Normal lizard

[@GrandMasterPlays]

@@PsshIm2Cool That's based on the fact that those dragons would even be like real life lizards, though. Why the hell would they? It's impossible to know. Usually theories for movies and videogames are based on their own in-universe facts, not real life facts, unless those movies or videogames show no difference to real life in the important aspects, but in this case... There are dragons, which don't exist in real life, so you can't just say that if dragons existed, their brain would be just like real life lizards, especially since it is clearly shown that they have emotions in the movies. I think you're the retarded one by failing to see that fact, and also because you're calling other people retarded.

[@SarahViahhDay]

The obvious has already been said here, that you're comparing dragons to lizards when they could really be completely different and much more emotionally evolved, perhaps more like birds. But the one thing that I have to point out here is that, whilst it was wrong of Hiccup to injure Toothless, that's the reason he feels it's his duty to help him regain his freedom after he'd realised he'd harmed an innocent being, even if it's only attainable with Hiccup at his side. Hiccup dedicates his life to righting his wrong, then the wrongs of the rest of his people that have been taught to hate dragons, which is an incredibly noble thing to do. Not selfish at all. Also that look of happiness on his face when his first tail flap works is because he's excited that his invention worked. Soz Matpat but you missed the mark on this one!

[@chandlerdale5754]

Absolutely Noboby: Matpat: Toothless is being abused by hiccup....

[@neku2741]

its a film theory, it always ask the question that people don't ask

[@shinobu3617]

He DID by damaging his tail, but they were mortal enemies, so it's understandable. What he does is trying hard to make up for it later.

[@yamakiguerra1129]

He clearly didnt watch the second movie where hiccup explains that to his mom

[@mjangelvortex]

@@nightfuryflame7366 This is exactly why MatPat's more recent videos have been disappointing me.

[@heracross3323]

mjangelvortex I know this is five months late, but GOSH I feel the exact same way.

[@GODOFAWSOMENESS1]

Apparently Mat forgot that Hiccup did make a tailfin that he doesn’t control but Toothless destroyed it.

[@Thisisnotadreamhaha]

Seriously. Pretty sure all dragons in that world aren't viewing their riders as a food market lol, and toothless is the only dragon that needs a rider. So why are all the other dragons choosing to be domesticated? MatPat is smart, but this theory is bullshit and he just phoned it in.

[@samodaking5232]

That makes no sense because he already has a tail why would he break the new one ?

[@matthaeus7762]

GODOFAWSOMENESS1 he acknowledged it but somehow hiccup would’ve still had control

[@kymelatejasi]

@@matthaeus7762 Right? How did Hiccup still have control when Toothless left on his own? And they thought he went with the other dragons when he really went to find Valka's helmet when Hiccup had accepted the loss. Toothless understood the connection to the helmet and Valka even though it seemed like he shouldn't have.

[@adriannaa545]

@@Thisisnotadreamhaha True and despite what Matpat is saying, these dragons were trained not domesticated. They know complex commands and can utilize their abilities as they wish. There are copious numbers of dragons that don't want to be trained and so they aren't trained. I'd argue that the riders rely more on the dragon than the dragon relies on the rider.

[@dilan6031]

In an interview with the creators of how to train your dragon they said that toothless was a mix of panther and axolotl

[@witchBoi_Connor]

it shows, I love it

[@dianacampbell8381]

based on that - axolotls are amphibians - not reptiles... which might wreck MatPat's entire theory...

[@daggeranddoctor]

Dilan TheGrizzlyBear but where did the wings come from?!

[@pepethelastsamurai3480]

@@daggeranddoctor The idea of a dragon you usually think of has wings.

[@error404usernamecannotbefo8]

Ethan Hayes Probably from years of evolution, back then Dragons probably needed wings to do stuff that they can do now... Humans don't follow evolution much more now since we take the advantage of our crafty and advanced brains to make planes and boats in order to get to places we need to go

[@remnantryku7112]

True. If dragons were similar to other reptiles in this theory's reasons, then the movie would've been really different. But, I'm glad dragons aren't like the common reptile when it comes to their minds.

[@deathdxdxdx907]

NOT TRUE Hiccup tried making an independent tail for toothless but it didn’t work out : toothless threw it away himself and wanted to put on hiccup’s saddle instead In the movie ‘Gift of the night fury’ 7:54 (time)

[@riven9179]

that's exactly what I was saying! Matt, if you're going to do a theory like this, or accuse Hiccup of abusing Toothless, you have to do your research. I'm a big fan, and you do such a good job with your other videos, but I think you fell a little short this time.

[@CSRD8]

YES, as said in the Third movie!! Come on Matt.

[@tkm14786]

is it CANNON?

[@multilink1748]

@@tkm14786 yes

[@isahazizi9900]

If matpat would watch everything there is about H.T.T.Y.D. he would know

[@limestorm8015]

Toothless: shows emotions Mattpat: I’m suddenly blind

[@dead9247]

Yeah...

[@sparkydreemur1936]

true, the dragons are 1,000 x more complex than any real reptile.

[@andrew-paulclements1502]

As I said, not even reptiles. Dragons have 6 limbs, Reptiles have 4. They are obviously on completely different evolutionary branches.

[@andrew-paulclements1502]

@Joejoe Joe 4 legs, 2 wings. Wings are limbs. That is why every actual winged creature on Earth have two legs.

[@sirvanva7618]

Joejoe Joe a 6 limbs animal is different from any kind of animals. Because the animal skeleton share through all animals even us human. That's mean dragon is on its own kind catergory which we've never encounter. Sorry for bad English, I can't describe all of my idea

[@arandompersonthatjustcomme9030]

Every instance of Dragon: Smart, intelligent, creatures usually with ancient knowledge and abilities lost to the ages. Matpat: big lizard.

[@hawrazkadeer5666]

U axx fddeeewwwssedd nhytuyhh6b KMMK,JBHM,MV% K8ZIPPER kj

[@caitlin505]

I audibly giggled while reading this, doesn't happen that often so I wanted to applaud the creativity

[@ppezeshkian]

I like your name

[@thehybridgalaxy58]

When he said "your basilisk can skip across your bathtub" (14:16) I just thought about how if you put a basilisk lizard on the side of your tub and give it time it'll be going as soon as it realizes there's water.

[@ninjaturtle2952]

I think that he's wrong on this one. Toothless didn't fly to get away from hiccup ( sort of) he wanted to fly because he was stuck in that place and couldn't hunt and eat. Also hiccup didn't really treat him as a slave, he treated him like a dog or cat

[@abigduck4943]

I agree but do you ride on your dog/cat and let it fly?

[@abigduck4943]

Jk but I still agree to you

[@calvinjohnson6242]

Toothless was his friend! The dragons are so much smarter than you give them credit for. They understand most of human’s conversations and Toothless breaks the proper tail Hiccup makes for him!

[@lifegrain6092]

@@abigduck4943 i rode on a dog a few times before, although i am able to remember it but my parents took picture of me riding their dog as you would imagine i was pretty much a toddler when i rode a dog, sadly it doesn't fly because i did not attempt to fabricate a prosthetic tail flap

[@bruh-qi8gy]

@@abigduck4943 yeah, he takes me to kfc lol

[@bradyparsons7762]

“This wasn’t a vicious beast, but an INTELLIGENT, gentle creature; who’s soul reflected my own” - Valka So much for catching up on the franchise

[@ruaridhusher4373]

He said, though, that reptiles are smart just not emotionally so. I'm on the fence, but I feel 137 likes is undeserved here

[@ZetsuYinYang]

@@ruaridhusher4373 The problem is, in most forms of lore on dragons they are highly intelligent creatures, not just how to train your dragon but in most lore of the big scaley lizards. So they would have the extra brain power to be trained.

[@Ark_Hornet]

But what if dragons have more complex brains? Half if this video is on the assumption that they have lizard brains. Early in the video you reference how Toothless is a glorified cat with wings. We see Toothless make complicated decisions such as sparing Hiccup and that was before he knew he couldn't fly. You bring up the mini-Christmas movie where Hiccup makes Toothless a Pilotless tail. Toothless goes off to find Hiccup's helmet, an item that was of sentimental worth to Hiccup clearly displaying that Toothless can comprehend complex human emotion to some extent and act on it similar to a support dog can detect if their owner is depressed, anxious or scared/threatened. We see research from the Vikings in the book Hiccup reads in the first movie that details the different dragons, although they deem them dangerous and practically single-minded killers these observations are based on survival and their fear of the unknown (as they describe nightfuries as some of the most deadly as they know so little about them) but as soon as they free the dragons from their oppressive regime they are able to extremely quickly domesticate them and in turn learn to adapt with dragons. Throughout the movies we clearly see that the dragons have their own societal structures, different cultures of dragons will still have very similar structures to others similar to wolf packs or lion prides. They also don't seem to be very "survival of the fittest" as we see that a vast array of species of dragons with different sizes, shapes and personalities coexist and it's not really "the bigger the better" as Toothless manages to defeat multiple GIANT dragons and at the end become basically a king through what I assume is some form of democracy. (Democratic Monarchy is/was a thing, quite interesting really)

[@tomasvrabec1845]

One action. Tootles drawing a portrait of his love interest. Clearly not a reptile brain.

[@tjstarblood624]

I would argue based on the size of the dragons and some designs, that the dragons are evolved descendants of dinosaurs, some dragons even going so far as to act like birds (StarFire, for example) and we all know birds are trainable, and some of the highest intellectual animals aside from primates. I would argue the dragons would be more closely related to birds than lizards, possibly an animal halfway between birds and dinosaurs evolved into the first dragon, and things went on from there. But that’s just a theory. An EVOLUTION THEORY.

[@ethan_3323]

He actually made a tail with which Toothless was able to fly on his own. But Toothless smashed it because he didn't want to leave hiccup

[@ellacoleman4669]

You forgot about the christmas special where Hiccup does give Toothless a tail-flap Toothless can control, and Toothless CHOOSES to destroy it, because he wants to fly with Hiccup.

[@InductionFrog]

Or does he, you know. *cough* writers wanting money (and people entertainment myself included) *cough*

[@ellacoleman4669]

@@InductionFrog What? Do you mean cough? I literally looked at this for over 10 minutes trying to figure out what the heck 'couch' meant. I'm sure the writers made the christmas special for money, I'm just saying that he overlooks what happens in it

[@InductionFrog]

@@ellacoleman4669 I agree, and I ment that sound you make when you have a flu and air goes up your throath with you not controling it, coinccidentaly it is simmilar ro hiccups but louder.

[@saragemmer9553]

That always confused me XD I mean they could of always flown together if they wanted. With or without it.

[@jakelewis3532]

@@InductionFrog even if its the writers putting it in that still means its canon that toothless wants to be ridden

[@Michael-fd1gx]

In the DVD Dream Works Dragons Gift Of The Night Fury, Hiccup does make a prosthetic tail the Toothless can control, but Toothless rejects that prosthetic tail. Also have you seen the Netflex Dream Works Dragons series?

[@calvin2914]

Michael MAnville what about riders of berk and defenders of berk? You may have to get them on dvd though

[@wyattworkman7411]

I forgot what went on in those, it was so long ago and I didn't finish the series.

[@ghostarchertube9033]

Wyatt Workman there was the stuff with the screaming death and a lot of fighting between the berserkers and berk

[@cosmochaos5]

*I do respect that this is just a film theory* 5:30 Toothless doesn't actually fly away from a 'human predator,' who I quote, is a "talking fishbone." Toothless, before getting a tail actually sees a bird, (one of the few times a bird is actually seen) and you can tell that he wants to fly. Hiccup gives him a new tail, Toothless would want to fly.

[@VoltasP]

But we KNOW that dragons are intelligent. How? TOOL USE. Toothless observes Hiccup drawing a picture in the dirt with a stick. Toothless than grabs a large tree branch and begins dragging it. That isn't tool use, that's just mimicry... UNTIL Toothless begins to growl at Hiccup for stepping on the lines. He's defending it. Toothless recognizes that he has CREATED something using a TOOL. And not just any creation! It's not shelter, it doesn't mark territory (Toothless doesn't seem to care that Hiccup is right inside it) and it's not a nest for hatching young, or a cache for food, or a display to attract mates (at least I hope not, since the only other thing there is Hiccup...) It's something much more signifigant. It'sART. That's a crazy abstract concept! Only a tiny handful of creatures are motivated to create art, and fewer still will show an interest in keeping it-- usually they lose interest or will destroy it because they don't see any apparent value in what they've created. Toothless has mastered a concept so abstract that it's mind-boggling to ascribe it to a creature with only a lizard's brain. This makes Hiccup's behavior towards Toothless arguably worse, since now he's domineering a creature with childlike intelligence, but there does seem to be some affection there, by the end. Or at least a willingness to co-operate. If anything, Toothless' story reminds me of the way people used to train wild hawks and eagles for falconry. Warning for the easily disturbed before you start googling how falconry traditionally worked: Yes, first you have to kidnap a young bird, then you starve it until it stops resisting, and 30-70% of the time it dies. They're mostly hand-raised these days, but there's definitely some parallels there.

[@awesomemel]

This comment is underrated for how right you are. It really pisses me off that Mat basically just skimmed through the whole movie and ignored the more emotional parts for his bullshit clickbait theory. He only saw from the movie what he wanted to see to see for his stupid narrative.

[@diskonnekt1313]

1000x this

[@MoonTrekerAF]

And that is the first movie. He does it AGAIN in the third. And this time he actually draws.

[@mjangelvortex]

@@MoonTrekerAF "Oh, NOW you can draw?"

[@squeaphily7325]

I REALLY AM CRINGING AT ALL OF THIS, MATPAT'S ENTIRE VIDEO IS TO MAKE THIS LIKE HOW IT WOULD BE IN REAL LIFE, JUST FREAKING STAHP

[@ControlFrosty]

Me: *Goes into comments before watching the video* Me: Wonder why everyone is getting mad Me: *Finishes watching video* Me: Oh.

[@oldi1191]

That me

[@AFilmByCosmic]

😂Forreal

[@evanmccance8631]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssss, Matpat did a how to train your dragon episode !!! I just love getting my childhood destroyed.

[@ash4760]

wildwolf 339 Ikr

[@craytherlaygaming2852]

yeah he failed to realize . that real world animals aren't the same as these dragons who show they have a Limbic system to show emotions

[@ineedsleep1682]

Yay!!!!! Mashmello moment woooh ........ my childhood dreams are goin down the drain !!!!!!

[@sharonroberts1317]

me to.

[@vanukas8783]

Craytherlaygaming yep. I think this is what I thought but you said something that I never heard of So i will look it up

[@1jovsby]

10:25 but these dragons do have the mentality to have complex emotions and thoughts this is shown in the one scene where after seeing hiccup drawing in sand with a stick. Toothless figures out how to use a tree to draw a complex maze for hiccup to figure out

[@OhHiLane]

90% of comments: “This theory doesn’t make sense” Other 10%: “RIP Steve Irwin” Edit: also I do think you’re the best of the mid teir influencers on KZbin Mat, but this theory is definitely a stretch. It’s clear that the brain of a dragon is far more complex than that of a human so it’s not fair to compare it to a lizard. I think this theory would’ve been a lot better if you had focused on dragon “training” being Stockholm Sydrome (you seemed to be going that direction at first). Anyway you’re still awesome Mat, keep up the good work :D

[@zookboy5714]

other 3%: people who failed math class

[@Rainbow__cookie]

Lol

[@geo5378]

100% peta sucks

[@juliousg]

@@zookboy5714 😂😂 and 0.1% recommending this video to you kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnKcmJhngLaKp9E 😊

[@deathheartgemstones1376]

I’m that 10%

[@bootsdotexe]

Dragons: *Shows signs of strong emotions, high intelligence, bonds between themselves and the vikings, continuously saves the humans' lives even if they're able to leave at any moment, are clearly not forced to stay on Berk in any way nor are they only there for the free food, shows how Toothless (even when given the chance to fly away and leave forever with a new tail) comes back to Hiccup because he went to fetch Hiccup's helmet that he dropped in the ocean days earlier because he genuinely loves Hiccup and Hiccup loves him* Matpat: y'all hear sumn

[@ScareSans]

XD he's trying to see if hiccup's way would train a dragon irl if they were real. so many people don't get what he's saying.

[@ScareSans]

he's not talking about the dragons in the movie. he's talking about *if dragons were real* therefore, you can do this theory.

[@TeleportRush]

@@ScareSans The problem is that he assumes they are of reptile intelligence, when dragons aren't necessarily reptiles and could instead be something branched off from, say, dinosaurs or birds.

[@ScareSans]

@Devouring_One 1. dinosaurs... WERE reptiles... 2. birds... branched off of dinosaurs.

[@TeleportRush]

@@ScareSans If you want to be that specific with it, birds are reptiles, but that's stupid and besides the point. The point is, those things have more advanced brains that are more capable of the feats of intelligence involved rather than a lizard brain.

[@colex1222]

MattPatt the dragons in HTTYD do have emotions Many of the dragons show love, sadness, happiness and anger. For example when toothless was happy to see hiccup in the ending of The Hidden World. All of the dragons simply do have emotions and aren’t like normal lizards as you thought (Don’t mean any hate, just pointing out some things I disagreed with in your video)

[@chickennuggcorgi]

I was woke as I thought of the fact that dragons were mythos for dinosaurs and dinosaurs were more closely related to birds *Correlation 100*

[@Kingdeathtrooper]

and they seem to have complex reactions and even give RESPONSES to human speech.

[@TDLBallistic]

@@Kingdeathtrooper Yeah the directors have stated that the dragons have NEAR human intelligence, but they draw the line. They don't go full anthropomorphization.

[@oliviad7059]

I don't mean to sound rude but i think u interpreted the point wrong. They're cartoon dragons in a kids movie. If they didn't have those emotions children wouldn't like them. Matpat is saying that REAL LIFE "dragons"(or lizards) to not posses these emotions.

[@Kingdeathtrooper]

@@oliviad7059 but they aren't lizards and intelligent IS how the movie portrays them, and mattpatt IS focusing on this movie and it's characters. You can't just say oh a character in a movie wouldn't act like that, I know because I would never act like that in real life

[@roserinlerdsiwaporn7541]

8:34 Don't forget: As you said it yourself, dragons in this universe are quote "Giant glorified cats", and also seem to be intellegent enough to understand human to a degree

[@wonderouswolfy1855]

Hiccup: *Getting ready to finish off toothless to prove himself to his father* Also Hiccup: *Maybe I really shouldn't kill this dragon, look at him. I'm sorry I shot him down in the first place.* Mattpat: I'm gonna leave that part out

[@dystopiangamer9221]

Indeed

[@thedoctor9440]

@@dystopiangamer9221 indeed, indeed

[@dystopiangamer9221]

the doctor indeed, indeed, indeed

[@thedoctor9440]

@@dystopiangamer9221 indeed, indeed, indeed, indeed

[@dystopiangamer9221]

BlueStar Playz indeed,indeed,indeed,indeed,indeed,indeed

[@DawsomeV]

I usually agree with most of MatPats theory’s... this one not so much. Not to mention he straight up accuses Hiccup of animal cruelty. I don’t think you got the message of the movie at all. Hiccup changes the Vikings whole mindset regarding dragons. He only shot toothless down because of his upbringing, he was highly pressured to do so. He also saved Toothless from what he did to him. And in the last movie he did let him go. Idk there are a lot of flaws in this theory.

[@MisterIncog]

omg of course he got the point of the movie. It's a theory, it's content, it's not a review, gosh. It's just a bad, half-baked theory with a lot of stretched arguments

[@tobioso7730]

Exactly it's like he just lied and watched the first movie only and ''barely'', He just sounds like a person who wants to be angry at everything, like one of the cutest and funniest movies, and he talks about slavery, animal cruelty, abuse, like what are you on about Matt?

[@KenLinx]

Shut the fuck up. It’s not a theory about the movie’s morality. It’s about how you can’t realistically train a lizard. How can you not get that? It doesn’t fucking matter if Hiccup was pressured or if he ended up saving Dragon lives.

[@comicking428]

@@KenLinx If it wasn't about the movie's morality, then he shouldn't have spent the first half of the video accusing Hiccup of animal cruelty and just cut straight to lizard training.

[@KenLinx]

​@@comicking428 Did you watch the video? He only talked about animal cruelty to make the theory more interesting.

[@ryanbarham8464]

Okay, but the Dragons in HTTYD are clearly and demonstrably capable of emotional connection, acting more like cats than lizards. Training one's dragon is possible in-universe because Dragons are not a typical lizard.

[@douglasgrey5961]

hes giving the dragons a ral life parable u cant expect the same results, he even says in the begin hes giving hicup a real life chance

[@lebanemcarl68]

Since dragons don't exist a "real life chance" doesn't make sense unless your using the franchisees dragons. all he said was, oh they're lizards they aren't pets

[@RawrXD256]

Agreed. They clearly have the intelligence to have more than a "lizard brain" anyhow. Look at the emotions that they display for god's sake! I don't know about any of you, but I think matpats wrong on this one.

[@ahmadal-sadoun1496]

Thats what im saying they are not lizards + its not like we had a dragon before and saw their brain

[@oobieboobiekanoobiscoobied5972]

Excactly

[@imaran1303]

Aight, Mat, lemmie correct a few things: 1. Toothless was attacking the village. Hiccup defended his village. 2. Hiccup could have left Toothless alone, problem was that as Gobber said, a downed dragon is a dead dragon. 3. Hiccup never made the tail flap to ride the dragon, this was never his intention, also, he didn't dominate Toothless, he showed the dragon trust and respected his space until HE was willing to come to him. 4. The him riding part was simply a necessity, because again, medieval times, not really a way to create self-moving prosthetics, even in the second movie he only was able to make it lock in place which allowed Toothless to fly in a straight line on his own. 5. Even when riding, Toothless still holds some manner of control as we saw in the flight with Astrid and Hiccup as he refused to obey Hiccup and intended to scare Astrid until she apologized to HIS human that he had grown attached to. 6. The chasing with the saddle was playful, Toothless was playing with Hiccup! And he was congratulating him that his prosthetic worked, cause, let us face it, no one else will! His intention was never to ride Toothless, it just came as a side-thing because, again, Hiccup can't create a prosthetic that Toothless can control. 7. We see more then once that Toothless has learned to trust Hiccup and Hiccup trusts Toothless and as such, they have saved each other more then once.

[@Kalion-mi1zc]

Good theory... BUUUT this is one of my favourite shows so allow me to use a little bit of rebuttal. Firstly the dragons that we see in the first film are domesticated. As in the dragons that wont kill you unstantly. It is directly stated that they protect. Other dragons are shown to be more in line with the wilderness. 2nd I want to talk about toothless. Hiccup shoots down dragon, WITH THE INTENT TO KILL!! This explains why he did those actions, the loss of the tail fin was an accident. The only reason Toothless survived was because Hiccup decided not to kill him. Hiccup then felt bad about rendering Toothless flightless, so he build him a new tail fin. Now at this time hiccup is smart, but not smart enough to make an automated tail. So he builds a basic design, attatches it to Toothless. This is the point where toothless 'runs away from the human predator'. Which is 1000% wrong. Toothless feels like he has his tail back and so just wants to dash into the sky, at this point Toothless completly forgets about Hiccup and just wants to fly. About controll. It is shown that Hiccup can actualy have absolute controll over Toothless. But that has only been shown once, Ever. In fact in the first film we see Toothless use scare tactics on Astrid, as Toothless does not like her at this point. Next up is the auto tail. How does hiccup have ANY controll over it? I must have missed that in my multiple viewings. Also what you didn't say is how it ended. Hiccup saying that Toothless has a tail giving him absolute controll, so Toothless breaks it. Activly willing to be able to fly with Hiccup. What else, oh yeah dragon intelligence. Dragons are smarter then any other creature, meaning that they CAN be trained like a dog. If not better. In fact night furys where supposed to be possiably even smarter then humans. They DO have capacity for emotions. So there is my rebuttle to this theory. If anyone who ever reads this had any questions or any othet form of comment, please reply. I would love to explain my rebuttle more.

[@bamboozledbamboozler]

Jesus.... But yeah well put. this is repetitive but mats theories and getting shittier each upload

[@animalanomalies1601]

i agree completely. I think he just wants to start a complicated question about there friendship. Yes hiccup was selfish but he was only that way becouse of his own insecurities .also he wasn't really keeping him as a slave if toothless was ok with it like a dog is ok with you walking it. wasn't until the end of the third movie he learned they can't all live together peacefully anymore.

[@AncientED5]

I regret hitting read more

[@timothycarlsson9082]

100% on-board with you dude

[@jadonwinchell2421]

I am such a huge fan of the httyd series, and watching this made me flip

[@greekmyths8804]

Wait a second matpat, hold it right there, i'd like to make some counterpoints if you'd allow me 1. kidnapping and relying on stockholm syndrome are how i make all my friends 2. dragon behaviour in the films doesn't map onto normal lizard behaviour, often suggesting they have a different neurophysiology, just as they have a different biology in general (you may not of noticed but most lizards can't actually breath fire) one of the most important factors demonstrating this unusual behaviour is prominent in the first two films and you even glanced on it in this video, dragons seems to be semi-eusocial, sometimes exhibiting social interactions and sometimes exhibiting eusocial, for social interactions we can look at some of the smaller species of dragon in particular, the terrible terrors which as we can see at the beach and in the way they are adopted by the sage congregate in groups or packs, and another species in the tv series called night terrors exhibits a defined hierarchy with a group of dragons working together like a shoal to imitate a larger dragon around the direction of a single central dragon. for eusocial interactions we must merely look at the main antagonistic dragons in the first two movies, a "queen" and a challenger "king" who are able to influence/control the minds of the other dragons, as many eusocial interactions are often (incorrectly) displayed as being, in fact i'd argue that this interaction is even more complicated (and more likely to allow for training in the non-dominant species) as it is clearly a multi-species communal eusocial hierarchy, something that doesn't even occur in nature in this way. 3. Now by this point you may well be thinking that the examples given don't necessarily indicate that toothless specifically may be trainable, he is a night fury and a separate species after all, maybe he is an exception, except of course... we see him give in to both these behaviour types. firstly, eusocially he obeys the rogue alpha for sometime and we first meet him as he is helping the red death. Socially we see him interacting with dragons, think of how he takes to cloudjumper in the second movie, and also of acting more like a dog in the third movie, such as playing fetch with hiccups leg, I know that your argument is that as a descendent of lizards he shouldn't act in these ways, but it is amazing how diverse behaviour can be within a group, a fact i would've hoped you knew well, oh mattypatty-one, a fact i will elaborate in shortly within point... 4. The first example i would put forward for range of behaviours within a group would obviously be insects, but that range is too broad, so i shall narrow it down all the way to just bees, which have (to the best of my knowledge) two main behaviour types, solitary and eusocial something you mentioned at least in passing in your bee movie theory. Secondly as i might remind you mammals can display social (humans, meerkats, wolves) and eusocial interactions (naked mole rats). 5. while i understand your point that lizards in general do not display the areas of the brain necessary for these complex interactions, under the right conditions it is possible, surely, that say, one branch (the draconic branch for example) could develop similar regions which act in a similar way through convergent evolution. 6. ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm... but thats just a theory, a comments theory?

[@greekmyths8804]

@@manastorm5308 okay i looked it up, and will be correcting it shortly, the first are terrible terrors, and the second are as you said night terrors, thank you

[@greekmyths8804]

@@briannaleogreen9344 I think of those as the important ones, the rest is just filler

[@dranflame_1236]

Okay then.....

[@xx_soul52_xx97]

Matpat: Dragon = big lizard Comments: Yes but actually no

[@inflammatorycommentswithno2407]

Reported

[@Hh-zw8db]

A_ 003 .

[@ilebillybobjoe]

A_ 003 No u

[@a._.n516]

I would like your comment, but it kinda has a perfect 300 likes, so...

[@inflammatorycommentswithno2407]

ilebillybobjoe that’s offensive I reported u too get rekt lmao gonna get fucked by KZbin. Cya bye 👋🏻 banned cya cya cya

[@ahshitherewegoagain8695]

I was re-watching this video and realised a common trend in the comment section. People complaining that "MatPat wasn't acknowledging the fact that dragons are smart" or "Hiccup and Toothless were already friends". I think you missed the point of the video. What he was trying to convey was that *you cannot train a dragon IRL* . The point was never about whether Hiccup trained his dragon properly or not, but whether his tactics could be applied to real life reptile counterparts of dragons. Granted, he did make a few wrong comments about the movie that might've made you assume he was talking about the feasibility of the movie, but I hope they were sarcastic comments rather than him literally looking away from the plot of the film.

[@HTPCYMC]

In Soviet Russia, you do not train your dragon. _Your dragon trains you_

[@prammetacon3010]

Sexy.

[@kingslayer3089]

In Soviet chinar Trains dragoning you

[@melodysketchdraws]

@Emilio Pena this is matpats channel lmao

[@samh.495]

In America, you find Lost World, but in SOVIET RUSSIA, Lost World finds YOU.

[@imperialguardsman135]

*furry bdsm degenerates have joined the chat*

[@slimytoilet7735]

Toothless is more like a cat bat hybrid than a flying lizard..

[@kingliammc8420]

Because he is based on on a cat

[@slimytoilet7735]

king liam mc meow

[@kacperxt371]

I would say toothless dinosaur, pterodactyl (that isn't dinosaur) and cat hybrid

[@josephcanetejr.9946]

Yea

[@emptyricebowl]

It’s more of a bearded dragon.. but yeah sure

[@brunocurso2429]

You're missing the point. Dragons in the HTTYD universe are NOT just like lizards, they display near-sentient behaviour throughout the serious. And seem to even be able to feel and display complex emotional behaviour.

[@absi49]

chill lol, people take some of mat videos waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to seriously, just sit and enjoy without getting butthurt bcs someone said something you disagree about a movie you like

[@yesicalicht4882]

@@absi49 actually, I think he just said it normally and that he brought up a nice fact. In the end *it's just a theory*

[@roji3910]

@@absi49 chill dude

[@ajaxtanner874]

@@yesicalicht4882 *A FILM THEORY*

[@charlesquinton9127]

@@absi49 It seems pretty logical to me. It's not about butthurt, it's about matpat ignoring crucial imperical evidence to the contrary of his theory. The fact is, those animals display complex emotional behavior beyond any reptile we have here on earth. Circumventing that and drawing arbitrary comparisons to real-life lizards anyway is just a bad theory.

[@defthunter3962]

and there go's another childhood movie but yet I cant stop watching this channel lol

[@R.Sinnia]

Says Dragons are glorified cats in the "How To Train Your Dragon" universe Uses lizard as a close representation to dragons. 10/10 Matt.

[@iwansays]

Dragon is a mythical creature which intelligence is capable of surpassing a human's. I think that's the part of the legend. Am I wrong?

[@R.Sinnia]

@@iwansays Me: Are dragons are real?

[@iwansays]

@@R.Sinnia That's why I said "mythical".

[@R.Sinnia]

@@iwansays does mythical means maybe real or may not?? Because I am in India and I am not that much fluent in english. 😅

[@iwansays]

@@R.Sinnia It's unreal. That's why dragons shouldn't be classified as common reptiles.

[@kittymoonlove01]

MattPat: Makes a video assuming dragons in HTTYD are like lizards and can't feel complex emotions Fans: Push back and correct him MattPat: *surprised Pikachu meme*

[@nikt12]

the Question was could you train one in real life. Dragons are fictional. The closest thing we have in real life is a lizard. A komodo dragon.

[@awesomesausome1557]

@@nikt12 because we all know if it looks the same, we can apply everything to it! A worm is BASICALLY a caterpillar, a bird is the exact same as a bat. Dinosaurs? Just big ol lizards! The topic was about training a dragon, if you wanna train something it isn't about it's body, it's about it's brain. Dragons clearly act differently from lizards so we should choose something that acts closer like say, a cat the very thing they compare the dragons behavior to? Or some other animal that fills a similar niche in the natural world?

[@nikt12]

@@awesomesausome1557 and you are basing this on what? a children's movie? "dragons clearly act differently from lizards" wrong. The correct sentence is "dragons don't exist so we have to base them on their closest relatives"

[@GrandMasterPlays]

@@nikt12 And from the movies, it seems like their closest relatives are... cats, not lizards

[@matheussandbakk9959]

@@nikt12 True, a dragon acts exactly how the author wrote it as, be it a mindless and feral beast or a thoughtful and philosophical creature with godlike powers.

[@noahdacheese839]

Missed opportunity. How do giant lizards fly would've been a way more interesting theory to craft and explore.

[@westform22]

I know right?

[@ConfyLizard]

holow bones,maybe a special sack that has bacteria that produce a gas like helium so they make them lighter,powerfull muscles for flying...any other ideas?

[@Elfos64]

I remember animal planet did a mockumentary on how dragons might work like 15 years ago, plus there's the candlewick Dragonology book.

[@JHDRAGONEYE]

Maybe their homes are also quite thin.

[@user-fi3or2ee7k]

To find out how, I SAWED THIS DRAGON IN HALF AND FIXED IT WITH FLEX TAPE!

[@TheBruhh7274]

Man I just watched the first two movies and I love how to train your dragon already

[@alfredxsiv]

The Dragons were not "literally at their throats a few hours before". It was shown in the movie they were only in the village to gather food, in which the vikings tried to defend, that results to the dragons defending themselves. It was also shown near the ending, when they went to the nest, that the dragons didn't attack the vikings, hundreds of dragons literally flew past the invading vikings. But hey, it's just a theory

[@CoolCarGuy]

Matpat: Dragons act like cats. Also Matpat: Dragons are basically reptiles. Me: *visual confusion*

[@lazycookie552]

Dragons are now known as catiles part cat part reptile

[@davidficca8963]

Same

[@kennyg6340]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5PElINre8aMo9k

[@VGMStudios33]

Why are so many people in the comments so stupid.

[@aronasagna787]

@Dank Matter jeux

[@kevinr.9733]

"Stormfly, drop it. Good girl. Stormfly, fetch." ...Yeah, these dragons are at least as cerebrally developed as your average mammal.

[@ScareSans]

he's not talking about in the movie, he's talking about reality, even if dragons were real.

[@wolfawo4962]

Correct

[@ScareSans]

@Milo Dog ..........he said if THESE dragons were in real life. The dragons there might have developed brains, but they wouldn't here. *That's his point*

[@issabellamerie7139]

​@@ScareSans If he was talking about real life dragons then he should have said "and no we will not be using the dragons from the movie instead we will be using real-life dragons because the dragons in the movie clearly show higher intelligence then most reptiles" no he said if those dragons were in our world, meaning he takes those dragons, every aspect of those dragons, and puts them in our world. He can't just act like THOSE dragons are normal lizards, instead, he should say that he is using dragons from our world.

[@landostar25]

You never fail to ruin my childhood... RESPECT!

[@hassanalbaghalaf7485]

Actually in gift of night fury toothless had complete control of the tail and later on destroyed it cause he'd rather have his old one where hiccup and him fly together

[@riggs6358]

It was of toothless's own free will TO GET RID OFF THE TAIL in gift of the nightfury because they share a unbreakable bond. It's not about Hiccup having control over Toothless, they fly together as one, which is shown in the second movie when toothless is blindfolded to shut out the alpha. Which also in the second movie towards the end using the bond they share to break Toothless free of the alphas control, because of that bond. you can't have that with a lizard which i agree with but dragons are in a category of their own because in the movie they show emotion and they don't show normal lizard behavior. And when Hiccup shot toothless down in the first movie he tried to give Toothless a fighting chance at making a full recovery and finally figured it out in the short. he didn't just do it to CONTROl toothless. He just couldn't figure out HOW. But when he did TOOTHLESS CAME BACK. So I disagree with this one Matpat. No disrespect intended

[@calvinjohnson6242]

Stitch27 ~ MatPat deserves no sympathy for this one. MATPAT, I’M CALLING YOU OUT ON YOUR BOGUS!

[@1babyevey]

I 10000 percent agree

[@DrewLSsix]

Toothless doesn’t have the brain to make that decision, besides.... you actually see him make the decision to LEAVE Hiccup many times in the first film only to become conditioned to relying on him.

[@audreykirsten9511]

DrewLSsix again, toothless is not the only dragon. Every one of the other dragons have free will to fly but they chose to stay, and once hiccup found a way to make a tail wing for toothless to fly on his own, he came back anyway

[@audreykirsten9511]

DrewLSsix oh yeah, im pretty sure he does have the brain to choose, in gift of the night fury he chose to stay and in the hidden world he chose to leave, 2 different choices

[@Bradenb_idek]

Is everyone forgetting that hiccup made a tail flap that allowed toothless to fly but toothless chose to destroy it

[@pichuoleander]

right...

[@HiccupHorrendousHaddockThe3rd]

That's true I did.

[@LITTLEBRAT775081]

where is a clip ?

[@LionCreats]

@@LITTLEBRAT775081 it happened in the short film "how to train your dragon: gift of the night fury" towards the end

[@alexjewett7455]

Only matpat, apparently.

[@awol_b]

How to train your dragon: YELL AT IT loudly

[@charlotteinfinito3581]

Yes but the dragons are shown to have emotional relationships with their owners so maybe the dragons are different than most other reptiles and can be trained and conditioned

[@MrMuffin2018]

Fun fact, birds are VERY closely related to reptiles. (Phylogenetically, they ARE reptiles.) Corvids are pretty damn smart, and many birds can be affectionate.

[@tarekjishi7829]

Matpat:A dragon who can’t fly is a dead dragon Speedstingers:Am I A Joke To You

[@byronkelly4374]

CAVERN CRASHERS TO

[@notaccessible3741]

Well, those dragons can defend them selves. They’ve evolved. Most dragons haven’t.

[@rocksnrolls]

Glaurung: HAHAHA. SURE PUNY HUMAN

[@angiecoltrane3631]

Speed stingers. Cavern crashers. And bewilderbeasts just to name a few. That should have been a dragon designed to fly but can't is a dead dragon.

[@huirobert9424]

purple death, green death, bewilderbeasts, cavern crashers, speed stingers, toothless without fin, and Gravedigger. Gravedigger is the Whispering Death with the bioluminescent lights. Yeah Matpat, yeah.

[@holycrusader3119]

matpat: "the dragon is a slave and it doesn't have human like emotions" after toothless has shown human-like emotion and intelligence, just in the first movie. Plus a dragon could survive without wings. And toothless and hiccup definately have a bond by the way they act-

[@pichuoleander]

I KNOW. I think matpat was looking for something to theorize about here really.

[@reptilesceptile1035]

"a dragon that can't fly, is a dead dragon" is said a lot in the movies

[@flynnw3431]

Oh and some dragons don't ever have wings.

[@reptilesceptile1035]

@@flynnw3431 but those are made to fly

[@alexjewett7455]

If they can't fly anymore, they're going to have a lot more trouble finding food and escaping predators.

[@myleswelnetz6700]

At the end of the third movie, the people of Berk set their dragons free. It was a long time coming, but that was the right thing to do.

[@JadeyCatgirl99]

In most depictions of dragons, including this movie, they are shown to be more intelligent than real reptiles, so they may be trainable.

[@RKyle-wx6rp]

TheAres1999 I was looking for a comment about this. Nearly all the lore on dragons has them highly intelligent, sometimes even sentient

[@lightsilv]

Honestly i'd say dragons are probably closer related to birds then modern reptiles.

[@joncowart1321]

Like a scaly mammal.

[@satsujin-shathewitchkingof6185]

Miyu Aria the only reason that they’re reptiles is the physical features however emotionally they are more like mammals

[@rezkin_kdt7034]

Not necessarily, since what we consider as intelligence does not mean it is trainable. Since you are putting them on a human intelligence scale not an animal one, because they are two completely different things. Intelligence for animals is about how fast it can adapt within its capabilities. So there would be no way of saying that... well to be fair dragons are a specious onto themselves and there is no way to really define them. So trying to relate them is completely inconsequential, since most dragons have brains more similar to humans or cats then reptiles. But if we consider it a reptile brain, for what we know, is that the brain of a reptile would not necessarily be trainable as what we consider a cat trained, or a human trained. Since you could consider that a reptile is trained if it can touch a button to get food. There is just to much to explain and to many ways this could be interpreted as, some your right, most others your wrong, because even if you made a reptile more intelligent as how we consider them intelligent, they could not be trained like other pets, EX. cat, dogs, e.t.c.

[@ezekieljakobs1145]

"these dragons are glorified cats!" "cats are real pets" "these aren't real pets!" the math aint addin up somewhere

[@jimbo4333]

@Daydreamy Zee What do you mean, 2+2 does not equal 4. na it’s fish

[@trashtavis9344]

Dragons = Glorified Cats Cats = Real Pers Therefore we can assume Dragons = real pets

[@gjjkkjhgggjnbggt4088]

Logic

[@perseusa3358]

Thank you

[@iwatchstuffs7933]

it's evolving, just backwarfs

[@ZachariahMBaird]

I think the dragons in HTTYD are a lot smarter than normal lizards. They act like they have emotions.

[@buzaspeter6960]

Well, this entire theory is based on lizards not having properly evolved brains to be trained. In the movies universe, reptiles clearly evolved in a different direction. Who knows? They might have developed other parts of the brain, rendering the entire theory false.

[@ninosegers]

Yeah not because it looks like a lizard that it is a lizard. Could be convergend evolution

[@TheRibottoStudios]

But then toothless fucking ups and leaves as soon as he gets his new new tail. Soooooooo yea.

[@Brandd1]

Yea I was just thinking about how in a lot of stories, dragons are actually extremely intelligent, so it's not really fair to compare a mythical creature to ordinary reptiles.

[@cyfour]

They definitely have advanced emotions, as we see in every single movie in the trilogy

[@shelbysittig1047]

This is my husband’s favorite franchise. Thanks for covering this great franchise.

[@sebastiancallemesa724]

I'm a big fan of this channel, but I feel like this theory has some holes in it so I'dont really agree with it

[@shmooters5599]

That’s why it’s just a theory

[@hawkersjetsammitt]

@@shmooters5599 a lazy one

[@comicking428]

Yeah, he ignored plenty of elements in the films that establish that what Hiccup did isn't animal cruelty. Hiccup didn't even have restrictions on the prosthetic tail in GOTNF.

[@garygordle5146]

He definitely didn’t watch the shows

[@sarcasticcookies1269]

@@comicking428 i thought i seriously missed something in the GOTN when he mentioned hiccup controlling the independent prosthetic

[@JohnDlugosz]

I think you are wrong about a central issue you presented: Dragons having a "reptile brain". The dragons in the movie are powerful flyers and this level of energy would require warm-bloodedness. They are also naturally social. So, they make look like lizards with wings, but they are _distantly_ descended from reptiles in the same way as mammals and birds. Their skin covering resembles the lizard skin, unlike fur or feathers. So they look like lizards _to us_ because that is a major distinguishing characteristic. Look at the size of the dragon's eyes: it probably hunts from the air and relies on acute vision. So it may have a brain more like that of a falcon, not an alligator. Clearly something drastic happened to their lineage, since they have six limbs. Tetrapods -- all the mammals, birds, and reptiles -- are stuck with four and this was developmentally locked in fairly early on. This is not a superficial difference, but something that goes back to the most ancient ancestors. This suggests that they branched off _earlier_ than all extant tetrapods, back when they were just beginning to adapt to land. So, they are as closely related to lizards as they are to humans! That is, not much at all. They went their own way and over the same time span evolved the same traits as birds and mammals. Just because the _look_ like lizards with wings does not mean they are closely related. I suggest that the wild animal model would be more like the Parrot. I happen to have one: not a domesticated species, but just a few generations out of the wild, and is a "socialized" individual of a wild species. Parrots come in many species of varied appearance -- in fact, two different branches are lumped under the casual term. Many are social, smart problem solvers, and friendly when raised as a pet. Oh, and this one likes to have his head scratched, too.

[@-lijosu-]

Better theory than the video.

[@zachp8163]

Yeah to be honest they are a pretty social species as they have alphas and courtships

[@laurel9629]

I just posted a theory on how the dragons here already likely more of a synapsid species than a lizard one. Guess I should have read the comments first! Good analysis!

[@bluelightstudios6191]

It went from explaining how dragons are different creatures from lizards to a pet parrot that likes getting it's head scratched

[@thatonejenny_87]

John Długosz thank you so much for saying this. Throughout the entire video I was basically yelling “THEY ARENT FRICKING LIZARDS”

[@BiggestPhangirl]

I honestly do feel like you've overlooked some important details in the movie, and perhaps don't know about the answers the directors gave the audience. The HTTYD directors based Toothless and the Light Fury off of jaguars and lions, NOT reptiles. Other dragons like Stormfly were based off other animals or animal mixes, but they're only reptilian in appearance. Dragons are shown to be more intelligent than corvids (family of birds including birds like crows, ravens, and rooks), which are so incredibly intelligent they’re in a class of their own, meaning that dragons must be unique reptiles not just because they breathe fire and fly, but because they clearly do not have the same brain structure as a komodo dragon. Toothless isn’t “just a passenger in his own body.” He's demonstrated multiple times that Hiccup matters to him more than his own freedom. The first step to taming a bird is to stick it in its cage and leave it alone for a couple of weeks. Birds eventually come to like their cages and will return to them rather frequently even after being given freedom-not unlike how Toothless returns to Hiccup even when he’s allowed to roam on his own. He doesn’t like being separated from Hiccup for long periods, as shown in HTTYD Homecoming when he begs the Light Fury to go back to Hiccup, and her reaction indicates it is far from the first time he's asked. Even being the alpha dragon, even having a family of his own, even moving across the sea and down a hole, is not enough to completely separate him from Hiccup. The second step to taming a bird is to let the bird come to you, which I will say, is something Hiccup did get right. He left Toothless alone in a cove, let the dragon get used to his presence and environment, but did not force Toothless to be pet or held or anything of the sort. He allowed Toothless to come to him. The third step is actually something else Hiccup got right: hand feeding. Hiccup directly gives Toothless a fish from his hands, instead of putting it down and running away to observe from afar. Doing this with birds assures them that the hand is safe and good. Some birds will regurgitate food to "feed" a human they've bonded with in the same way the human has fed them. Flock birds in particular are notorious for this behavior because the flock shares food. Sound familiar at all? Finally, moving on from bird taming (which is consistent with Hiccup's methods of dragon taming), while you called the tail inhumane and an example of animal cruelty, you didn't stop to consider that Hiccup didn't even know his first tail would work. That was the prototype, the trial tail, to make sure this was the reason Toothless couldn't fly. The realization of why Toothless couldn't fly and how the tail functioned and allowed Toothless to fly (steering) only occurred to him when he manually spread and moved the prosthetic tail fin. How could he have known how Toothless could control an invention even HE didn't know how to control? So, practice. I feel like, despite Toothless crashing without Hiccup in control, this was a necessary step towards Toothless' independence. Once Hiccup learned how the tail controls worked, he could invent one that Toothless could control HOWEVER...when he finally did... In “Gift of the Night Fury” Hiccup made Toothless a fully-functioning tail fitted for Toothless’ control, and had no measure to give himself any other control. At the end, Toothless valued their relationship more than his own independence and told Hiccup he wanted to be ridden - of his OWN volition mind you - by smashing and permanently destroying the new tail, then pushing his old tail towards Hiccup. Astrid references this in HTTYD 3 when Hiccup is recreating this tail: “You tried this before, he didn’t want it.” If you remember, when trying to train Toothless (and himself) to fly, he had Toothless tethered so he wouldn't get hurt. But Berk still hated dragons at that time, there was no way for him to build a safe obstacle course.

[@erin8050]

I don't think he was even at the stage of testing if the missing fin was the whole reason he was so shocked the prostetic worked. I think he mostly made that one to test placement, size, and material of the prostetic. Yes he figured the missing fin was the reason Toothless was downed but he didn't expect Toothless to be able to take off, at least not with that version. That fin was the dragon equivalent of a human trying on an outfit in a store to see if they actually think it looks good on them and then move on to finding the right size. Yes we think it's nice or fits but we won't know until we try it on.

[@Warfighter23]

Thank you for saying that I thought he ruined httyd😊

[@BiggestPhangirl]

I’be tamed/trained many birds in my time and immediately recognized the process that Hiccup was using. Some of these dragons are based off birds, so I wouldn’t be surprised is the directors dug into bird training as the process and cat enrichment for the…well, the enrichment. I’m shocked MatPat didn’t mention ANY of what I said. They seemed like key components in the movie and help explain why dragons don’t act like normal reptiles. Birds, in fact, are now classified as reptiles as well so if corvids can be that intelligent and ANY bird can create emotional bonds and be trained, why can’t dragons?

[@YourLocalTransDemiboy]

Dragons are more bird-like.

[@amberplays4685]

Agreed.

[@wildraptor4638]

The Dragons in these films display clear emotional capability, far beyond the ability of any known reptile in real life. While you did prove a valid point on the attainability of training a lizard, that doesn't correlate to training these dragons.

[@Lucky-yc3vp]

This theory completely ignores that dragons _clearly_ have relationships _and_ emotions in this franchise, as it's a central focus of the films and show. Also, you do realize that the whole tail system thing that Hiccup made in the first movie was the first time in the Dreamworks Dragons universe that anyone had ever done prosthetic work for a dragon and that Hiccup's only 15 in the film, right?

[@matthewhovey6710]

he did do a independent thing when he had a chance, and when he was more experienced. TOOTHLESS DESTROYED THAT THING

[@yaboiiiandquinton7515]

He says that toothless was forcee but every other dragon wasnt though

[@sinsyre8629]

He was basing his theory off facts not Hollywood magic

[@rezalishah]

Good job buddy 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@altagos9265]

@@sinsyre8629 thank you for clearing this up

[@thierrykodakovic3788]

Toothless is based on a cat. not a Komodo dragon

[@stanleyloterte9084]

a cat or a bat

[@duckduck3727]

@@stanleyloterte9084 both there big cats with wings

[@thierrykodakovic3788]

​@@stanleyloterte9084 Toothless acts like a cat and users bat like abilities. so a cat bat?

[@thierrykodakovic3788]

@@yogeybogeybear3542 yeah but you gotta admit that they act like cats

[@duckduck3727]

@@yogeybogeybear3542 no they act like cats

[@TheBigRedskull]

MatPat: This sweet, intelligent, and innocent dragon is being subjected to a slave for Hiccupp Also MatPat: These dragons have no emotional or mental capability and are basically lizards

[@TheOverturned]

Thank you.

[@taleleny5999]

And also Hiccup didn't HURT Toothless on purpose, it was a lucky shot to capture him with minimum damage (yes rocks, but he didn't launch deadly blades at him) AND it was self defense.

[@sirprincethelancer7433]

Tale Leny that better than being found, captured, and eaten. Without a chance of winning since he can’t fly

[@taleleny5999]

Yeah and Toothless took advantage more of Hiccup than vice-versa, because Hiccup freed all the dragons from the big one. Toothless is like a cool kid that acts like a bully but its actually a sad clueless idiot baby that feels like he just needed a friend which makes the crowd soft for him.

[@dranos3565]

He REALLY wants to try to present a theory based off the movie, when in reality its just a video about how real Lizards normally act

[@I_am_him_42069]

why did he forget that hiccup himself claimed that toothless denied taking the self-controlling tail earlier, even astrid backed it up I think