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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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 🤣🤣🤣

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.

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

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.

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.

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)

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

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.)

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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*

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

(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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.).

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. ❤❤

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

So ur legs can hurt when the air pressure is low? Is that why when storms start to come and the air pressure is low my hip starts to hurt (I broke my hip at 12 had to get surgery and get 3 permanent screws put in and a huge scar from surgery I can still walk but when the weather is bad it starts to hurt)

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

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

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

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.

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!

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!!

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!

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

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!

*EDIT: So, I'm currently watching your video on where Berk could be located, and you have seen GoTNF, so I apologize for my assumption xD Still, it does show some difficulties, but they are nowhere near as brutal as what Toothless goes through in his specific scenes where his mobility is compromised. Then again I would wager falling on your head on ice is awful, and my awful mobility balks at even light frost, so I cannot say much myself haha.* Hey, fellow HTTYD fan with disabilities here! To comment on your wanting to be more said about difficulties for Hiccup and his leg, there's a canonical short called "Gift of the Night Fury" which has him slipping on ice, and Toothless catching him, with Hiccup muttering "stupid leg." The other dragons leave to mate, and Hiccup makes the auto tail (later improved on and referenced in HTTYD3), and Toothless flies away. When Hiccup leaves the house again, he falls, and this time has nobody to help him, so he falls on his ass. I honestly love how they deal with disability with Toothless in particular, especially the scenes where it is shown how much distress he is in, such as in 2 where Valka's dragons snatch Hiccup off his back, and in 3 where he tries to follow Light Fury and cannot. The pain of being in a situation where you feel helpless and alone, and later feeling rejected and useless to a "mate" because of your conditions, I thought were dealt with incredibly well. Some people think HTTYD3 is ableist, since the auto tail never breaks and seems to render Toothless' disability invisible, but I think it's exactly like the rest of the franchise; a mix between brutal realism and idyllic charm. Sure, the tail would probably break in real life, but it's also unlikely a 15 year old can make a working prosthetic for a several hundred pound animal who flies as fast as a Concord in a few weeks. It's also impossible for the tail to grow back. So I think having a super strong tail in a world where Gronckle Iron exists, to create what we can only hope will some day exist outside of fantasy so our protagonist can live as full a life as possible? I don't see it as ableism, I see it as the best option in a world that mixes fantasy and realism so well. Also, Dean and the producers screened the third film for the Amputee Coalition , to make sure the "lose the limp" jokes would be ok. They laughed, and I assume they would have commented on Toothless' tail if they had felt the need.

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!

2:36 God I wish, LMAO. So I got a one eyed cat who has trauma surrounding dogs, other cats, and children that we still don't know the full details about. It's insane the amount of strange and cruel reactions she gets. Kids on our neighborhood call her ugly, or think she's evil. People will try and "change her" by introducing their dogs to them, making her extremely uncomfortable. And people frame her as super-agressive, when she literally will only ever attack if she thinks you're playing and or is uncomfortable when you accessivly touch her. And she was returned to the shelter twice!

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.

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.

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.

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

I was like wait what does httyd have to do with disabilities and it took me a shockingly long time to remember he doesn't have a leg because it made it seem so normal

I think Gobber does at one point make a reference to him noticing the change in weather from one of his limbs, don't remember when that was though. For the longest time, I honestly didn't even think of Hiccup as disabled, 'cause the peg was just an extension of his body. Kinda like how I've just started viewing wheelchairs not as toys (kid me be bad and dumb) but as extensions for people to move in. I'm really loving your work, and it's giving me courage to try to take steps in normalizing what other people see as disastrous and more just hindering at times, which accommodations should make up for. It's part of my reason for learning ASL; make this other form of communication a norm similar to Stephen Hawking's computer aid. So thank you again for your work. Keep up the amazing videos.

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.

When disability is part of the character and not just a separate thing. It is realistic and that makes it respectful.

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.

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.

This was my favourite movie growing up and looking back Hiccup is probably one of the reason along side my Taid that I adapted and accepted my own disability so quickly when I was diagnosed back when I was about 12. I remember the doctor sitting down with me and my parents in the ICU and telling me “my life will never be the same” and bla bla you get the idea. All I asked was if I could still swim (yes) and that was that I was immediately learning what I needed to do and giving myself my medication from the start. I’m over 5 years in and I work in a pool as a lifeguard, the first person with my condition to work at that pool and for the record I’m just as good as a swimmer as I’ve always been I’m the official second strongest swimmer at that pool and I’m going for first next year. But back on topic theses movies really help me see a positive disabled person just get on with things and I didn’t see any reason why I couldn’t live like that.

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

This franchise was pretty damn mature.

Great video! I only ever ended up watching 1 & 2, so it's really nice to see they stayed consistent and attentive on that front. Honestly they did such a good job of making it feel natural and normalized in their society that it didn't even stick out to me as something that wouldn't be, which is impressive to me. In fact, a lot of this didn't even occur to me until watching this video and it's really cool to see it laid out like this.

'So if I've calculated correctly, Hiccup's on his last leg!'

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.

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

Hiccup was one of the first positive representations of disability that I came across. I've worn an ankle foot orthotic (AFO) since I was a baby due to drop foot in my right leg caused by nerve damage during my cancer battle, so I was shocked but (I'm not trying to sound morbid here) excited when they made Hiccup lose part of a leg and portrayed it in a way that wasn't depressing. I'd already felt a connection with him because his struggles in the first film with he and his dad not seeing eye to eye and his having a hard time fitting in with the village (plus the fact that I pretty much looked like a female version of him at the time), but that addition cemented it. I can confirm that sleeping with my AFO on can get extremely uncomfortable. I use a specific one for sleeping once in a great while or when my Achilles tendon feels tight, but the top of my foot starts burning if I A) wear it two nights in a row and or B) wear socks that are too thick. On the pain note, I feel an intense aching pain in my right leg whenever the weather is about to change drastically, especially in winter.

I was born with the genetic metabolic connective tissue disease. I have loved this series for years. I definitely agree with all of your sentiments, including wishing they would make reference to long-term pain. Especially showing Hiccup being able to just push through that pain. There’s so many people that don’t realize, just because were up and moving doesn’t mean we’re not in pain. We’ve just lived in pain so long, we figured out how to keep moving through it. By the way I totally felt you on the surgical scar. Mine isn’t so much of a scar. They actually managed to hide the scar inside my mouth, but I definitely feel air pressure changes in my stupid jaw. I would love to see them represent someone actually in a wheelchair as well. If they have I may have missed it, I don’t actually have cable. So I haven’t gotten to watch the entire animated series. As for the thing about Hiccup’s leg getting stuck to the magnetized dragon, they may have been trying to go along with the concept did his leg got vacuum suctioned on due to the force of the pulling. Still very unrealistic, but that may have been what they were trying to go for. As far as him waking up with his leg on already at the end of the first movie, he may have been stirring slightly before actually coming fully conscious. This may have led them to put the leg on early so that he would have it when he woke up and not have to try a struggle with figuring out how to get it on. Whilst now days we know that wouldn’t exactly be safe, think about how long ago was this society was supposed to be from. Any kind of swelling of an amputation site back then probably would’ve been assumed as an infection, so the realization that it was actually swelling induced by not allowing the stump to breathe or by the appendage causing a type of compartment syndrome probably wouldn’t of come about until many years later. Therefore if he had been staring in his sleep they may have decided to go with functionality over comfort and help him get readjusted from the moment he said his feedback on the ground. Very obviously in this wonderful little community becoming disabled is not unusual and not really seen as a bad thing. Which in and of itself is something beautiful. However obviously this could especially back in the old days have led to... well some unsafe care protocols. They were doing their best with the knowledge they had for the time, especially in that isolated society. So when combining these factors the storyline actually is still pretty believable, even as far as that scene goes. I also love the fact that Hiccup did not just become this inconsolable human being who didn’t want to live anymore. I mean don’t get me wrong showing the adjustment phase after going through some kind of massive physical change or trauma can be helpful, if it’s done correctly. There are a lot of people who enter a state of despair for a while. And I don’t really think anyone can blame them for it. It’s a big change and for the first time in their lives they may be dealing with chronic pain. Chronic pain takes a huge psychological toll that most people will never understand. If it was just the new disability, it would probably be easier for people to wrap their minds around. Unfortunately though it’s usually combined with chronic pain and the frustration of new limitations or New adjustments to old routines they’re having to make. These small added layers all pile up. In people who have otherwise always been completely healthy, it can seem devastating. In the case of this movie and community, Hiccup had role models who proved he could still do just about anything. He never once had a question if he could be normal again, something real and modern day society cause you to question daily if you have a disability. Instead Hiccup had this wonderful knowledge of how many other people he was joining the ranks of, people who were incredibly invaluable to their society. He was joining the ranks of people there society could not live without. Being that of course they couldn’t show anything too gory since it was a kids movie, it is possible Hiccup actually felt his foot being burned or ripped off and so when he woke up it really wasn’t that much of a surprise. Why I have this theory is when he sees his new prosthetic, he doesn’t say anything about he lost his leg. He just takes a deep breath and tries to get up. It was like that breath with him solidifying himself and readying himself for whatever was yet to come. In and of it’s self this could be evidence that he already knew before losing consciousness that he had lost the limb. In fact it may have very well been the pain that made him lose consciousness all together. So when you take and turn the problem from all different angles including putting yourself into the shoes of the people from that era so to speak, we can start to see where this might actually have been a somewhat realistic depiction of how this could’ve gone in this kind of a world in that day and age.

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

TBF, Hiccup waking up with the prosthetic happened probably because he was unconscious for some time, so Gobber used said time to make and fit that construction onto him. Then again, Hiccup doesn't seem to bother taking it off unless he needs it for something other than walking.

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

This was an amazing video and touched on one of the reasons I hold this series so close to my heart. Thank you

I especially love this movie because as a child seeing it for the first time I never really saw the disabilities depicted as… hindering (for lack of a better word). Other than toothless when he first lost part of his tail, it is never explicitly seen as a negative thing for a character to have a disability, as you said. I genuinely believe this movie has played into the reason that I saw/see mobility aids as more of an extension of a person than something strange or sad especially when I was growing up.

There are scenes in the show where Hiccup is shown putting his leg on in the morning, so i think the “sleeping with the prosthetic on” thing was just a convenience for the movie

Lol the scars feeling when the weather's changing cause if air pressure cracks me up. I have a big one on my back, and two from top surgery, that all ache when it's stormy out. Disabled people would be so good in survival situations or like the classic "appocalypse" scenario for our problem solving, adaptability, and prophetic scar tissue.

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

excellent video essay! makes me appreciate the series even more :)

This is an astonishing insight. I never realized Hiccup was disabled, since he is fully able to live like anyone else. He can walk, dance, run, woo the Viking girl who didn't show up until a later volume (But they pretty well threw out the whole story and started fresh anyway, so ...). It doesn't even seem to slow him down any. Maybe I have a warped view. I was temporarily disabled by a four way fracture of the upper humerus (champion level broken shoulder) that left me unable to use my left arm for a couple of months. The doctors said I would never be able to lift my arm above my shoulder again, assuming that it healed and they didn't have to go back for a joint replacement. technically I would probably be considered disabled. The shoulder is weak and tires easily, and it hurts to overdo it, but honestly I'm more "able" than a lot of people my age who have never been injured. I would tend to limit the term "disabled" to people who are no longer able to maintain a normal range of human activities. My Little Pony has had some good disabled characters, like Stellar Eclipse, from the episode "Trade Ya". Nobody comments on his wheels. He's just a trader like any other in the episode. On the other hand, Scootaloo is a main character, and in a few episodes the fact that she's a pegasus pony who can't fly is used as a legitimate plot point, although mostly she's just the spunky member of her group.