Two Stories, Two Vibes, One Existential Crisis
Elio was everything I wanted it to be and somehow still a little more. It was classic Pixar through and through. Big feelings, a weird premise, a protagonist whose social anxiety felt painfully familiar, and a galaxy that somehow made space politics feel like middle school group projects. Elio wasn’t just trying to save Earth’s reputation - he was trying to figure out who he was, and honestly? Same. The animation was beautifully stylized, expressive, and full of that intangible Pixar warmth. It hit me right in the core, in that “oh great, I’m crying again and we’re only twenty minutes in” way.
And then, before my emotions had even stabilized, I jumped into the live-action edition of How to Train Your Dragon.
It was stunning.
Toothless was terrifying in the best possible way. The scales, the lighting, the eyes. It was like someone had taken my favorite childhood stuffed animal and given it a full-grown cryptid makeover. The movie didn’t just revisit the story I loved - it expanded it. It leaned into the myth, the moodiness, the grief, the growth. It made me nostalgic for a version of myself I’d kind of forgotten.
The two films could not have been more different, and somehow, that made them perfect companions.
Elio cracked me open with wonder.
HTTYD sealed me back together with dragon fire and cinematic catharsis.
The audience was split - I wasn't.
Online, I saw the fandoms go to war.
Team Elio loved the originality, the return to Pixar’s heartfelt roots. They were finally getting a brand-new story not tethered to a franchise or a merchandising deal.
Team Dragon was all in on the reimagining, thrilled to see one of the most beloved animated trilogies get the big-screen, live-action glow-up it deserved.
Me? I refused to pick sides.
Because the truth is, both films spoke to different versions of me.
Elio tapped into my inner kid - the one who used to talk to herself in alien accents and believed loneliness could be solved with a single good friend.
How to Train Your Dragon spoke to the nerdy teen I used to be, the one who built emotional attachments to fictional animals and had very strong opinions about animated facial hair.
And as I left the theater (twice), I realized something kind of magical:
We’re lucky to live in a time where both kinds of stories exist.
Original and imaginative.
Reimagined and elevated.
Two very different escapes, one very weird summer.
This wasn’t a typical movie weekend. This was therapy disguised as entertainment.
Elio reminded me that new stories still matter, that studios can (and should) take risks on weird little space movies about awkward kids with big feelings.
And How to Train Your Dragon reminded me why I loved the original in the first place and how much deeper that love runs when it’s revisited with care and detail and just the right amount of emotional destruction.
Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Would I recommend watching both back-to-back? Only if your tear ducts are in peak condition.
But if you’re standing in line trying to choose between the two, don’t.
Your inner child deserves magic.
Your inner nerd deserves dragons.
Buy the popcorn. Bring the tissues. Let yourself feel it all.
Because this summer, I didn’t choose between my childhood and my fandom.
I embraced both.
And I’m still recovering.
