How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 American animated fantasy film loosely based on the 2003 novel by Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Paramount Pictures, it was directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote the screenplay with Will Davies, and produced by Bonnie Arnold. The film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig. The story takes place in Berk, a mythical Viking village; Hiccup, an undersized teen wishing to become a Dragon slayer like the other Vikings, injures a rare Night Fury Dragon but is unable to bring himself to kill it. He instead helps and befriends the Dragon, and quickly discovers that things are not exactly as they seem in the conflict between Vikings and dragons. In 2004, the book series began attracting the attention of the executives at DreamWorks Animation. After the success of Over the Hedge (2006), producer Bonnie Arnold shortly became interested in the newly acquired property. The directors of the film wanted to make sure to cash in the improvisation abilities of the secondary cast by frequently bringing them together in the recording sessions. The filmmakers hired cinematographer Roger Deakins (known for frequently collaborating with the Coen brothers) as a visual consultant to help them with lighting and aesthetic of the film and to add a live-action feel. John Powell composed the film's musical score. How to Train Your Dragon premiered at the Gibson Amphitheater on March 21, 2010, and was released in the United States on March 26, by Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation. The film was a commercial success, grossing $494 million worldwide, becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2010. It was widely acclaimed for its animation, voice acting, writing, musical score, humor, plot, and 3D sequences. The film was nominated for two awards at the 83rd Academy Awards and received numerous other accolades. How to Train Your Dragon is the first entry in what became the multimedia franchise of the same name, which includes two more films—How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). A live-action remake is scheduled to be released by Universal Pictures on June 13, 2025, with DeBlois returning to direct.

Plot

The Viking village of Berk is frequently attacked by dragons that steal livestock and endanger the villagers. Hiccup, the 15-year-old son of the village chieftain, Stoick the Vast, is deemed too weak to fight. Instead, he creates mechanical devices under apprenticeship with Gobber, the village blacksmith. Hiccup uses a bolas launcher to shoot down a Night Fury, a rare Dragon, during a Dragon raid, but nobody believes him. He enters the forest and finds the creature but cannot bring himself to kill him, so he sets the Dragon free. The Night Fury then suddenly pins Hiccup down, and he braces for death, but to Hiccup's surprise, he spares him. Before leaving with his fleet to find and destroy the dragons' nest, Stoick enrolls Hiccup in a Dragon-fighting class with fellow teenagers Fishlegs, Snotlout, twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, and Astrid, on whom Hiccup has a crush. Facing little success in the class, Hiccup returns to the forest and finds the Night Fury in a cove, unable to fly because Hiccup's bolas tore off half of his tail fin. Hiccup gradually befriends the Dragon, naming him "Toothless" after his retractable teeth, and designs a harness and prosthetic fin that allows Toothless to fly with Hiccup riding him. Learning Dragon behavior from Toothless, Hiccup can subdue the captive dragons during training, earning admiration from his peers but sparking suspicion and jealousy from Astrid. Stoick's fleet returns home unsuccessful after being destroyed by a massive Dragon. When Hiccup learns that he must kill a Dragon for his final exam, he tries to run away with Toothless, but Astrid discovers the Dragon, and Hiccup takes her on a flight to demonstrate that Toothless is friendly. During the flight, Toothless is hypnotically drawn to the dragons' nest, where a gargantuan Dragon named the Red Death summons smaller dragons to feed it copious amounts of live food to avoid being eaten themselves. Realizing the dragons have been forced to attack Berk to survive, Astrid wishes to tell the village, but Hiccup advises against it to protect Toothless. In his final exam, Hiccup faces a captive Monstrous Nightmare and tries to subdue him to prove that dragons can be peaceful. When Stoick unintentionally enrages the Dragon into attacking, Toothless arrives to protect Hiccup but is captured. Stoick furiously confronts his son for befriending a Dragon until Hiccup accidentally reveals that Toothless knows the location of the dragons' nest. Stoick disowns Hiccup and sets off for the nest with Toothless guiding the Vikings, in spite of Hiccup's pleas. Astrid prompts Hiccup to realize he spared Toothless out of compassion, not weakness. Regaining his confidence, Hiccup shows his friends How to befriend the training dragons, and they set out after Toothless. Stoick and his Vikings locate and break open the Dragon's nest, awakening the Red Death, which easily overwhelms them. Hiccup and his friends ride in on the training dragons, distracting the Red Death. Hiccup attempts to free Toothless; Stoick rescues and apologizes to both Hiccup and Toothless, and reinstates Hiccup as his son. Toothless and Hiccup destroy the Red Death through teamwork. Whilst escaping the explosion, Hiccup gets knocked off Toothless. The Vikings and Stoick discover that Toothless saved Hiccup from the explosion by covering him with his wings, but Hiccup has lost his lower left leg. Sometime later, Hiccup awakes back on Berk and finds that Gobber has fashioned him a prosthetic. Gobber has also made a new prosthetic wing for Toothless. Hiccup is now admired by his village, including Astrid, who kisses him. Berk begins a new era of humans and dragons living in peace.

Voice cast

Jay Baruchel as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the awkward son of Stoick the Vast. America Ferrera as Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's fellow student in Dragon training and his love interest. Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, the chieftain of Berk and Hiccup's father. Craig Ferguson as Gobber the Belch, Berk's blacksmith, a close friend of Stoick's and teacher of the tribe's young Dragon-training recruits. Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs Ingerman, an enthusiastic youth knowledgeable in Dragon lore which he often relates in role-playing game style. Jonah Hill as Snotlout Jorgenson, one of Hiccup's Dragon-training classmates. Snotlout is brash, overconfident, and fairly unintelligent, but reliable. T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig as Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston, a pair of quarrelsome twins. Toothless, Hiccup’s faithful Night Fury. Vocal Effects by Randy Thom David Tennant as Spitelout, Snotlout's father. Robin Atkin Downes as Ack, a blond-bearded Viking. Philip McGrade as Starkard. Kieron Elliott as Hoark the Haggard, a Viking with a knotted beard. Ashley Jensen as Phlegma the Fierce, a female Viking.

Production

The book series by Cressida Cowell began coming to attention to the executives at DreamWorks Animation in 2004. Coming off her success in Over the Hedge, producer Bonnie Arnold shortly became interested in the newly acquired property. She kept focusing on the project as time went on, and when DreamWorks Animation co-president of production Bill Damaschke asked her what she wanted to work on next, she chose "How to Train Your Dragon". Peter Hastings was the original director of the film. Hastings' version of the film followed the novel closely but DreamWorks Animation decided that the story skewed too much towards younger viewers, which could negatively impact potential box-office revenue, and Hastings was removed. Damaschke hired Chris Sanders to take over, who in turn called Dean DeBlois, with whom he had worked on Lilo & Stitch, to co-direct. The original plot has been described by DeBlois as "heavily loyal to the book," but was regarded as being too "sweet" and "whimsical" and geared to a younger demographic. In the novel, Hiccup's Dragon, Toothless, is believed to be a Common or Garden Dragon, a small breed. In the film, Toothless is an injured Night Fury, the rarest species of all dragons, far faster, aerodynamic and more powerful than the other species, and is large enough to serve as a flying mount for both Hiccup and Astrid. The filmmakers hired cinematographer Roger Deakins (known for frequently collaborating with the Coen brothers) as a visual consultant to help them with lighting and overall look of the film and to "add a live-action feel". Extensive research was done to depict both flight, as the directors knew they would be the biggest draw of the film's 3D effects, and fire, given animation could break away from the limitations seen in live-action films, where propane flames are usual due to being easier to extinguish. The dragons' designers made sure to create animals that were comical and also innovative compared to other Dragon fiction. Toothless in particular tried to combine various Dragon traits in a black panther-inspired design, that also had large ears and eyes to convey emotion better. The directors made sure to cash in on the improvisation abilities of the secondary cast—Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and T.J Miller—by frequently bringing them together in the recording sessions.

Music

John Powell returned to DreamWorks Animation to score How to Train Your Dragon, making it his sixth collaboration with the studio, following Antz, The Road to El Dorado, Chicken Run, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda (all of which he scored with either Harry Gregson-Williams and/or Hans Zimmer). Powell composed an orchestral score, combining bombastic brass with loud percussion and soothing strings, while also using exotic Scottish and Irish tones with instruments like the penny whistle and bagpipes. Additionally, Icelandic singer Jónsi wrote and performed the song "Sticks & Stones" for the film. The score was released by Varèse Sarabande on March 23, 2010. Overall, the score was well received by film score critics. Powell earned his first Academy Award nomination for his work on the film, ultimately losing to Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross for their score for The Social Network.

Release

= Theatrical

= How to Train Your Dragon had its United States premiere on March 21, 2010, at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California, and was theatrically released on March 26, 2010, in the United States. It was originally scheduled to be released on November 20, 2009, but was pushed back to avoid competition with other family films released in November. The film was digitally re-mastered into IMAX 3D, and released to 186 North American IMAX theaters, and approximately 80 IMAX theatres outside North America. A month before the release, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg protested Warner Bros.' decision to convert Clash of the Titans from 2D to 3D, then to release it one week after How to Train Your Dragon. Entertainment reporter Kim Masters described the 3D release schedule around March 2010 as a "traffic jam", and speculated that the lack of 3D screen availability could hurt Katzenberg's prospects despite his support of the 3D format. That month, theater industry executives accused Paramount Pictures (who distributed the film on behalf of DreamWorks) of using high-pressure tactics to coerce theaters to screen How to Train Your Dragon rather than competing 3D releases, Clash of the Titans and Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. As theater multiplexes often had just one 3D screen, theaters were unable to accommodate more than one 3D presentation at a time.

= Home media

= How to Train Your Dragon was released on single-disc DVD, two-disc double DVD pack, and Blu-ray/DVD combo pack editions in Canada and the United States on October 15, 2010. Among the features available in the two-disc DVD edition and Blu-ray is an original sequel short film, Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon. As of February 2012, 9.7 million home entertainment units were sold worldwide. The film was reissued on Blu-ray on May 27, 2014, with the short film Book of Dragons and an episode of DreamWorks Dragons added as additional bonus features. In July 2014, the film's distribution rights were purchased by DreamWorks Animation from Paramount Pictures and transferred to 20th Century Fox before reverting to Universal Studios in 2018. As a result, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment released a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version of the film on January 22, 2019 alongside the film's sequel How to Train Your Dragon 2, making them the first DreamWorks Animation catalog titles to be released on that format, and in preparation for the release of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World the following month.

Reception

= Box office

= How to Train Your Dragon topped the North American box office with $43.7 million in its first weekend of release. The film grossed $217.6 million in the United States and Canada and $277.3 million in foreign countries with a worldwide total of $494.9 million. How to Train Your Dragon is DreamWorks Animation's highest-grossing film in the American and Canadian box office other than the Shrek films. It is the fifth-highest-grossing animated film of 2010, behind Toy Story 3 with $1,063.2 million, Shrek Forever After with $752.6 million, Tangled with $576.6 million, and Despicable Me with $543.1 million and the 10th-highest-grossing movie of 2010. As of 2019, the How to Train Your Dragon series has grossed over $1 billion worldwide.

= Critical response

= How to Train Your Dragon received universal acclaim upon its release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 99% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on 210 reviews from professional critics, with an overall rating average of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus states, "Boasting dazzling animation, a script with surprising dramatic depth, and thrilling 3-D sequences, How to Train Your Dragon soars." As of September 2024, it is DreamWorks Animation's highest-rated film on the Rotten Tomatoes website. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 37 reviews from critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Matt Risley of Variety wrote a highly positive review, hailing it as "undoubtedly Dreamworks' best film yet, and quite probably the best Dragon movie ever made". James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave it 3.5 out of 4 stars, and complimented both the "technically proficient" animation and the "witty, intelligent, surprisingly insightful script". Claudia Puig of USA Today noted that the film had "surprising depth", and praised the "sweetly poignant tale of friendship between man and animal". Entertainment Weekly film critic Owen Gleiberman praised the film's usage of 3-D in all "its breathtaking spatial and emotional possibilities"; he gave a rating of A−. Both Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times and A. O. Scott of At The Movies felt that character and story development had been sidelined in favour of the visual spectacle. Ebert criticised the lengthy "aerial battles between tamed dragons and evil ones", but did note that "[the film] is bright, good-looking, and has high energy". Similarly, Scott commended the cinematography, observing that the "swooping and soaring [was] worth the price of a ticket." Rolling Stone film critic Peter Travers, giving it three out of four stars, wrote that the film "works enough miracles of 3-D animation to charm Your socks off." Roger Moore of The Orlando Sentinel, who gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, felt that the film's inclusion of more dramatic subject matter, instead of more comedic themes, was to the detriment of the film, making it a "waste of a funny book, some very funny actors and some darned witty animation." Village Voice film critic Ella Taylor also gave a more negative review of the film, describing it as an "adequate but unremarkable animated tale".

= Accolades

= At the 83rd Academy Awards, How to Train Your Dragon received nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score. The film's other nominations include fourteen Annie Awards (winning ten), two British Academy Film Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.

Sequels and franchise

The film was followed by two sequels, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). Five post-movie short films were released: Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010), Book of Dragons (2011), Gift of the Night Fury (2011), Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (2019). A television series based on the film premiered on Cartoon Network in Autumn 2012. Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and T. J. Miller reprise their roles as Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Tuffnut. The series, set between the first and second film, follows Hiccup and his friends as they learn more about dragons, discover new ones, teach others to feel comfortable around them, adapt traditions within the village to fit their new friends and battle against enemies as they explore new worlds. An action adventure video game released by Activision, called How to Train Your Dragon, was released for the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3 and Nintendo DS gaming consoles. It is loosely based on the film and was released on March 23, 2010. In addition, School of Dragons, a 3D free-to-play MMO, was released on July 17, 2013, at San Diego Comic-Con. The game is available for PC, Android and iOS. HarperCollins Children's Books published a storybook version of the film in 2010. The story was adapted by Rennie Brown while the illustrations were painted by Michael Koelsch. How to Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular is an arena show adaptation of the first film featuring 24 animatronic dragons, acrobats and projections. It premiered on March 2, 2012, in Melbourne, Australia. A live-action remake of the film was announced to be in development in February 2023. It will be produced by Marc Platt Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures, with DeBlois returning to write and direct. It was originally scheduled for release on March 14, 2025, but was delayed to June 13 of that year due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Mason Thames and Nico Parker were cast as Hiccup and Astrid, respectively, with Butler reprising his role as Stoick.

References

External links

Official website How to Train Your Dragon at IMDb How to Train Your Dragon at Rotten Tomatoes