Hiccup Horrendous Linguine Alfredo

Bare with me for a moment while I make an interesting comparison between two fictional characters, both from popular animated films.

On the left we have "Linguine Alfredo" from Pixar's Ratatouille, and on the right we have "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III" from Dreamworks's "How to Train Your Dragon".
Which brings me to the first similarity: The ridiculous names.
Linguine is named after a freaking pasta dish, (which don't get me wrong, is fine with me because that's my favorite kind) And hiccup, well... yeah. You get it.

Both have their reasons though, I guess. In How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup explains in the beginning of the movie that his name is pretty bizarre, but that's because he's a viking and they all apparently have bat-shit crazy names. This is fine with me because silly names like this are easy to remember, and that's good because the majority of the viewrs are going to be kids, teens, and dorky adults like me who are amused by that stuff.
In Ratatouille, Linguine's name origin is self explained when you find out that Auguste Gusteau (whose first name and last name are anagrams of each other, lol) is his father. And Gusteau loved food, so, there you have it. I guess he was so obsessed that he convinced Linguine's mother that a delicious meal was a good name. Huh.

But that brings me to the next similarity: The famous/well known fathers.
And they're both rather, erm... large fathers too. Gusteau because he's a food loving chef, (Because all the best chefs are fatties) and Stoick the Vast, Hiccup's father, just because he's the big burly viking leader of their village.


Not only are they largely famous within their movie worlds, but they bare hardly any resemblance at all towards their sons. Both movies even have mentions towards the fact that the main characters look nothing like their fathers.

[ TALON
There's not much resemblance--

SKINNER
There's NO resemblance at all! He's not Gusteau's son! ] Ratatouille script

Not only do they look nothing like their dads, but their personalities as well don't math.
Linguine's father is portrayed in the movie as a fat, jolly man with a contented shadow under his eyes and a carefree look about him. Linguine himself has a pair of bulging eyes looking in every nervous direction, which compliments his awkwardly gangling character.

Hiccup doesn't really relate to his father either, which is a lot more evident in his movie, as the two have multiple conflicting interests throughout the film. Stoick is obviously a ruthless viking leader who believes in the simple logic of killing all dragons for good, while Hiccup has a more sophisticated brain in that he designs and invents, and cannot kill a dragon since he sees them for more then just monsters.

Oh, and of course, like in most cartoon stories, neither main character has a mother to speak of. They are both only mentioned to be dead once during each film. Although How to Train Your Dragon's mention was absolutely hilarious. "Thanks for the breast hat" LOL.
Though I also have to give credit to Ratatouille's awkward scene where Linguine explains his mother's death.

[ SKINNER
Yes. Renata. How is she?

LINGUINE
Good. Well, not go-- she's been better, I mean, uh...

HORST
She died.

SKINNER
Oh. I'm so sorry.

LINGUINE
Don't be. She believed in heaven so she's... covered...
(awkward)
..you know, afterlife wise. ] Ratatouille script

Oh my gosh. It's like they just gave up on making you feel sad that the main character's mothers were dead and just got awkwardly silly with it. I love it.

But in all fairness, there are differences too. Like how Linguine's father Gusteau is actually dead throughout Ratatouille, and only portrayed as being a sort of... guardian angel phantom for a rat. (Wow, I just realized how weird that sounded.)

And let's not forget the famous companies that made the films.
Dreamworks and Disney's Pixar are both famous for creating popular animated films. And while I must say that I don't find one Pixar movie to be bad, Dreamworks has a more varied span of movies, so while there are good ones, there are also stinkers. *cough*Monsters Vs. Aliens*cough*
So both these characters do come from movies produced by highly popular companies that make animated films.


And for one of the biggest common details: The pets, or main animal stars.
Both Hiccup and Linguine are moved through the story by their animal counterparts, which in a way, are the other main characters of these movies.
Although, Toothless the dragon does not talk, and How to Train Your Dragon is really told through the perspective of Hiccup the human.
Ratatouille on the other hand, is told through the perspective of Remy the rat, and Linguine is more of a side-kick to him.

Although yes, Linguine may have found a rat who can cook, but Hiccup was the first to tame a freaking dragon for crying out loud. Take your pick on which one you'd rather have as your friend.

Oh and hey! There's one more thing I just thought of: Love interests.
Both Colette and Astrid are tough cookies that have viscous survival instincts in the beginning of their movies. Colette has worked hard to get into her job and is intensely harsh with Linguine when he meets her.
Astrid is brutally cold to Hiccup as well because she believes he's a loser when it comes to dragon battles.
They are both females with iron wills and determination to be the best. Once the main characters starts to succeed, they become jealous and upset.
But once they get to know the guy, they start to like them and eventually we get a love interest out of it.
Although Asrtid's character is a little more obviously a love interest in the beginning of the movie. They don't even bother to hide that fact, especially since Hiccup has an obvious crush on her from the beginning.
Collette and Linguine's relationship, I have to be honest, came out of god-damn nowhere for me. And that first kissing scene had to be one of the most hilariously awkward, unromantic moments in animation history.

So as a rundown, you've got two guys who are out of place in their worlds, trying to fit in, and have differences with their fathers. They meet an intelligent animal who changes their perspective on what they've been struggling with, and that animal counter-part helps them discover themselves and become accepted by their peers, and 'get the girl'.
Although once everyone, (Linguine's co-workers/Hiccup's village) finds out how they've been succeeding, they shun the main character and there is a scene of hopelessness.
Then they pull together in the end to show how animal and human can work together, and somehow, everything works out in the end. (Though How to Train Tour Dragon is a little bit more resolved then Ratatouille, Ratatouille I believe is a little more realistic with it's ending of acceptance.)

Oh and, let's not forget about their adorably large noses, hehe.