Mason Thames as Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon.

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Mason Thames as Hiccup in How to Train Your Dragon.

Universal Studios

Disney has been remaking its animated classics for years to great financial success– Lilo & Stitch has been dominating the box office for weeks now. So it’s no surprise that DreamWorks is now getting in on the action with a remake of How to Train Your Dragon. It’s full of epic battles, majestic countrysides and, of course, dragons galore.

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I had never before been single in Los Angeles. My partner and I had moved here from New York. I worked a very early shift at Sony Pictures, pumping out film grosses seven days a week, and he managed a co-owned restaurant in Hollywood with a shift closing late at night.

Our schedules didn’t match, and his nightly winding-down shift offered far more extracurricular opportunities than my waking-up shift. The inevitable split occurred, and along with the restaurant went the social life, friends, the house and even the cat.

Alone and searching for new friends and romances, it was suggested that the newly opened Home Depot on Sunset Boulevard was a great place to meet gay guys, but alas — the straight guy with the bubble butt in the paint department was commanding all the attention. Ikea indeed had plenty of guys, but almost all were coupled. That left the bars of West Hollywood, where you would line up against the wall like pins in a bowling alley and wait for a strike. This was years before online dating came about. Swiping left or right was done face-to-face, and it was brutal.

My chiropractor enlisted a masseur named Daniel to help with my “back of steel,” as he put it. Daniel offered two options: slow and easy, which would take weeks, or quick and deep, which I opted for until my chiropractor told Daniel to go a little easier as my loud groaning was scaring the patients in the waiting room.

Daniel was going through a breakup of his own and suggested I try country western dancing. “It’s a great way to meet people, and you dance for five minutes and move on to the next. Like taking a test drive,” he said.

Reasonable, I thought, but country music? Maybe a man in my arms would neutralize the sound of steel guitars in my ears. But then I remembered I did dance to the Six Fat Dutchmen in the ninth grade. My school had six weeks of social dancing in the gym during the harsh winter months in Minnesota.

It was mainly square dancing, but we also learned to waltz, polka, schottische and foxtrot. It was the foxtrot that was giving me problems now. Similar to the Texas two-step but with an extra step added, it kept tripping me up on the dance floor along with the poor sap that felt sorry for me and had asked me to dance. A reputation as a bad dancer spreads faster than a wild fire in late November.

So off I went to the weeknight dance lessons at Rawhide, where bad dancers try to improve by dancing with other lousy dancers in hopes of becoming mediocre and then, perhaps if you really concentrate, a step up to adequate.

So back to the main event and the Sunday Beer Bust: We beginners could at least dance with each other and learn to stay out of the better couples’ path. I would dance a few dances but mostly lean against a post and watch the action.

And then, there he was.

Out of all the guys in the crowd, there was just something about him and his tight jeans, his boots and his cowboy hat. His dance card was continually full, and my chances felt empty. It would take at least a month of Tuesday lessons to gain enough confidence to ask him to dance. But I came back each Sunday and tried to apply my improving skills.

As the weeks went by, I was becoming disillusioned by the whole country-dancing saga, and as I was driving over the hill to the Valley one Sunday, I asked myself, “Do you really want to continue with this?” As I entered the bar sober, I looked out over the crowd. Lorrie Morgan had just released a country version of “My Favorite Things,” which was playing.

I saw all these men in jeans, most in boots and cowboy hats, and some in leather chaps. Short, tall, thin and beefy, all were holding someone in their arms and dancing a waltz, no doubt dreaming of cream-colored ponies. It was surreal, but it pulled me in.

As I went to the bar, got a beer and leaned back onto my favorite post to watch it all go on around me, it happened. I noticed he noticed me.

In the arms of another, he glanced and smiled as he whirled by. And then again on the next go-round.

I felt the dizzy rush of adrenaline send my heart into palpitations as long-dormant hope sprang forth from that simple smile. And as the music stopped and the strains of a new song began, he walked toward me and asked me to dance. We danced again, and the following Sunday as well. And the next Sunday, and then many months of Sundays.

It’s been 25 years since our first dance. We’re a little slower, a little less energetic and the years show on our faces as well in the color and/or lack of hair.

Our favorite places to dance have closed. As with most relationships, there have been odd sour notes through the years, but mostly harmonious music. And when we are in rhythm with arms about each other, I don’t need to worry about the steps because my feet don’t touch the ground.

The author lives in Mid-City with his partner Nick. He is fairly antisocial on social media. If you must, he can be reached at ccbartelt@gmail.com.

L.A. Affairs chronicles the search for romantic love in all its glorious expressions in the L.A. area, and we want to hear your true story. We pay $400 for a published essay. Email LAAffairs@latimes.com. You can find submission guidelines here. You can find past columns here.

Nintendo announced that it sold more than 3.5 million Switch 2 consoles less than a week after its June 5 release. That feat makes it the fastest-selling Nintendo game system of all time. Most online retailers have run out of the console, and resellers have tagged on hundreds of dollars to the $449 MSRP on websites like eBay.

The Switch 2 will likely remain a hot item through the holiday sales season — but don’t despair. Stores get restocked periodically. Even if their websites appear empty, brick-and-mortar locations frequently have consoles reserved for in-person customers. And if you’ve logged more than 50 hours of playtime on a Nintendo account, you can line up online for an invitation to buy a Switch 2 directly from the company.

But even if you can get a Switch 2, should you buy one? Does it justify the steep cost? Are its launch games really worth it? After playtesting the console at press events and over the course of a bleary week, I’ve got answers.

The Switch 2, displayed in tabletop mode with its Joy-Cons detached.

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Nintendo’s new era

The Switch 2 improves on the first generation in (almost) every way. Nintendo has exhaustively described how, but I’ll break down the highlights.

The Switch 2 has a bigger screen and bigger Joy-Cons (though, remarkably, it’s still as skinny as the original Switch). It narrows the performance gap with its console competitors. It’s no PlayStation 5, but it is more powerful than a PS4 — and fits between your hands.

It’s also, blessedly, backwards-compatible. The vast majority of the old Switch catalog works seamlessly, though a few have special Switch 2 upgrades. For $10 (free for Nintendo Switch Online subscribers), Tears of the Kingdom plays smoothly on a Switch 2, while it could really struggle on the original Switch. The extra power is also ushering in games that were out of reach for Nintendo users, including Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring.

Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Cons being used conventionally and as a mouse.

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While I adore all fancy controllers (the new Pro Controller’s great, by the way), it’s the updated Joy-Cons that impress me the most. They magnetize onto the sides of the console with a satisfying snap and stay firmly attached no matter how bumpy my train commutes have gotten. At a button-press, they’ll slip off and can be used like computer mice on nearly any surface. Believe me — I’ve tested it on cushions, pants, books, tables and even my wife’s pregnant belly! I await a killer app for this gimmicky feature, but it’s been useful for strategy games like Civilization 7.

Original Switch controllers still work with the Switch 2 — but the comparison isn’t flattering. Returning to the older Joy-Cons for some 4-player Mario Party was painful, between the smaller buttons to the inconsistent wireless pairing. But those Joy-Cons are admittedly well-used. Time will only tell if the new models will largely avoid the notorious “stick drift” that plagued the original Joy-Cons.

The console isn’t perfect. The straps for the detached Joy-Cons make them more stable to use as mice, but they also make the shoulder buttons slightly harder to press since they raise the edges around them. Much-touted “Game Chat” features let you easily talk to friends, but you can’t use the video-conferencing features unless you shrink the gameplay screen. Speaking of screens, while the Switch 2 boasts vivid colors, HD resolution and a high refresh rate, it’s not quite as luminous as the OLED Switch screen I’m coming from. Finally, the paltry internal memory can’t hold many modern games — you’ll need an expensive microSD express card to download more.

Gripes aside, I’m loving the Switch 2 and now gravitate to it more than my cherished Steam Deck. I don’t think every Nintendo fan will need to upgrade until more exclusive games arrive, but if you can afford it now and know that you’ll want one eventually, it’s easy to recommend. Especially if you’re eager to sling shells, crush mushrooms, and vroom to victory.

Mario Kart World

The original Switch launched with Breath of the Wild, one of the most influential games of all time. Mario Kart World doesn’t break as much ground, but it’s got more in common with that trailblazer than I initially thought.

Wario and Waluigi form a motorcycle duo in Mario Kart World’s “Free Roam” mode.

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When I previewed the game in April, I described it as baby’s first Forza Horizon: an open-world racing game that would undoubtedly brim with noisome side activities. It’s actually got a far lighter touch. The game strings dozens of possible races across an interconnected landscape for hectic Grand Prix events and 24-person Knockout rounds. Yet you can also freely roam across the titular world and discover its many delights — which, like Breath of the Wild, aren’t advertised on the map.

Granted, blue-coin dashes and time trials rarely made me squawk with surprise like the shrines and secrets of a Zelda game. But these challenges perfectly fit in-between competitive bouts. Unfortunately, the mode works best when playing alone. Online friends can roam with you, but you can’t unlock costumes and achievements while playing with them.

When it comes to actual racing, World feels like Mario Kart 8 with wider roads and glitzy new power-ups. It’s hard to improve on 8’s formula, which embraces the greatest hits from decades of series history. But by expanding the space between the races, Mario Kart World feels innovative enough to earn the $80 asking price.

Miniscule people explore a gargantuan console in Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour.

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Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

The other Nintendo launch title, conversely, feels like homework — and I don’t exactly mean that as an insult. Welcome Tour synthesizes Nintendo’s recent forays into theme park and museum design into an exhaustive survey of Switch 2 hardware.

Imagine you’re an ant, crawling along the Switch 2’s surface, hungrily grubbing up morsels. That’s the Welcome Tour experience. Your tiny avatar hunts for hidden stamps needed to progress through a massive console and its peripherals. You’ll also endure demonstrations and occasionally entertaining minigames meant to show off the Switch 2. As tech demos go, it falls short of the heights set by Astro’s Playroom. But as an interactive exhibition piece, it’s oddly compelling.

A sampling of the occasionally whimsical answers to one of Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour’s many quizzes.

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I made it my mission to ace all of Welcome Tour’s quizzes, which the game doles out after you’ve read facts about the Switch 2. Complete with satisfying bloop sounds and jokey answers, these multiple-choice tests target technical manual enjoyers and How It’s Made watchers (a population that overlaps considerably with gaming console reviewers!). Poindexters like me will feel welcome in Welcome Tour. Everyone else may as well save the $10.