How To Train Your Dragon vs. Disability Tropes

[@mintycrazy4175]

We can't forget about bucket tho! He got brain damaged (lost half of it) when he was attacked by a dragon (at least from what we hear), and yet this doesn't hinder him. He is an amazing artist, a terrific fisherman, and a decent farmer. He was also able to train a hideous zippleback with mulch and is able to ride it perfectly. He is a little forgetful and absent minded, but it only makes him more lovable. On a smaller note, he also has a hook for a hand. In short, bucket lost half of his brain and his hand, yet he's still a respected and proper viking despite these disabilities.

[@KayoMichiels]

Not to mention he's voiced by Thomas F. Wilson, Aka Biff, Griff and Buford Tannen from the Back to the future franchise.

[@omegaforcezero5440]

And he does get affected by bad weather. In the series the community gets terrified when they hear his bucket is tight, cause that means that a storm is coming up

[@forsakenfish]

Who???

[@All_Your_Fandom_Needs]

@@forsakenfish he's from the TV series

[@mintycrazy4175]

@@forsakenfish bucket is a character in the tv series

[@ariameyer3909]

Also, gothi is mute and nobody cares. She writes with a stick and the only jokes made are not at her but gobber for not reading very well. Also, she's one of the most powerful people in all of berk and it is never seen as a problem.

[@carolynberge2919]

Yes! I also love the scene where Astrid is making the A Team chant together and Gothi is madly scribbling on the ground 😁

[@ascaredmilipede7971]

You dont get on your healers bad side

[@kanduyog1182]

@@ascaredmilipede7971 Easier said than done in most mmorpgs.

[@jenniferchaulam]

/yooo i need a clip of that pls i cant find which is it

[@carolynberge2919]

@@jenniferchaulam Sorry! The episode is actually called “Team Astrid”. It’s S2E1 of Race To the Edge and happens around the 11:20 mark (Netflix counters work backwards so that’s 11:20 from the end. ) 😊

[@Thunderous115]

I know I'm late to the party. But addressing the part where Hiccup wakes up with his new leg. Most or a significant portion of Berk's population are amputees. And they, for a long time, had to be ready to fight at just about any time. Honestly, I'd say these folks wearing their prosthetics while sleeping to be realistic. They couldn't afford the time to put on a prosthetic during an emergency. And sure, some of the prosthetics were shown to be put on or replaced fairly quickly. But even seconds count in an emergency.

[@quinnthefox2289]

I have to agree with you on that. It really makes sense in a society where fighting is common and scars are a guarantee, I’d say they would find a way to be able to sleep with prosthetics on.

[@sorrowdanger4098]

Yeah they’re often up to fight dragons at midnight with next to no warning and time is precious

[@amethyst_cat9532]

There's another angle found in modern amputation care (though I am neither an amputee nor a medical expert, so take this with a grain of salt) for that scene: psychology. Pain is how the body tells the brain that something needs attention, usually for damage control purposes, but if the brain has no idea how to interpret what it's getting? Pain. When the brain isn't receiving stimulus from the amputated limb, it sends out pain signals from where the missing limb is supposed to be because it wants to know what the heck is going on. These pain signals are called phantom pains. Having something there or tricking your brain into thinking there's something there (sometimes by wearing a prosthetic, sometimes by using mirror therapy, which is just positioning a mirror so it LOOKS like your limbs are all there) can sometimes help ease the phantom pains.

[@liv-uu1fi]

Also, they probably just put Hiccup in bed?? This is the first time Hiccup wakes up so obviously he's going to wake up with his prosthetic ON, right? He might not even know how to put it on.

[@nortalian549]

I had the same thought about Gobber making the joke. Up to that point, I imagine someone losing a limb was rather commonplace due to fighting dragons on the regular. It’s extremely understandable that they joke about it. I mean sure, not being injured would technically be preferable to being injured, but if the question is injury or death, they are going to be happy being accommodating their fellow Viking adjust to their new injury/prosthetic

[@psykopath334]

One big thing helping in the focus of this movie is the line when they say "We're viking, this is just enviromental hazard" (or something like that). Disability in berk is not only not shamed upon but highly respected. It's a war scar, in a viking village. Also it's a really great movie, gotta say it.

[@cockycookie1]

Socially acceptable disabilities, anyway.

[@flounderingfish2480]

The line is “We’re vikings, it’s an occupational hazard” in case you were still wondering ^^

[@insertchannelname1223]

@@cockycookie1 are you referencing that Viggo (and Drago, I think) are some of the only ones whose appearances were _altered_ and not just added onto by their injury, and by extension, disability, to the aforementioned lack of burn victims, or something else?

[@loturzelrestaurant]

@@insertchannelname1223 RANDOM Fun-Fact: Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud with his Vaccine-Video. And before that, Cynical Reviews reviwed SIA's terrible Autism Movie. Just for youre information.

[@marcusdaloia2974]

Also pirates. Pirates are also really good about disabilities.

[@miratarnish6316]

I remember watching the first film as a kid and feeling really surprised and caught off guard that the hero became disabled, like it felt like this weird forbidden thing too dark for kids movies. The fact that I reacted like that is kind of a testament to how little representation disability gets in media, and how sorely it is needed in order to normalise and show respect for the community.

[@lycan623]

I was like on a weirdly different spectrum but similar in a sense, where I didn't really think much of it but also at the same time was like, "oh hiccup doesn't have a leg anymore." I thought it was odd because it's not something I'd ever seen before in a movie, but I grew up watching AtlA (specifically Toph) and my mums got a severe back disability so it didn't register as taboo but more as, "Oh wow, Hiccup doesn't have a leg anymore." not as a "they made hiccup disabled can they do that?" Tldr, I ramble and am bad at structuring my thoughts, I didn't get surprised/caught off guard because I've been exposed to lots of disabilities (fictional and real), especially because I was exposed to seeing someone have to deal with it on a daily basis. I just thought it was interesting that you had that experience and how mine was different because of my Mum and how (I assume that you're not disabled) because of this we had such vastly different reactions because of a few small differences in our lives.

[@Munchkin.Of.Pern09]

My response was more similar to Lycan’s, from what I remember. Also a huge fan of ATLA and FMA:B - and there was a girl in my neighbourhood who had lost her leg as a baby due to the umbilical cord wrapping around it and cutting off the blood flow… though I don’t remember much of what I thought of her back then, aside from being unsure if I was allowed to ask what had happened to her leg.

[@moseyonover733]

Or like... it's just inherently dark for a character to lose a limb within the timeframe of the story?

[@yourlocaltherapistfriend5091]

my child self was like: wait... main characters can get hurt?? what??? (context: every main character I had seen up until then, when placed in any life threatening situation always emerged unscathed no matter the apparent odds)

[@huhhuh9598]

@@yourlocaltherapistfriend5091 I can vouch for characters never being really harmed in animated stories, the most prominens example was back when I watched the first lion king I was 100% sure about untill the end of the movie that they would ressurect Simba's father because I have already realized that they never kill off innocent characters in childrens tv shows or give them lasting damage, so I was more surprised at Mufasa staying dead than him dying first.

[@rebekahl840]

I feel like most of the "leg jokes" as they have been come to known as, come from the twins, which makes sense because they are the jokers. No-one is pointing unnecessary fun at Hiccup because of it.

[@loturzelrestaurant]

Fun-Fact: Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud with his Vaccine-Video. And before that, Cynical Reviews reviwed SIA's terrible Autism Movie. Just for youre information.

[@persepersecution]

the one I remember the best was when hiccup ha like three backup legs and they kept breaking, and the twins were ejoking that in more ways than one, eh was on his 'last leg'

[@customerservice1323]

@@loturzelrestaurant huh

[@amog8202]

@@persepersecution I honestly do love how well they did the jokes. They're not offensive as they are... jokes. And they're not even just "ha, one leg", theyre all well constructed and/or light-hearted.

[@isabelle8940]

@@persepersecution the twins are brilliant, but i think the ones i remember best are snotlout's, saying he "wouldn't like to be on hiccup's shoe" and the iconic "hiccup haddock, losing a leg and a backbone" the writers of rtte really nailed the humour abt hiccup's disability

[@agendrairbendr1717]

Gothi was mute, Viggo ended up blind in one eye, post-redemption arc Dagur is (in my opinion, correct me if I’m wrong) portrayed as neurodivergent, there are a few blind species of dragon. Combine this with the way the characters seem perfectly comfortable with queer relationships (eg the gang joking about Fishlegs/Hiccup) Httyd is probably one of the most supportive things in mainstream media.

[@Ali-With-An-I]

Don't forget Snotlout's massive crush on Thor Bonecrusher... If I remember correctly, there was even a scene after Fishlegs returned to normal for the last time, Where Snotlout said "I'll never forget you, Thor" and either kissed him or hugged him, I can't recall which. Plus, Gobber is canonically gay, as per "This is why I never married... That and one other reason" and confirmation from the director. Plus, tons of Vikings have missing limbs and disabilities of all kinds in all 3 movies - all in all, tons of great representation that isn't pushed for brownie points, but rather just as part of the experience of life.

[@ashleypisarts]

@@Ali-With-An-I Wait a minute, I never caught onto the queer representation.. that’s honestly so cool.

[@lucyandecember2843]

Theres also that one episode where Astrid gets blinded aswell

[@melol560]

Yep! There are plenty of jokes throughout the series and the movies one of my favorites is when Tuffnut tells Snotlout to let go of his waist so the Wingmaidens dont think he's taken and its said so casually its not even that Snotlouts a guy its just that Tuffnut didnt want to be thought as taken by the "attractive flying women" (idk if that made sense)

[@karisertel7407]

@Amy Holland Gobber is canonically gay, it's confirmed

[@kaioker]

hiccup DOES mention pain, but only once. Race to the Edge S2E06 when the zippleback fills his house with fish, he makes a comment about his leg needing to be filed down as it was pinching him, but was interrupted by the aforementioned fish

[@jostaaaa]

another thing in that show in one of the earlier episodes is when toothless had to put on gronckle iron armor and was noticeably bothered, so hiccup said something along the lines of "i know bud, trust me..i know how itchy metal on your skin can be" lolol

[@hungariangiraffe6361]

​@@jostaaaa yes, this is why metal armours always had leather or clothes under them. With the other reason being that this way the change of it's temperature won't hurt the wearer that much. And also in the case of helmets, imagine wearing a cauldron on your head and someone hits it with a mace.😂 It would be terrible, you need leather or cloth to reduce the power of the hit.

[@hungariangiraffe6361]

In one episode (I don't remember which) he said "Everything hurts. *takes off leg* Even this."

[@kaioker]

@@hungariangiraffe6361 Riders of Berk S1E01 'How to start a Dragon Academy' @ 10:10

[@bonnafide2606]

My dad was a double amputee missing both of his legs from the knees down. He got prosthetic legs so that he could walk fairly well with a cane. To complete the effect, he could fit his old shoes on the feet of the prosthetics, and with long trousers, no one could tell he was disabled. However, he would often, if sitting in a chair, turn one of his legs completely around to confuse people. Don't tell me amputees don't have a sick sense of humor 🤣🤣🤣

[@dangreen3868]

I slightly disagree, in that I think the first movie is *about* disability. it's disability that brings hiccup and toothless together, with the whole bonding between toothless and hiccup happening because hiccup helps build toothless his fin, a mobility aid. the vulnerability that's created by toothless' disability is what ultimately brings dragons and humans together, and it's a great message about how accommodation of disabled ppl is good for everyone.

[@loturzelrestaurant]

Fun-Fact: Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud with his Vaccine-Video. And before that, Cynical Reviews reviwed SIA's terrible Autism Movie. Just for youre information.

[@dogmaticeuthanasia]

I see where you come from, but I'd say that the movie, while it does rely on their disabilities to bring them together, is not *about* disability.

[@bestbi3587]

@@dogmaticeuthanasia I think disability is a core theme and plot element, thereby making it a movie about disability. it's mostly about dragons, vikings, and defying the expectations and traditions family and society, but it'd definitely about disability too imo.

[@virginiafernandez6846]

Eh... only in the same way other horse girl movies are about disability, I feel.

[@bestbi3587]

@@virginiafernandez6846 im sorry,,, *horse girl* movie?!?!? wtfgftbnghjhbgdssffssafklkggj

[@Kaithestressedowl]

Actually, there was at least one instance where we were shown Hiccup experiencing residual limb pain and even phantom pain in the Cartoon Network show, heck I think it was the first episode even. Hiccup spent the entire day running around the village and doing hard work, and by the end of it, he mentioned that “everything hurts, even this” while motioning to both his residual limb and prosthetic leg. This is insinuating that he is experiencing pain in the foot that is no longer attached to him, therefore, he gets phantom pain and occasional pain in his residual limb

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

I actually distinctly remember that scene, even though I haven't seen the entire series.

[@FalconWingedGirl]

Tuffnut made a joke about Hiccup limping and they showed it to Veterans to get criticism regarding the joke, and they laughed. It shows how dedicated they were to the disabilities. I particularly like how it can be used to inspire the community to do things normal people can, no offense intended. All it requires is imagination and prosthetics.

[@evelynmoody140]

Just to let you know, when referring to able bodied people, don’t call them ‘normal people’ cos it separates disabled people as the ‘other’.

[@nonhic]

@@evelynmoody140 Excuse me when I sound confrontational but are you disabled yourself?

[@kittycatdays8719]

Evelyn Moody not tryna offend or anything, would like some more insight. As an able bodied person, I dont really see why it’s bad to call us ‘normal’? Like, it is true that disabled people are not the norm, yk? I can see it being maybe a bit uncomfortable, but not offensive, so would like to know more.

[@cii4980]

@@kittycatdays8719 if you're ginger and everyone else is called normal because ginger isn't the norm, you wouldn't feel othered?

[@kittycatdays8719]

C II mm perhaps a little, yeah i can see the point, thx

[@ThatOnes]

another thing i really liked in the 2nd movie is that toothless seems like he knows the leg is important to hiccup. cause like at 7:45 toothless is chewing on his leg without his teeth, and only shows his teeth to get stormfly to leave the leg alone. then its right back to no teeth to chew on it so he wont cause any damage

[@diddles3383]

You're talking about the third movie, aka the shitty film that ruined the franchise.

[@rat-in-a-suit]

I like to think it's because of the prior instances where toothless damaged his leg, and has learnt that it's not a good thing to do

[@florian8599]

The good thing about Berk: They don't know what ableism is. The bad thing about Berk: They look down on Hiccup because he's "different". (Well, at least in the beginning.)

[@narwhalsyrena4668]

Even then, it's not so much that he's different, but the trouble that resulted from him trying to be like them, rather than being himself. So once he figured out how to be himself, that's when he earned his place as a viking. Which I think is really nice

[@genericname2747]

Being disabled: Fine Not wanting to kill a giant lizard: disgraceful.

[@narwhalsyrena4668]

@@genericname2747 Not wanting to kill a giant lizard. . . Both yes and no. At the time they're basically enemies, so helping the dragons means helping the enemies (disgraceful). Attempting to be like the people who can, and do, kill the dragons and thoroughly messing it up to the point where people no longer believe what you say (kinda disgraceful, more just irritating). Proving to the whole village that helping the dragons can help the village, and accidentally making an enormous show of it by bringing down the largest seen dragon? Nothing disgraceful in that.

[@promienodrzutowysamuel790]

They're peace-ist

[@genericname2747]

@@narwhalsyrena4668 Those are valid points my dude.

[@deadmanomegagaming4061]

In regards to the waking up with the leg thing I always assumed that the prosthetic was made and fitted whilst he was still unconscious after the battle although now that I'm older I realise that that time scale is probably not very possible

[@FalconWingedGirl]

People theorized in order to get him Toothless bit it off, as confirmed with the second movie. So... Well... I'm not getting into details for Trigger possibilities.

[@PhoenixKnight777]

@@FalconWingedGirl wait, Toothless bit it off? Where is that confirmed? I just assumed it was wounded so badly they had to amputate.

[@ashleypisarts]

@@PhoenixKnight777 I’m not entirely sure if it’s canon, but it does make sense. When Toothless saved Hiccup from the fire, Hiccup was too far away and the closest thing to Toothless was his leg, so Toothless had to grab/yank his leg in order to protect him. Yet you’re right; maybe Toothless didn’t bite it off but he might’ve bit it deep through the skin and caused an infection, therefore amputation was necessary. ^ That’s a theory, but I’m not entirely sure if it’s canon or not.

[@anib8863]

@@ashleypisarts In the second movie, when saying he was the one who shot Toothless down, Hiccup says "He got me back. Right, bud? You couldn't save all of me, could ya'? Just had to make it even."

[@erinocelotl3578]

@@anib8863 I guess it could mean that, but the way I always saw it was that Toothless "just had to" not save all of Hiccup, not that he actually actively hurt him Edit: well he wouldn't have exactly hurt him anyway but I didn't know what other word to use lol

[@only1one1me]

I love how they did Hiccup. I'm disabled myself. The jokes in HTTYD are tasteful, which I appreciate. The best amputee joking banter I've ever heard (in real life) was between two amputees at a renaissance festival I went to. I was talking to a guy about the fest, and was struggling with getting something out of my bag to show him. He asked, "Need a hand?" and when I looked up, he was holding out his prosthetic hand to me. I was surprised because--lol--I hadn't realized he was missing a hand to begin with, so it took my brain a moment to process what I was looking at as he grinned like a maniac. I cracked up. His girlfriend remarked it would make a good weapon, to which he agreed, and then someone else shouted out, "No, THIS would make a good weapon." And (gently) slammed a prosthetic leg down in front of him on his vendor table, also grinning. I think he was lying in wait to make a joke as he watched our conversation unfold. I hadn't laughed that hard in a while, and I also hadn't noticed he was missing a leg. I'm autistic, so I try to focus on a point between people's eyes (because eye contact hurts) to fake eye contact to be respectful so people know I'm listening, and I put so much effort into that I just don't notice most of anything else on a person. You missing a leg or arm? Probably not gonna notice unless I see you from a distance. Anyway, dude missing the arm was like, "Wanna touch my stump? It's squishy!" And while I normally don't like human contact (again, because autistic, it feels like being zapped) I made the rare exception. Lol. Didn't feel weird. It's not ever something I'd ask someone to do, of course, because I feel that'd be inappropriate to ask of someone, but he willingly offered and was very comfortable sharing without me ever asking once what happened.

[@ronjaj.addams-ramstedt1023]

Thank you for sharing this, it’s so funny and wholesome all at once. Can't wait to share this with my hubby.

[@emmetthowell899]

This is semi related but my best friend’s boyfriend’s brother is missing a pinkie on his right hand but I didn’t notice for months until my friend told me. I had shaken his hand and spent a fair amount of time around him and just never realized. Even people who I kinda notice are missing a limb or have a prosthetic, it’s almost like my brain doesn’t file it away as an major thing I noticed about them (I’m also autistic). In a way I think it’s like when someone wears glasses and you obviously see them but don’t fully ‘notice’ unless you specifically think about it (or at least that’s how it is for me)

[@froggy904]

I do feel like it makes sense for Hiccup to sleep with his prosthetic in terms of the setting, i.e. there is a very high chance of fire and keeping the prosthetic on would save some time during an evacuation (I would add more examples but I am tired lmao apologies)

[@loturzelrestaurant]

Fun-Fact: Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud with his Vaccine-Video. And before that, Cynical Reviews reviwed SIA's terrible Autism Movie. Just for youre information.

[@aihoshinoirl]

@@loturzelrestaurant you kinda are just spamming this

[@justaglassbutterfly7989]

Hey thats a really good point

[@friendly-1ntrovert865]

One thing I absolutely loved about Hiccup being an amputee was that it wasn't remotely the majority of his personality or character. Sure they have some reminders where it's the butt of a joke or Hiccup uses the prosthetic to his advantage. But aside from that, it's just an subtle detail in the background. I can't decide whether it's either good or bad or somewhere in between because I myself am not an amputee, but I can see that the writers made an effort to avoid infantilizing Hiccup or painting him as a helpless being simply for having a metal leg.

[@TechBlade9000]

If the FInn episode made it clear that's mostly a good thing, just add reminder these things where down and break cause they ain't self repairing like limbs (and no sleep in them)

[@Lilawere]

This is amazing, he used his own disability like plan part or fast action (advantage)

[@linnywines8014]

I also really like how prosthetic Maintanence was addressed in the third movie, with Hiccup and Astrid going to find Toothless years later specifically to check to make sure that his was still functional

[@alicetheneko7529]

I wouldn’t say he was sleeping. He was probably unconscious for several hours if not a couple days

[@frankiestein1713]

Apparently he was unconscious for a week I believe. But don’t quote me lol

[@gio_5580]

@@frankiestein1713 at least

[@owczyniartemidy2754]

And I think Gobber put the prostethic so when Hiccup woke up, he wouldn't freak out immediately (after all, the prostethic weights)

[@hunterlawrence3573]

I think he was in a coma. During the final battle it was almost winter and when he wakes up it's spring. It's probably not very realistic for him to be flying around on Toothless immediately after waking up from a coma, but it's a cartoon

[@QueenoftheRandoms]

I love that the animators included a limp to his walk/run cycle. I also love that they considered his leg for all sorts of actions. In dragons 2 theirs a scene where he's chasing after Valka and climbing rocks and the detail they put into showing how his body and actions accomodate for the leg is *chef's kiss*

[@craytherlaygaming2852]

honestly, the fact that I had to stumble across this vid to even realize these facts is testament to how normal HTTYD treated Hiccup's disability. Good on them

[@justhavingalook7857]

it's crazy how much I've fawned over this series for so long and not even thought twice about its takes on disability or even the fact that it's there. They did such a good job of showing it as normal that my kid brain just took it as such, which I'd say is a pretty good success.

[@boyinblue.]

Normalization is important, I was thinking the same thing you said here.

[@zeenoash.8805]

Same. I thought it was just part of life, that when I started watching and reading other shows/books with disabled characters... I was a bit shocked.

[@xxmoonshadowxx6099]

I like how they let the audience form an understanding of Drago as a character before showing his arm, making sure it didn't define his character but more so his ideals or circumstance

[@HighlandHellboy]

Whilst certain things aren’t the way it would be such as sleeping with a prosthetic on, I am so glad they incorporated humour and joking about disability in a healthy way. I’m less physically disabled but I have multiple disorders such as Asperger’s and dyspraxia, however my 45yr old mother is and has been all my life (I’m currently 20) and one thing I’ve grown up on that me and her share is joking about ourselves and the disaster areas that we are due to them. Moments such as Toothless running off with Hiccup’s leg is so brilliant because its both funny and true to the chaotic hilarity that can and does ensue. Life is hard enough as it is, if we can’t joke about ourselves what else can we do? We don’t need protected and seen as fragile, or seen as “brave souls facing the cruel fate life gave them”, we can take a joke, there’s just a difference between a joke and harassment and How to Train Your Dragon always deals with this correctly.

[@artemis754]

oh my God, another person with dyspraxia!! edit; I also have been diagnosed with AS

[@erinbathie-moore8478]

Hello fellow Aspie!! 😁

[@gabybladen5803]

Another Aspie here! Great see you guys in the comments! 😊

[@jendoe9436]

My favorite part in that moment was Hiccup just casually sitting there going “shouldn’t take him that long to figure it out. Maybe 30 seconds tops.” Then Toothless returning embarrassed as he drops the leg in front of Hiccup.😂 Extra points for Hiccup telling his sweet dragon “It’s okay, bud. I admire the enthusiasm.” Those two are so great together. 😁

[@a.r.1135]

Hiccup said something along the lines of "It's not fun unless you get a scar out of it, right?" to the group of teenagers and they all said they wanted a scar on a specific area. A disability isn't seen as an obstacle, it's seen as a battle scar and is revered. Gobber himself is missing a leg and an arm and he has more range with his abilities as a blacksmith.

[@rosyowl0391]

I'm disabled in my left leg (same leg as Hiccup) and I loved every bit of representation in the franchise. His leg is the reason he's my favourite. There's nothing wrong with how they handled it for me it was perfect, just the right amount of representation, not ignored and not forced. It felt natural, and I loved that. How to train your dragon holds a very special place in my heart for it's dedication to having natural representation with it's characters.

[@cosmicfails2053]

In defence of the lack of burns, I think it's because that plays into the cartoonish nature of the character's slapstick, with fire and burning often being used as either a deterrent if its lethal and dangerous, or a comedic joke if a character is actually set ablaze, but is often fine right afterwards, meaning that burns wouldn't be shown as it would create a rift of inaccuracies of "Why does this guy have a burn on his arm from a dragon's breath, but when this guy gets his butt set aflame, he's perfectly fine afterwards?" But that's just my thoughts

[@eurofalke6804]

One moment of the series I would like to mention is the Episode in Race to the Edge where Astrid is temporarily blinded by lightning I'm not disabled myself and my contact to disabled people is fairly limited (Not on purpose though, it just didnt came across yet), so I cant really say much about it. Anyways, I think i like the reactions to Astrids lost eyesight, Hiccup and the others dont really know how to handle it so it gets really akward sometims but they try to support her (I think, this actually would also be my reaction in that situation, I would be guite overwhelmed), and Astrid herself is at first worried but she deals with it quite well I cant guess how an actual disabled Person sees this situation but I would really like to know

[@lucyandecember2843]

I would too o.o

[@erinbathie-moore8478]

I'm not blind, but I am mentally disabled, and I think they handled it quite well :)

[@Mothman_In_a_T-Pose]

I've had two instances of traumatically lost vision that both wound up to be temporary, and I feel like it was handled pretty well in that episode. Panic is normal, because a lack of sight is one of the most disabling disabilities and will force you to change every single thing about your normal habits to readjust. And the people around you are used to the way you normally function, so it can create this odd dissidence. They treat you like you, and sometimes you need more, and sometimes you need less. When I had a severe corneal abrasion, I was essentially blind for two weeks; it hurt to open my eyes for several days, and after that, I was so photosensitive that I couldn't handle any light. I got the hang of blindness fairly quickly, and sometimes my parents would straight up forget I couldn't see. Other times, they would coddle me for things I already knew how to do.

[@jendoe9436]

One thing to also remember is that Astrid is extremely independent and assertive in her actions. It’s both a good and bad thing, but it is part of her character. Suddenly losing her sight and not knowing the environment very well (they had just recently set up the Outpost) was probably a big change for her. Plus, the Twins don’t take things too seriously most of the time, Snotlout is Snotlout, and Fishlegs tends to go overboard. Hiccup is normally the level headed one along with Astrid, and the dragons have their own ways of dealing with people. Eventually, Astrid uses that blindness to help her friends, which probably did wonders in helping her cope in that time.

[@AnglesSol]

Something great about Hiccup and Edward is that they took advantage of their disabilities using their smarts and made the something more. Ed used his limbs to take an upper hand in fights and Hiccup made his own mechanism to ride dragons, even made Toothless capable of flight without him.

[@celtichound9889]

What I like about the Netflix series is that it doesn't fall into the traps of either never making disability central to a character or pretending it doesn't exist. For example yes toothless can fly like all the other dragons but he needs his prosthetic to do so.

[@megastormy497]

Vikings would sleep with prosthetics because they gotta get up right away when the dragons start burning crap down

[@Tser]

Another thing I really loved is that a prosthetic is not treated the same as not being an amputee, as if a prosthetic magically makes you not-disabled, as so many movies and shows do. (Or other devices and aids rendering someone indistinguishable from able-bodied characters, like hearing aids and so on.) The characters missing a leg *limp*. They still face challenges that someone able-bodied would not face. It's that way from the beginning before they even highlight it in dialogue. Also, at least from the second movie on, they consulted with amputee organizations to make sure they really got it right. I wouldn't let a pet play with my mobility aids, but, then, they're not made out of wrought iron, either. Haha.

[@flowerb.tch05]

Cool detail someone else pointed out when Toothless is chewing on Hiccup's leg, he has retracted his teeth, he tracts them when Stormfly gets close, but then he retracts them again when he goes back to chewing!

[@WorldWeaver]

I LOVE that Hiccup and Toothless are boo-boo buddies (which is an Owl House reference) ^U^ I also love that it's GOBBER who makes the first joke! It makes it feel FAR from insensitive bc Gobber has two prosthetics already.

[@crystalthunderheart8895]

Oddly. They used bucket to point out storms coming with air pressure change due to the bucket collapsing on his skull. Missed opportunity.

[@aikaameya3930]

This movie does it so naturally I almost always forget Hiccup actually HAD two legs at some point until I actually think about the first movie or rewatch it

[@bestbi3587]

I'm disabled and I really wish someone had talked to me about this movie when I was finding out. it really felt like the end of the world to 12 year old me, and I think that was largely because of the media depiction, or lacktherof, of disability.

[@eoghaner2k10]

I adore him waking up with the leg on, i'm a one legged amputee and it reminded me of waking up so see my leg missing, hiccup's realisation he's disabled makes me sob every single time

[@hufflepuffwannabe]

I really appreciate this video! There isn't enough recognition for how these films display disability so thank you!

[@winterfire1097]

Its because its Dreamworks and not Disney. I hardly see people even remembering Hiccup as a disabled character and how well it was done but they go on and on about Nemo.

[@curiousKuro16]

You mentioned Ed Elric and one of the things I loved about FMA was how he and other characters with prosthetics mentioned the mantinence and pain and therapy needed to use those new limbs! It was such a wonderful form of realism and sometimes character revelation that I appreciated throughout the series.

[@ronjaj.addams-ramstedt1023]

Good news: Oakwyrm's next video will be about Fullmetal Alchemist as a whole (I just watched it on Patreon)

[@curiousKuro16]

@@ronjaj.addams-ramstedt1023 Thanks for the heads up!

[@misti-step]

what a lovely video!! recently watched and fell in love with this series and really appreciated how casually they portrayed hiccups disability, its casual but never swept under the rug. like you say, its relevant when its relevant and not when its not. ❤❤

[@eking8303]

i would honestly say that the way Hiccup is over-protected in the beginning due to him being seen as "weak" and "bad luck" lends itself to the view that he was already disabled, either a nuerodivergence or some kind of chronic illness

[@tennyoAMV]

I remember Race to the Edge having Hiccup casually saying that he needed to file down one of his new legs because it was pinching him.

[@ungulatemanalpha]

The way I see it, Hiccup's disability ends up playing a similar role to his left-handedness - it's a big thematic element of the story, and it tells us quite a bit about who he is, but it has little or no bearing on the plot because it doesn't need to.

[@rejectedcopy4733]

Tbh having Gobber joke about Hiccup's lost leg was definitely a great choice

[@sink3943]

this is the kind of disability in movies i like, is obvious that its there but it isnt the entire personality or charecter of that person them having a disability

[@rat-in-a-suit]

The way its so well written that i constantly forget hiccup is disabled because they all treat it so normal that even when its brought up or shown im just like "yeah this is normal" because they dont make a big deal of it or do the opposite and pretend it dosent exist and honestly, i wish thats what everyone in our society was like in the real world.

[@veronikamajerova4564]

Yep. And I love how they from the beginning established Hiccup as an inventor and tinkerer (with the bola-thrower and later Toothless´s fin), so it made sense that later, as he got more experience and knowledge, he would continually "upgrade" both his and Toothless´s prosthetics to suit their needs and at times make them an advantage (like hiding spot for his sword in his leg, or make different kids of fins - like one for long-distance flying, one for agility, etc.).

[@mysryuza]

I like that Gobber made a joke *before* the confirmation rather than after the fact.

[@FROGGGER.DRAGONSLAYER]

thb until i saw this vid it didn't even register in my brain "oh ya hiccup and cobber are amputees and therefore disabled" it was just so well incorporated and the village is so accommodating i didn't even notice /pos

[@eclipsedmoon87]

Drago: dragons took my arm >:( I hate them because of it Hiccup: yeah, my best friend took my leg and he's still my best friend, you're not special

[@rikintherafters1379]

The funniest goddamn thing happened when I first discovered the show is that my dad found it interesting when the show basically focuses on stuff he is incredibly bigotted against

[@redrangerrr558]

This is too good of a comment to not elaborate, can you give examples?

[@rikintherafters1379]

@@redrangerrr558 My father is the kind of guy that believes that stereotypes are true so if you were to tell him that a certain creature would kill you with no hesitation e.g. Pitbull he will believe it yet he enjoys the show about dragons not just being killing machines. He's also been really ablest in the past yet pays no mind to the fact that the main character is disabled.

[@redrangerrr558]

@@rikintherafters1379 well those things are blended in so well they're barely noticeable, just look at how many people in the comment section are only just realising that httyd has a lot of disabled people because of this video. Honestly he sounds like the kind of person you'd have fun watching while they watch the show. Is it entertaining or annoying?

[@rikintherafters1379]

@@redrangerrr558 it's entertaining

[@BenMan8881]

I'm not physically disabled, so take what I say with a grain of salt... well... for hiccup sleeping with his prosthetic... considering his reaction to everything and his other wounds appear to still be relatively fresh, only just healed, it's likely he's been unconscious since the battle with the Red Death and the leg was added while he was knocked out. Plus, it could just be a Viking thing where it is believed that by resting with your prosthetic, you get used to it being there. Also, given the nature of Hiccup's injury... I see there being a number of reasons why he doesn't react to differing weather. The most obvious is that weather isn't a common factor in the movies/tv series, so seldom would it need to be brought up and could be something that's done off camera. However, I'd like to think that the injury cauterized itself the moment his leg got injured by the massive fireball that engulfed him and Toothless. This would mean that it could be less affected by the elements. Or... Hiccup gets used to the irritation very quickly as he does have some level of Viking toughness within him.

[@Lrd_Storm]

Actually, it was Toothless that cut his leg off. So l think he did burn it a little

[@flowerb.tch05]

No, in HTTYD 1 Toothless couldn't cover his whole body in time to protect him from the fire so part of his leg burned. It might have been completely incinerated off or it could have been too badly burned to heal so they amputated it. Hiccup only says Toothless ate his leg in HTTYD 2 when talking to Valka because he probably thought that telling your mother that you haven't seen in 20 years that you fought a Titan-class dragon and fell into its fiery corpse which caused you to lose your leg, wasn't the best idea.

[@Lrd_Storm]

@@flowerb.tch05 Hiccup was falling head first. There is no way his leg was burned but his hair didn't. Plus, in the scene right after we see that he had wrapped all of him in his wings, since Stoic couldn't see him.

[@BenMan8881]

@@Lrd_Storm Depending on how he was enveloped by Toothless's wings and how quickly he was enveloped could lead to his leg getting burnt up but his hair untouched. However, there is an alternative. Toothless got knocked out by the impact of the ground. Having to quickly bundle up Hiccup to protect him, Toothless didn't position Hiccup in a manner that would ensure that the very impact that knocked Toothless out wouldn't crush any part of Hiccup before impact. Toothless didn't mean to crush Hiccup's leg to beyond repair... But the impact did it for him as Toothless would otherwise be holding Hiccup relatively tightly the whole way down to the ground to ensure that he could both break the fall and protect from the fireball. I would have to watch again to see which leg was lost relative to where it is when Toothless opens his wings.

[@ruu199]

It is implied that Toothless caught Hiccup with his mouth as they were too close to the fire and no more time to flap his wings to get to Hiccup. He mauled his leg in the process and so they come a full circle (Hiccup was the reason Toothless lost his tailfin and Toothless was the reason Hiccup lost his leg even if it was to save him)

[@Bilbo_Baggins-o3l]

FINALLY someone realized hiccup wasn’t super broken up about loosing a limb because PRACTICALLY EVERY SINGLE VIKING HAS A LOST LIMB I was a NORM

[@aidanelizabeth]

This was such an awesome video! I had been curious on how the representation held up, and I learned a lot. Thank you so much!

[@turtlep1829]

I just got this in my recommended and I realized I have never really thought about this kind of representation in media. This is really cool to see and I look forward to seeing more of this stuff in the future.

[@spntageous5249]

(Im not disabled or an amputee so correct me if im wrong-) I've seen a lot of posts in the disabled community, specifically the amputee community where people would get the A Very Good Prosthetic, like a robot arm or smth and they just,,,,,wont wear it because it would not be as helpful as non-disabled folks think, would get in the way and would make some tasks even harded Buy Hey, At Least You Have A Very Realistic Arm Prosthetic. So in HTTYD we have Gobber, who doesnt even have a prosthetic similar to a hand, he just switches a few that would be useful in the situation like having a hammer, having a giant fork (for the chicken scene), which i think is very nice to see how better can an amputee be accomodated when you dont strive to make their limb look like the "lost" one, but more like function like one.

[@alyshaharper8730]

I've actually heard of people not wearing their prosthetics because they are uncomfortable. I believe my uncle Jimmy refused the wear his leg because it hurt him. My Granny won't wear her teeth for the same reason but I'm not sure those count.

[@ashbrea381]

I have a knee that dislocates and it likes to grumble at me when the weather turns too.

[@erispapps9929]

1:00 INFECTION, amputations would be more common because infected limbs can be removed while torso wounds would get infected and kill the person.

[@SupremeViola]

A very small note here, but I really like how Hiccup marries and has children, this is treated as a perfectly normal thing, and no one worth listening to talks to Astrid like she's making a huge sacrifice or being a saint by having a disabled partner. My great-aunt was a full-time wheelchair user for nearly eighty years due to childhood polio, and I remember her distinctly talking about the fact that it was assumed when she was a young adult that no one would want a disabled wife, so she never tried to date. It's really heartbreaking, because she was a much better grandmother-figure to me than my grandmother was, and I'm sure she would have been a wonderful mom.

[@Roadent1241]

Funny, I share her mindset. Not that I want kids but I can barely make and keep friends, having a romantic partner is a complete fairy tale AFAIK.

[@DragonLandlord]

The commentary says they tested it without the ending but every comment said it felt off. They showed it with the end to the same people and everyone said it was amazing.

[@jjcrow007]

I actually appreciate you bringing this up and talking about disabilities in stories. I am a writer/storyteller (I mainly do Fantasy/Fiction) and I like to bring in disabled characters in each story. It's good to hear things that are liked and disliked by those I am not familiar with when it comes to fictional writing. I am always looking to improve my work and better represent those I write/reflect on. - I have a main protagonist that is selectively mute for a large part of the story and requires a feeding tube. - I have an alien sibling, that had a necessary part of his species survival amputated. (They have a secondary set of ears that basically ground them, navigation, and telepathically communicate with each other - loss of these ears not only makes you an outcast of the society but causes a huge difficulty in balance, focus, headaches, and dizziness). He ends up building a type of prostetic that helps assist himself with his new struggles with his mother's help better accommodate for him. - A few characters that have prostetic arms/legs/hands/feet/etc - Characters with burn scars (Chemical, electrical, and Fire burns) - Characters that require a wheelchair/other type of mobility - complete blindness &/or loss of one or both eyes - Achondroplasia - Characters who are mute/deaf And much much more. Thats just the physical disabilities to name a few, I have many mental and chronic health that also appear in my characters and stories too. Some stories and fictional societies I write have a bad view on disabilities, but I always try to have the character and other characters come to view it as normal. Not making it a big sad pity thing at every moment, but coming to accepting it and just living life. Regardless of how others view them. (ie, Alien character ends up helping others with similar disabilities to his as well as his siblings never treating him differently but work with him to better support him where and when he needs it) I'll definitely be keeping in mind what you said as to better my own characters and stories. Thank you!!

[@DragonFaerie]

Yessss this is my favorite franchise to this day. And speaking of that cartoon network show (and I believe he reappeared minorly in the Netflix too)- there is a character uncreatively named Bucket that suffers from an unspecified head injury, and during storms he gets absolutely horrendous migraines that, who I'm pretty sure was his partner, always tries to help him through. It would have been really cool if they did mention Gobber and Hiccup could similarly tell storms were coming by aches in their respective limbs, but as my memory serves, I don't believe they did.

[@cryptid6279]

i love how hiccup makes a joke about how toothless “got back at him” for removing part of his tail when he talks about him losing his leg. its cute.

[@wrathforgegaming288]

8:48 as a amputee, heat is your enemy when you have a prosthetic but it being vikings its usually to good Northern European climate, so maybe the causes can be weight, temperature, and the lower calf/ankle being Iron. Rain, so yeah thats my theory

[@SatyrToon]

I always assumed that Hiccup had his prosthetic on in his sleep because Gobber put it on him while he was out and wanted him to see it when he woke up - hence him pridefully exclaiming that it was his handiwork when Hiccup came out of the house.

[@radioisactive7590]

Yeah, this is one of my favorite series of all time and I love seeing how they represent disabilities, it only ever made the show better in every way and I'm all for it!

[@uninexo215]

I remember watching the scene of Hiccup prosthesis and just became EXCITED AS CRAZY and this becamed my super favorite movie!!

[@ameliabooth9783]

they actually sneak in the weather thing in the cartoon network series with Bucket and how they know when a storm is coming in as his head hurts

[@bekah5935]

I love this so much I was re watching httyd2 yesterday and was thinking about the rep I wish more people would talk about it

[@loturzelrestaurant]

Fun-Fact: Hbomberguy made the Autism-Community proud with his Vaccine-Video. And before that, Cynical Reviews reviwed SIA's terrible Autism Movie.

[@lunarweirdo4954]

I constantly forget that he lost a leg in the first movie.

[@CloudyChaoDubs]

i never realized how little there are of disability media as i always accepted all these characters and saw them as strong.

[@Roadent1241]

Then you talk to a real disabled person and we are just ..... Exhausted. Not feeling strong at all. Just barely feeling tolerated by the rest of the world especially right now in the UK. They are actively openly hating us.

[@bananaspliitz9136]

In burk a missing limb isn’t a disability, it’s a chance to get a customized weapon/tool. I love it and that it’s shown as something sad because the person got hurt not bc of any changes it brings to their lives. They roll w the punches and take it as an opportunity to better themselves in some way.

[@minxmeat5460]

All the comments are simply conforming the fact that the HTTYD franchise is the best thing we have been blessed with in terms of media

[@SelkieGirl]

This franchise was pretty damn mature.

[@hollycunningham4593]

I've fallen asleep with my prosthetic on multiple occasions and, well, Ow.

[@AnnaMae41194]

Hiccup and Toph, making disabilities normal

[@CharlottePoe]

When I watched HTTYD for the first time, it was with a friend during middle school. I didn't know I was disabled yet - my relatively new chronic pain still wasn't being treated as real. When Hiccup lost his leg, we were both very surprised of course. My friend, however, was very upset and she didn't like that he'd lost his leg. She said it didn't end up "happy" like she'd wanted it to, which confused me since the way more difficult goal of creating a dragon-accepting society had been achieved. That memory still gets to me sometimes. How could everything Hiccup achieved be negated by a missing leg? So I'm super glad there were sequels! They were pretty dang good, and they show just how dynamic and heroic Hiccup still is. His life was definitely not over!

[@xRoseByAnotherNamex]

Hiccup also gives me MAJOR ND vibes and it really helped me to have a character I relate to ❤

[@Poinimations]

Hiccup wasn't sleeping tho, he was passed out/comatose, long enough for Berk to accept and learn how to ride dragons somewhat, so maybe Gobber made his leg and left it there, not wanting to leave Hiccup missing it whenever he woke up.

[@rebekahwalker2004]

Toothless has 2 fins one on either side of the tip of his tail. The entire left fin was ripped off in the crash landing.

[@emeraldqueen1994]

My knuckles get sore when there’s a storm… there’s yet another thing you and I have in common! 🙂

[@LeonardoHamato]

They also animate his limp, especially if he's been standing for a long time

[@XtremeRaptor]

oh wow, i never really paid much attention to how impactful all of this can be - it's so great movies like this exist. i can't imagine the joy many disabled children and folks must've felt when they saw a movie with this much representation, bravo.

[@stuff6836]

I forgot he lost his leg and was really confused lol

[@demiemily]

My favorite thing about Hiccup and Toothless being disabled is that throughout the whole trilogy they lean on each other. So then during the end of the third movie when they say goodbye to each other Hiccup doesn't have his prosthetic and neither does Toothless (because of his new tail) so Hiccup they're not just saying goodbye to each other. They're saying goodbye to what they relied on as their emotional prosthetic. Because Toothless needed Hiccup to fly, and Hiccup needed Toothless to believe in himself. It's just so beautiful

[@jordanrintoul-thomas722]

I absolutely loved httyd. The movies. The series. All of it. Not only did it showcase disabled characters in an empowering way, but it was also an amazing coming-of-age story.

[@pastel._.dragon1395]

I never thought of hiccup as disabled until I watch this video just because it’s never shown as being horrendous

[@libby1973]

Finally, a channel talking about disability in media! Searching for “writing disabled characters” got me, like, three useful videos. Also writing this out I’m like “wait, I could’ve just searched ‘disability in media’ and that would’ve got me more helpful channels like this”. Something to do this week. Anyways thank you for creating, I’ll be check ing out more of your videos!

[@ronjaj.addams-ramstedt1023]

To learn more about writing disabled characters well, I would recommend that you follow several disabled KZbinrs and especially disabled writers and literary / media critics on KZbin. I hope you havhere already found dome, as there are many, and several of them include details of their everyday lives in their videos. To find more disabled KZbinrs fast, you can click my icon and then "View channel" -- if you are on an Android phone the link is on the bottom right -- to go to my (otherwise empty) account and the disability playlists that I have been collecting for a while now. The list "Disability 101" is long, because even the things that most of us disabled people experience have a lot of nuance and our specific disabilities and where we live strongly influence our lives. The rest of the playlists vary a lot in length, and especially the ones that do not yet have a number in the playlist title are still under construction, i.e. the number and order of the videos will almost certainly still change.

[@jamiecrucefix4078]

Well most of him! Reminding me of how funny gobber was makes me want to watch all 3 HTTYD movies again.

[@uddalaksarkar3280]

also in the short film "Gift of the Night Fury", it shows in a brief scene Hiccup slipping on some ice because of his prosthetic leg. thought that was some nice nuance there.

[@vilelilman4252]

I like to think the reason Hiccup slept with his prosthetic was that Gobber, his dad, everyone, just wanted to surprise him with it and with what was outside. Also the citizens give me ‘would totally accidentally fall asleep with it on occasion’ vibes like crashing on the couch.

[@ghost-hn2lh]

2:42 on the topic of this, i have a disabled dog (she had to have her eyes removed) and i once posted a picture of her, and someone’s immediate response was “that thing looks like it’s ready to die”, “put that thing out of its misery” she’s not even depressed or anything, she’s a super happy dog who just has a little trouble with bumping into things every now and then

[@TheLowten]

Low air pressure can be a real pain. Especially big sudden drops.

[@hydeandseek8428]

My uncle used to do similar jokes ,my favorite as a tiny child-thing was him asking if I needed a leg up and then putting his prosthetic on the car seat . It was terribly cheesy but I'd full body cackle every time.

[@skittslol1407]

I like how they work with their disabilities. You know like actual people.

[@ShadeSlayer1911]

They're a primarily warrior society, so it makes sense that battle wounds and scars aren't something looked down upon. I wouldn't be surprised if being completely whole and uninjured for your entire life was the thing that they looked down upon. "You've no scars, nor missing parts. Not even callouses on your toes. What have you been doing for your entire life? Not fighting?!" Especially since with their technology, they're able to make pretty dang good prosthetics.

[@fumarc4501]

Thank you for sharing this with us, and for raising awareness of it’s portrayals in media.

[@nikearts6268]

i paused a bit when u talked about not sleeping with prosthetic bc, in the series, hiccup does take them off to sleep! so no worries there, it absolutely was just to get straight to the point of showing his reaction to it

[@matiduarte5237]

I really enjoy your content. It’s very informative and just reasonable and awesome. And I never really realized how these franchises made me view disabilities until now, and your opinions and dissection of these movies and series and media in general gives me a perspective I can truly appreciate. Thank you! And I really like your content! :D