The original How to Train Your Dragon was one of those rare Hollywood treats: an animated family comedy, released in the pre-summer slump, that was engaging without sacrificing its depth or humour. The fact that the titular dragon acted like a cross between a puppy and a kitten was just an extra layer of gilding on the lily.
The next installment, How to Train Your Dragon 2, comes out on June 13, and it’s already earning itself some pretty interesting buzz. Not only are the early reviews nothing to scoff at, but one of the movie’s main characters is reportedly going to be coming out as gay.
In an interview with E! Online, Dragon 2’s writer and director, Dean DeBlois, revealed that Gobber (the blond viking voiced by Craig Ferguson) would come out. As DeBlois explained, the decision came about while Ferguson was recording dialogue: “I had written the line, ‘This is why I never got married,” and he, as he often does, added it as an ad lib and he said, ‘Yup, Gobber is coming out of the closet.’”
And that was that. Such is the power of improv! And apparently, DeBlois couldn’t be happier with the revelation, saying, “I think that’s a really fun [and] daring move to put in. I love the idea that Gobber is Berk’s resident gay.”
And really, why not have a gay character? The point of the first movie was that society couldn’t progress unless people were willing to keep open minds about others, retire old ideas disproved by experience and work together as a community. That’s the kind of rational extremism the gays are known for!
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