Dawn of the Dragon Racers facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dawn of the Dragon Racers
DVD cover
Directed by	Elaine Bogan John Sanford
Produced by	Chad Hammes
Written by	Art Brown Douglas Sloan
Starring	Jay Baruchel America Ferrera Zack Pearlman Christopher Mintz-Plasse T.J. Miller Andrée Vermeulen Tim Conway Chris Edgerly
Music by	John Paesano
Editing by	John Laus
Studio	DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date(s)	November 1, 2014 (2014-11-01)
Running time	26 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Dawn of the Dragon Racers is a fun, animated short film from 2014 by DreamWorks Animation. It was directed by Elaine Bogan and John Sanford. This short film is based on the popular How to Train Your Dragon film series. It features the voices of Jay Baruchel as Hiccup and America Ferrera as Astrid. Other actors from the TV series also lend their voices. In the story, a simple search for a lost sheep turns into an exciting competition. Hiccup and his friends race to become the very first Dragon Racing Champion of Berk!

The Story of Dragon Racing

This short film takes place about three years before the second How to Train Your Dragon movie. It shows how the exciting sport of Dragon Racing began on Berk.

A Sheepy Problem

The story starts with Hiccup and Snotlout practicing for the yearly Dragon Race. This is a new official sport on Berk where riders catch sheep. Tuffnut shows off his new, scary face paint. Fishlegs has a new pattern too, which is his family's crest. Snotlout is proud of his new "Sheep Launcher." Astrid points out it took him many tries to make it work!

Suddenly, a flashback begins. Astrid, Hiccup, and Snotlout remember how Dragon Racing really started. It was shortly after the second season of the TV show. Berk was getting ready for its traditional boat race, called the Regatta.

The Missing Black Sheep

A herd of sheep ran loose through the village. Gobber explained that "Not So Silent Sven's" sheep were scared of his new loud voice. Stoick, the chief, asked Hiccup and his friends to round up the sheep. As they caught the sheep, the Dragon Riders turned it into a fun, unplanned competition. Each rider tried to catch the most sheep.

They all returned with three sheep each. Then, Sven cried out that his special black sheep was still missing. The Riders quickly decided that finding the black sheep would be the tie-breaker! Hiccup said it wasn't a competition, but everyone else, except Fishlegs, flew off to find it.

Hiccup and Snotlout both spotted the black sheep. They raced towards it. Just as Hiccup was about to grab it, Gobber accidentally blocked his way. This allowed Snotlout to grab the black sheep first.

Hiccup's Big Task

Stoick was leaving for Loki Island to get special wood for the Regatta ships. He put Hiccup in charge of preparing for the Regatta. Hiccup thought boat races were boring. Stoick explained that Vikings need competition to "blow off steam." He said it was a tradition. Fishlegs was excited to help with the Regatta. He and his dragon, Meatlug, worked on their ship in secret.

Meanwhile, Tuffnut was making rules for the sheep-catching game. Hiccup told them they couldn't play. He had strict orders from Stoick to prepare for the Regatta.

The Villagers Want Dragon Racing

The next day, Hiccup saw that the Riders had ignored his orders. They were still catching sheep! The villagers loved watching the Riders. They said it was much better than the Regatta. Later, the villagers gathered, wanting more entertainment. They wanted to see the Dragon Race again.

Hiccup tried to get them excited about the Regatta, but it didn't work. The crowd wanted another Dragon Race. Astrid told Hiccup that Stoick wouldn't be back for a few days. She also said the Dragon Race was a good way to "blow off steam." Hiccup agreed to have one Dragon Race.

Forming Teams

Hiccup pointed out the starting spot for the race. Snotlout and the twins suggested having teams. Snotlout said the teams were already set: Snotlout and the twins were "Snotnuts." Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs were the other team.

Hiccup and Astrid went to get Fishlegs. But Fishlegs refused to join. He and Meatlug were busy getting ready for the Regatta. He wanted to honor his family's tradition.

The First Race Begins

The race started when Gothi dropped the flag. The Vikings released the sheep. Hiccup got one sheep, and the twins got two. Astrid and Snotlout raced for another sheep. Astrid got it when Snotlout backed off to avoid crashing.

Later in the race, the scores were tied. Everyone raced for the black sheep, which was the tie-breaker. Hiccup and the twins missed it. Astrid and Snotlout raced head-on again. Just as they reached the sheep, it fainted! It became an easy target.

Astrid and Snotlout crashed into each other. Astrid hurt her arm. Snotlout flew off to get Gothi, but he still grabbed the black sheep. He then crashed into a branch, and the sheep landed safely on him.

A Demand for More

Back at the Great Hall, the villagers were unhappy with the race. They demanded another Dragon Race. Hiccup said they agreed to only one race, then the Regatta. But the villagers kept shouting for more.

Snotlout announced that Hiccup was right. He then teased Hiccup, saying he couldn't beat "Team Snotnuts" anyway. Astrid was injured, so she couldn't help Hiccup. Snotlout said Hiccup had no teammate for a rematch. But Hiccup was determined. He asked Fishlegs to join his team again.

Fishlegs was putting the finishing touches on his Regatta ship. He showed off his small ship. Toothless laughed at the decorations. Fishlegs and Meatlug sailed out, but Meatlug quickly got seasick and vomited lava! The ship sank immediately. Fishlegs quickly changed his mind and joined Hiccup's team.

Stoick's Return

They headed to the Academy for the next race. Just as the flag was about to drop, Stoick's voice boomed. He had returned early! Stoick was shocked to see a Dragon Race instead of the Regatta. Hiccup explained that he had to make a tough choice for the people. He replaced the Regatta with Dragon Racing.

Stoick asked if Hiccup did this alone. Hiccup, seeing the other riders look away, had to agree. Instead of punishing Hiccup, Stoick let the race continue. But he said they had to do it right. Both teams put on face paint. "Team Snotnuts" wore green, and "Team Hicclegs" (Fishlegs' idea) wore red. Stoick said it made the game feel like a warrior's event.

The First Official Dragon Race

Stoick announced the first annual Berk Dragon Race. He explained that white sheep were worth one point, and the black sheep was worth five. To prevent cheating, Stoick made Astrid the referee. He also said the winning team would have their portrait hung in the Great Hall and get a feast!

Gothi dropped the flag, and the race began. Snotlout and Hiccup each grabbed a sheep. The twins got two and bragged. But Fishlegs arrived with two more sheep for Team Hicclegs. Both teams dropped off their sheep at the Academy.

Hiccup spotted a sheep on a raft in the water. Snotlout tried to get it, but Hiccup used Toothless's tail to boost their speed and snatched it first. The twins tried to cheat by stealing sheep that weren't Sven's. But Astrid stopped them. Tuffnut argued that "not cheating is not trying!" Astrid had Stormfly chase them away.

Fishlegs and Hiccup spotted a sheep on a mountain. Fishlegs tried to grab it, but it fell into a crack. Luckily, Hiccup and Toothless were there to rescue it.

The True Champions

Astrid announced that the teams were tied. Stoick said whoever found the black sheep would win. The twins quietly planned their "Super Secret Plan." Fishlegs remembered Sven saying the black sheep always fell into the well. Fishlegs went down the well to look for it.

Suddenly, the twins flew by with the black sheep! This shocked Hiccup. "Team Snotnuts" cheered, thinking they had won. Hiccup was disappointed but clapped. Snotlout gloated about his team's victory.

But then, Fishlegs arrived with the real black sheep! Everyone was confused. Sven said there was only one black sheep. Tuffnut then rubbed the sheep's side, revealing that they had cheated! They had painted a regular sheep black.

Astrid announced a reversal. "Team Hicclegs" won! They became the first official champions in Dragon Racing. Toothless shot three plasma blasts into the sky, amazing the crowd. Stoick then let Hiccup stop being "acting chief." Hiccup quickly left before his father could change his mind.

Dragon Racing Today

The flashback ends, and we are back in the present. Hiccup concludes that Tuffnut technically invented Dragon Racing because he came up with the rules. This made Snotlout very sad. Hiccup tried to cheer him up, saying Snotlout played a part too, and the cheating was all his idea. Snotlout happily claimed he cheated. But the twins interrupted, saying Snotlout knew nothing about their secret plan.

Hiccup told them they should all just say they invented Dragon Racing. The twins agreed, but Tuffnut still said Snotlout did nothing. Furious, Snotlout launched a sheep at Tuffnut. He pointed out that at least he invented the Sheep Launcher! Then a horn sounded, signaling it was time for the Dragon Race. All the Riders quickly flew off to start.

Thanks to them, a new generation of Berk's traditional events was born. The Dragon Riders had become Dragon Racers!

Voice cast

• Jay Baruchel as Hiccup
• America Ferrera as Astrid
• Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs
• T.J. Miller as Tuffnut
• Tim Conway as Mulch
• Chris Edgerly as Gobber
• Tom Kenny as Silent Sven
• Nolan North as Stoick
• Zack Pearlman as Snotlout
• Andrée Vermeulen as Ruffnut