DreamWorks was always the "other" studio. Back in the early 2000s, while Pixar was making everyone cry over toys and fish, DreamWorks was mostly known for Shrek—which was great, but it was essentially a giant middle finger to Disney. Then 2010 happened. When the first how to train your dragon animated film hit theaters, something shifted. It wasn't just a movie about a kid and his pet; it was a masterclass in visual storytelling that arguably surpassed anything its competitors were doing at the time.
Honestly, it’s hard to overstate how much that first movie changed the game. You've got Hiccup, this scrawny Viking who basically represents every "nerd" archetype, but the writing avoids those tired tropes. He isn't just misunderstood. He's a literal safety hazard to his village. And Toothless? He wasn't some talking sidekick voiced by a celebrity trying too hard to be funny. He was an animal. A dangerous, sleek, terrifying Night Fury that felt real.
The Secret Sauce of the Dragon Animation
People often forget that Roger Deakins—yes, the Oscar-winning cinematographer behind Blade Runner 2049—was a visual consultant on these films. That is why the lighting looks so different from other animated features. It’s moody. It’s atmospheric. When Hiccup and Toothless take their first "Forbidden Friendship" flight, the camera doesn't just follow them; it feels like it's mounted to the dragon's wing. It’s shaky. It’s visceral.
The how to train your dragon animated style moved away from the "bubbly" look of early 3D animation. They leaned into textures. You could see the individual scales on Toothless’s head, the frayed edges of Hiccup’s leather vest, and the cold, damp fog of Berk. It felt lived-in.
Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, the directors, brought a specific kind of "creature" energy they’d honed on Lilo & Stitch. They understood that if the dragon didn't feel like a physical entity with weight and breath, the emotional stakes wouldn't land. And boy, did they land. The ending of the first movie is still a shocker for many—Hiccup loses a leg. In a kids' movie? That was a bold move in 2010. It established that actions have permanent consequences in this world.
Why the Sequels Actually Worked (For Once)
Usually, animation sequels are just cash grabs. You know the drill: new villain, same jokes, reset the character development. But the how to train your dragon animated sequels did something rare. They let the characters grow up.
👉 See also: Christopher McDonald in Lemonade Mouth: Why This Villain Still Works
In How to Train Your Dragon 2, Hiccup isn't a teen anymore. He’s a young man facing the burden of leadership. The film explores grief in a way that’s frankly more sophisticated than most live-action dramas. When Stoick the Vast dies—and let’s be real, we all cried—it wasn't a cheap plot point. It was the catalyst for Hiccup to stop being a "rebel" and start being a chief.
The animation tech jumped forward too. By the second and third films, DreamWorks was using new software called Premo and Apollo. This allowed animators to work on high-resolution characters in real-time. Instead of waiting hours for a frame to render just to see if a facial expression worked, they could tweak things on the fly. This is why the micro-expressions in The Hidden World are so hauntingly good. You can see the hesitation in Toothless's eyes when he realizes he has to lead his own kind.
A Quick Look at the TV Spin-offs
- Dragons: Race to the Edge: This filled the gaps between the first and second movies. It’s surprisingly lore-heavy.
- DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms: Set in the modern day. Some fans love it; others think it loses the Viking soul of the original.
- Rescue Riders: This one is strictly for the toddlers. If you’re over the age of six, you’ll probably find it a bit much.
The TV shows were a mixed bag in terms of animation quality. Race to the Edge had a decent budget for Netflix, but you can definitely tell the difference between a TV render and a theatrical one. The dragons look a bit "plasticky" sometimes. Still, for anyone obsessed with the world-building, they provided a lot of context for the different dragon classes like Stoker, Boulder, and Mystery.
The Misconception of the "Live-Action" Problem
There is a lot of chatter lately about the live-action remake. Many purists argue that the how to train your dragon animated versions are already perfect. Why translate them? The concern is that the "cartoonish" charm—the way Toothless acts like a mix between a cat, a dog, and a black panther—won't translate to a photorealistic CGI dragon without looking "uncanny valley."
Think about the Lion King remake. It looked amazing, but the animals couldn't emote because real lions don't have expressive eyebrows. The animated Toothless works because he can look skeptical, annoyed, or heartbroken in a way a "realistic" dragon might struggle with.
✨ Don't miss: Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne: Why His Performance Still Holds Up in 2026
The Sound of Berk
We can't talk about these movies without mentioning John Powell’s score. Seriously. The track "Test Drive" is one of the most triumphant pieces of cinema music in the last twenty years. It uses bagpipes and tin whistles to evoke that Celtic/Viking vibe, but it hits with the power of a full orchestra.
It’s the heartbeat of the franchise. Without that music, the flying scenes would just be cool visuals. With it, they become spiritual experiences. Most modern animated films rely on pop song needle drops (looking at you, Despicable Me). How to Train Your Dragon stayed classy. It stuck to a thematic, orchestral identity that made Berk feel like a real place with a real history.
The Physics of Flying
The animators actually studied flight physics and bird movements. They didn't just make the dragons float. They looked at how a Pterosaur might take off or how a bat maneuvers in tight spaces. When Toothless loses half his tail fin, the way he compensates is physically consistent with how a plane would handle a damaged rudder. This attention to detail is why the how to train your dragon animated experience feels so immersive. You subconsciously buy into the logic of the world.
Actionable Steps for Fans and Creators
If you're a fan of the franchise or a budding animator, there's a lot to glean from how these films were constructed.
Watch the "Art of" Books
If you can find the "Art of How to Train Your Dragon" books, buy them. They show the evolution of the character designs. Initially, Toothless was going to be much smaller and more "goblin-like," similar to the books by Cressida Cowell. The shift to a "Night Fury" changed the entire tone of the series.
🔗 Read more: Chris Robinson and The Bold and the Beautiful: What Really Happened to Jack Hamilton
Analyze the "Forbidden Friendship" Scene
For anyone interested in storytelling, watch the scene where Hiccup first bonds with Toothless in the cove. There is almost zero dialogue for several minutes. It’s all pantomime, music, and pacing. It’s the gold standard for visual character development.
Explore the "Book" vs. "Movie" Divide
The original books by Cressida Cowell are wildly different. Toothless is the size of a common garden dragon and he talks. If you've only seen the movies, reading the books is a trip. It's a completely different universe, much more focused on slapstick humor and a different kind of Viking lore.
Check the VR Experiences
There are several "How to Train Your Dragon" VR experiences that use the actual movie assets. If you want to see the scale of a Monstrous Nightmare up close, it’s the best way to do it. It highlights just how much detail went into the 3D models.
The how to train your dragon animated legacy isn't just about dragons. It’s about the fact that DreamWorks proved they could do high-stakes, emotional drama just as well as anyone else. It remains a high-water mark for 3D animation. Whether the live-action version succeeds or fails, the original trilogy stands as a perfect, self-contained arc of growth, loss, and the bond between two different species trying to find a place in a violent world.
To get the most out of the franchise today, start by re-watching the first film specifically focusing on the lighting and "camera" movement. Notice how the "lens" flares and the way the focus pulls mimics a real physical camera. Then, contrast that with the vibrant, almost neon colors of the "Hidden World" in the third film to see how much the technology evolved over a decade. This progression is a timeline of the most significant decade in modern animation history.