Bechdel Test Movie List

While I don't remember Ruffnuff and Astrid having a full-fledged conversation, I'm pretty sure they talk to each other (although the moment I can remember is Astrid being unhappy of Ruffnuff's interest in Hiccup. Therefor it would be about a man.)

At the very least, HTTYD has very cool kick-ass girls and women.

Although there is progress in how a young woman is represented from, say, early Disney, Astrid is obviously and throughout the movie intended to be the reward for Hiccup once he finally comes of age. He even says in the beginning that if he can only become successful, he'll get a girlfriend. She's the prize to be won; a cool, edgier, stronger prize than others, but still an object to his subject.

That's not entirely fair. The movie starts out that way, but it starts out with a lot of preconceptions that are shown to be wrong. I would say that Astrid's place in Hiccup's eyes changes significantly as he actually gets to know her instead of admiring her from afar.

Astrid and Ruffnut talk during the denouement when they are working out how best to fight the Red Death on dragonback.
It may not be much, but it's there. This is a great movie, as it shows a variety of female body types (Astrid is taller than Hiccup) and roles, as well as showing positive role models of disability, and an emphasis on peaceful solutions to conflict.

Ruffnuff says something about how she hopes to get a burn on her shoulder or lower back (tattoo joke)and Astrid says back "yeah it's only fun if you get a scar" when they're going into dragon training.

Time to give HTTYD a smiley face, based on the two previous posts.

Okay, based on the feedback I've updated the rating (from 1/3 to 3/3).

It does pass the test, but consider this: the original book series the movie is adapted from contains no character named Astrid; the equivalent in the book is in fact male. The female character for the film was created solely for the purpose of the romantic subplot. Even more bothersome is the fact that she's rough, tough, mean-spirited, and generally unlikeable until the "magic carpet ride." Doesn't give much legitimacy to the character as much more than the reward, as mentioned.

I agree with Comrade Svilova. Astrid is obviously still an object as much as they try to mask that fact through 'positive discrimination' by making her tough and seemingly unapproachable.

I agree with the rating because there are lots of women in this movie and they never talk about boys.

On the subject of Astrid being seen as "the prize", an object... This seems to be true, but as Danno points out, this changes during the movie. Not to mention, Hiccup apparently feels like he is worth less as a man for not having a girlfriend, which makes him want one just for the sake of it (to begin with anyway)... This makes me think. They're kinda making a point about how sexist society can be- Hiccup feels society says you need a woman as a prize, and on the other hand society is being pretty sexist against men too- saying that a man is not a "real man" if he doesn't have a girl. I mean, it gives the impression that we've got prejudice in both directions here. Especially taking into account the fact that the female characters (even though there aren't that many of them) are counted as completely equal to the male ones- hell, Astrid is depicted as the most proficient fighter out of all of them. And as the story progresses, I'm getting the feeling of the main character overcoming the "need girl as prize" idea... This movie seems to be saying the concept is archaic and is not the right way to think.

Maybe I'm over-thinking this, but I reckon this movie's pretty good when it come to female roles. It's only fault is that it could have had more female characters in it.

While I liked the movie well enough, I found it irksome that although Astrid was built up to be the most proficient of the fighters, she didn't really get to prove it. It seemed like the only thing of note she did was serve as Hiccup's emotional rallier and confidante. She's even taken out of the final battle by being rescued by Hiccup.

However it was refreshing to also see a few women standing amongst the men who were warriors.

SD526, going to the book isn't particularly fair... I'm sure several movies here that fail the movie pass in the book. Also, complaining that she's rough and unlikable is also a strange twist. She's a warrior, is she supposed to be friendly and lovable?

SD526, if you've read the movie that the book is based off of you should know that there is a female character that is represented by Astrid. While Astrid may have been created for the purpose of a romantic subplot, she is more than that as is her counterpart in the book. Hiccup's view of her changes over the course of the movie to reveal that she is more than his reward.

To turn the criticism of some that Astrid is presented in the movie as a "prize", I offer the following view:

Astrid is The Chosen, capable, practiced, trained (she has read a book others scoff at and that the hero hasn't) and is earmarked for greatest. Hiccup is an outcast with overlooked and undervalued abilities. It is up to HIM to show that he is worthy of HER, both in his own mind and the minds of others.

In the end, her admiration (rather than an empty romantic desire) for Hiccup stems from his willingness to do something "no viking had ever done before". In fact, she is the one who has to remind him of that!

And though Astrid clearly becomes much more likeable to the audience after the mentioned "magic carpet ride", she was not presented as unlikeable earlier on. Initially, she is indifferent of Hiccup, and more than anything is just curious about his strange behavior. She only acts negatively when she temporarily comes to view him as a rival (and it makes all the more sense that she would come to like him once she moves past the rivalry, as this fictional culture seems to be one in which romances would develop from rivalries).

I'll also add that it is always easy to mistaken "crushes from far away" that become realized as the winning of a prize, as ALL romantic interest from one person to another when they don't already have a personal relationship will seem that way. Hiccup admires Astrid for all that she is; to paint that as a negative is to denounce all romance as a striving for prizes.

Yes, the status of Astrid as object changes during the movie. But NOT for the better. She starts OUT the independent and strong type, and end up the prize. And in the sequel, it's made explicit, where in the last scene, he says "C'mere, you" and grabs her taking his kiss. Her role as such is explicit there, and while it's implicit in the first, it's not terrible well disguised.

I've been reading the discussion here. I never really saw Astrid as the 'prize'. Yes, he wants a girlfriend, but it's not like she's his motivation for anything he does. He completely ignores her for most of it because he's focused on Toothless. She's the one following him; not in a romantic way, but because she thinks he's up to something regarding the dragons. When they do kiss, she's the instigator. I also like Ruffnut - she's tough and has a strong character, and there's no romantic interest relating to her. I would have liked to have seen more dialogue between the two, but the Bechdel test is only intended to identify movies that pass an extremely low bar, which this does.

I haven't seen HTTYD 2, but it sounds like all the good points about the female characters got stripped out of that one. Don't think I'll bother watching that one!

There are strong female characters in the movie, but it clearly does not pass the test as they have nothing that can be reasonably classified as a conversation, at least by the standards applied to other films on this site.

I disagree with the rating because she seems like a stereotype for what men think makes a tough girl. A tough girl is not necessarily mean, but can still fight her own fights and doesn't need a man to stand up for her. If Astrid really was a kick-ass girl, she wouldn't have let herself be taken out of battle, or maybe she wouldn't have even fallen in love with Hiccup at the end. Not to say that women/girls who fall in love aren't tough, but honestly, I don't think the movie needed that storyline anyway.

Astrid is not taken out of the battle the way people make it seem like she is. Firstly I might add that although she is being saved in that one scene that is the first time she gets saved and she goes to save the main character 3 times (in training, in the arena and unnecessarily from toothless) in the scene when she dose get saved it’s not like she’s a weak girl in fact the 4 boys and 1 girl she is fighting alongside get taken out of the fight beforehand due to their mistakes and she is shown to be one carrying the team and two be the strongest before she then gets “taken out of the fight” so that the main character can have the big fight scene at the end