How to Train Your Dragon (film) facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids How to Train Your Dragon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Chris Sanders Dean DeBlois
Produced by	Bonnie Arnold
Screenplay by	Will Davies Dean DeBlois Chris Sanders
Starring	Jay Baruchel Gerard Butler Craig Ferguson America Ferrera Jonah Hill Christopher Mintz-Plasse T.J. Miller Kristen Wiig
Music by	John Powell
Cinematography	Roger Deakins (visual consultant)
Editing by	Darren Holmes Maryann Brandon
Studio	DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date(s)	March 21, 2010 (2010-03-21) (Gibson Amphitheater) March 26, 2010 (2010-03-26) (United States)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$165 million
Money made	$494.9 million

How to Train Your Dragon is an exciting computer-animated fantasy film from 2010. It was made by DreamWorks Animation and based on a book by Cressida Cowell. The movie tells the story of a young Viking named Hiccup. He lives in a village where Vikings and dragons are always fighting.

Hiccup is not like the other Vikings. He is not strong or good at fighting dragons. Instead, he is clever and likes to invent things. One day, he shoots down a rare Night Fury dragon. But he cannot bring himself to kill it. Instead, he helps the dragon and they become friends. This friendship changes everything Hiccup thought he knew about dragons. He soon learns that dragons are not the scary monsters everyone believes.

The film was directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. It features the voices of famous actors like Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, and America Ferrera. How to Train Your Dragon was a huge success. It earned almost $500 million worldwide. People loved its amazing animation, voice acting, and music. It was even nominated for two Academy Awards. The movie also won ten Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature. This film started a popular series. It includes two more movies and a TV show.

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Story of How to Train Your Dragon

The story takes place in a Viking village called Berk. Dragons often attack the village. They steal food and put the villagers in danger. Hiccup, a 15-year-old, is the son of the village chief, Stoick the Vast. Hiccup is seen as too weak to fight dragons. He works with Gobber, the village blacksmith, making tools. But Hiccup's inventions often cause trouble.

Hiccup uses a special launcher to hit a Night Fury dragon. This dragon is very rare and dangerous. But when he finds it, he cannot kill it. Instead, he sets the dragon free.

Hiccup Meets Toothless

Stoick, Hiccup's father, leaves with his ships to find the dragons' home. Before he goes, he puts Hiccup in a dragon-fighting class. Gobber teaches the class. Hiccup's classmates include Astrid, Fishlegs, Snotlout, and the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. Hiccup struggles in training.

Hiccup goes back to the forest. He finds the Night Fury dragon trapped in a hidden cove. The dragon cannot fly because Hiccup's weapon tore part of its tail fin. Hiccup slowly becomes friends with the dragon. He names him 'Toothless' because of his teeth that can hide. Hiccup then builds a special harness and a new tail fin for Toothless. This allows Toothless to fly again with Hiccup riding him.

Learning About Dragons

By spending time with Toothless, Hiccup learns how dragons behave. He uses this knowledge to calm the dragons during training. This makes his friends admire him. But Astrid becomes suspicious of Hiccup's sudden success. Stoick's ships return without finding the dragon nest. However, he is happy about Hiccup's unexpected skills with dragons.

Hiccup wins his training class. Now, he must kill a dragon for his final test. He tries to run away with Toothless. But Astrid finds them in the forest. Hiccup takes Astrid for a flight on Toothless. He shows her that Toothless is friendly. But Toothless is strangely pulled towards the dragons' nest.

The Red Death Dragon

At the nest, they see a giant dragon called the Red Death. This huge dragon forces smaller dragons to bring it food. If they don't, the Red Death eats them. Hiccup and Astrid realize that dragons attack Berk because they are forced to. Astrid wants to tell the village. But Hiccup wants to keep Toothless a secret.

For his final test, Hiccup faces a Monstrous Nightmare dragon. He tries to show everyone that dragons can be peaceful. But Stoick accidentally makes the dragon angry. Toothless escapes to protect Hiccup. But the Vikings capture Toothless. Hiccup accidentally reveals that Toothless knows where the dragon nest is. Stoick ignores Hiccup's warnings about the Red Death. He disowns his son and sets off for the nest. Toothless is chained to the lead ship to guide them.

A New Era for Vikings and Dragons

Hiccup is very sad. But Astrid helps him see that he saved Toothless out of kindness. Hiccup regains his courage. He teaches Astrid and their friends how to befriend the training dragons. They then fly off to help Toothless.

Stoick and his Vikings find the dragon nest. They break it open, waking the Red Death. The giant dragon quickly overpowers them. Hiccup, Astrid, and their friends arrive on their dragons. They distract the Red Death. Hiccup tries to free Toothless from the damaged ship. They almost drown. But Stoick saves them, and he makes up with Hiccup.

Toothless and Hiccup trick the Red Death into a dive. They then fire a fireball down its throat, killing it. In the explosion, Toothless protects Hiccup. But Hiccup loses his lower left leg and faints. When Hiccup wakes up, Gobber has made him a new leg. Hiccup is now a hero in his village. Astrid kisses him. Berk begins a new time. Humans and dragons now live together in peace.

Voice Actors

Here are the main actors who lent their voices to the characters:

Jay Baruchel as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, a clever but awkward teen.
America Ferrera as Astrid Hofferson, a strong and brave Viking girl.
Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, the powerful chief of Berk and Hiccup's father.
Craig Ferguson as Gobber the Belch, the village blacksmith and a good friend of Stoick.
Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs Ingerman, a smart and enthusiastic friend.
Jonah Hill as Snotlout Jorgenson, one of Hiccup's classmates, often overconfident.
T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig as Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston, funny and quarrelsome twins.
Randy Thom provided the amazing vocal effects for Toothless the Night Fury.

Making the Movie

Early production concept artwork of Toothless and Hiccup

The book series by Cressida Cowell first caught the attention of DreamWorks Animation in 2004. Producer Bonnie Arnold became very interested in the story. She kept working on the project. When asked what she wanted to do next, she chose How to Train Your Dragon.

During the early stages, the movie's story was very similar to the book. But halfway through making it, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois took over as directors. They changed the story quite a bit. The original plan was thought to be too "sweet" and for younger kids.

In the book, Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, is a small dragon. But in the film, Toothless is a Night Fury. This is the rarest and most powerful type of dragon. He is fast and big enough for Hiccup and Astrid to ride. The filmmakers hired Roger Deakins, a famous cinematographer, to help with the lighting and overall look of the film. They wanted it to feel like a live-action movie.

They did a lot of research to make the flying scenes look real. They also studied fire, as animation allowed them to show fire in new ways. The dragon designers wanted to create dragons that were both funny and unique. Toothless was designed to look like a black panther. He also had big ears and eyes to show his feelings better. The directors also let the voice actors for the secondary characters, like Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Jonah Hill, improvise their lines. This made the characters even funnier.

Movie Music

John Powell created the music for How to Train Your Dragon. This was his sixth time working with DreamWorks Animation. He made an orchestral score, which means he used a full orchestra. The music has powerful brass instruments, loud drums, and soft strings. It also uses Scottish and Irish sounds, with instruments like the penny whistle and bagpipes.

An Icelandic singer named Jónsi also wrote and performed a song for the film called "Sticks & Stones." The movie's music was released on March 23, 2010. Critics really liked the score. John Powell even received his first Academy Award nomination for his work on the film.

Release of the Film

In Theaters

How to Train Your Dragon first showed in the United States on March 21, 2010. It was then released in theaters on March 26, 2010. The film was also shown in IMAX 3D. This made the flying scenes look even more amazing.

At Home

The movie was released on DVD and Blu-ray on October 15, 2010. These home versions included a special short film called Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon. Later, in 2014, the film was re-released on Blu-ray. This new version included another short film, Book of Dragons, and an episode from the DreamWorks Dragons TV series.

In 2019, a 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version of the film was released. This was done to get ready for the third movie in the series, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

Images for kids

Theatrical release poster
Early production concept artwork of Toothless and Hiccup