Author likes changes to "How To Train Your Dragon"

[Michael]

[RobRoy]

[Jammin]

I've heard good things about this film but despite Michael's post I'm struggling to make the mental leap to accept the fact that the story in the book is just not what the film is about.

Probably short sighted on my part but it does seem silly to take a very good story and throw away virtually everything about it when you make the film. It's not as though it's even an adaptation by the sounds of things, it's just completely different. Why bother in that case? Why not make an original film?