Underplayed Gems

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

How to Train Your Dragon poster
Directed by
Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Genre
comedy film, action film, fantasy film, adventure film, children's film, monster film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 38m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.9 of 10 from 14,486 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A misfit Viking teenager named Hiccup injures a rare dragon and instead of killing it he befriends the creature. He learns that dragons are not the monsters his village believes them to be.

upliftingwhimsicalheartwarmingadventurouslightheartedtenderthrilling

What happens

How to Train Your Dragon is a 2010 American animated fantasy film directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois and written by Sanders, DeBlois, and Will Davies, based on the 2003 novel by British author Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, the film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, and T.J. Miller. The story takes place in Berk, a mythical Viking village. Hiccup (Baruchel), an undersized teen outcast and son of the village chieftain, wishing to become a dragon slayer like the other Vikings, injures a rare Night Fury dragon but refuses 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 executives at DreamWorks Animation. After the success of Over the Hedge (2006), producer Bonnie Arnold became interested in the newly acquired property. The directors of the film wanted to ensure they took advantage of the improvisation abilities of the secondary cast by frequently bringing them together in the recording sessions. The filmmakers hired cinematographer Roger Deakins as a visual consultant to help them with the aesthetics 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. The film was a commercial success, earning $495 million and becoming the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2010. It received critical acclaim and is frequently lauded as one of the best animated films ever made. It also received numerous accolades, including two Academy Award nominations, and spawned a multimedia franchise, including two sequels, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). A live-action remake was released in 2025. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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