As it celebrates its 15th anniversary, we look at the story behind DreamWorks Animation’s How to Train Your Dragon…
How to Train Your Dragon is one of those animated films that left an indelible impression in audiences when it debuted with its dazzling animation, heartfelt story and bombastic orchestral score. As the celebrated animated feature celebrates its 15th anniversary we take the opportunity to look back at its behind-the-scenes story.
The studio was unhappy regarding the source material’s target audience
Coming off the success of Over the Hedge, DreamWorks studios was looking for new IPs to adapt as future animated features. It was then that the book series How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell caught the attention of Over the Hedge producer Bonnie Arnold. Whilst waiting for the opportune moment Arnold pursued other projects and when Bill Damaschke, DreamWorks Animation’s co-president, asked her what she wanted to do next Arnold chose How to Train Your Dragon.
The original director assigned for the project was Peter Hastings, who had previously written and co-produced the popular animated TV series Animaniacs in the 1990s. Hastings’ take on the film closely followed the source material, however, the studio thought this would negatively affect the overall box-office revenue and thus the filmmaker was replaced by Lilo & Stitch co-directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. Both Sanders and DeBlois also shared the studio’s opinion regarding Peter Hasting’s direction and went about making changes to the narrative to appeal to a broader audience.
The characterization of Toothless was changed drastically for the movie
In Cressida Cowell’s novel Hiccup’s dragon, Toothless, is believed to be an astoundingly small, Common or Garden Dragon. The Toothless in the novels was also green and red, not jet black like the movie counterpart. For the movie iteration Toothless was an injured Night Fury, a rare breed of dragon known to be more powerful than other species of dragons featured in the story. The producers made this change with the approval of author Cressida Cowell, convincing her that it would be more cinematic to make Toothless a dragon that could be ridden as flying mount for both Hiccup and Astrid. The dragon’s name in the movie came from Hiccup’s observation that its teeth retract into its jaws to avoid interfering with fire breathing. In the book it was named thus, due to its lack of teeth.
Toothless’ appearance was based on an assortment of animals
The look and personality of Toothless came from a hodgepodge of inspirations ranging from cats, dogs and horses. The face of Toothless also had multiple sources of inspiration. The most obvious was that it bore resemblance to the giant salamander, which is the largest amphibian in the world. The other source of inspiration comes from the face of the animated character Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, which was co-directed by How to Train Your Dragon’s own Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois. Due to the popularity of Toothless, many animal shelters also reported a rise in adoption of black cats who were then named after the loveable, jet black dragon.
The famous “touch” scene was an animation error
One of the most iconic moments featured in the film involves the first time Hiccup meets Toothless and the famous “touch” scene plays out. But surprisingly this particular scene was the result of an animation error that took place during production. However, since the happy accident looked so darn perfect the animators agreed to keep it in the film leading to the creation of one of the most memorable scenes of How to Train Your Dragon.
The legendary Roger Deakins was hired as a visual consultant on the film
Roger Deakins is widely recognized as one of the greatest modern day cinematographers working in the industry having won Academy Awards for the sci-fi masterpiece Blade Runner 2049 and the sprawling war epic 1917. So, when you know the uber talented auteur got hired as a visual consultant for How to Train Your Dragon you know the end result would be nothing short of amazing. Deakins was primarily hired to assist the animation crew with lighting and to add an overall “live-action feel” to the proceedings. Extensive research was conducted on how to simulate both flight and fire in a more realistic manner for the sequences involving fire breathing dragons in the movie.
The flick’s stunning musical score received an Oscar nomination
The best animated features get complimented by equally unforgettable musical scores as evidenced by movies such as The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Pocahontas, Up and Soul who went on to nab the Oscar award for Best Original Score. The soaring musical score for How to Train Your Dragon was composed by DreamWorks Animation regular John Powell, who had previously co-composed music for such animated efforts as Antz (1998), The Prince of Egypt (1998), The Road to El Dorado (2000), Chicken Run (2000), Shrek (2001), Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002), and Kung Fu Panda (2008). So, How to Train Your Dragon marked the first instance where Powell crafted a score on his own and the film’s music became one of its most unforgettable aspects, going on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.
The improvisational skills of the voice actors were utilized to the fullest
The secondary cast of How to Train Your Dragon featured a talented ensemble cast which included Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller. And all four cast members possessed exceptional improvisational comedic skills which were capitalized to the fullest by the film’s directors during the recording sessions of the movie.
Box-office success, rave reviews and the launch of a lucrative franchise
Made on a production budget of $165 million How to Train Your Dragon went on to make a more than respectable $494.9 million at the worldwide box-office by the conclusion of its theatrical run. The animated feature proved to be a hit with film critics as well receiving universal acclaim upon its release.
As of writing, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 99% of film critics have awarded the effort a positive review with an overall rating average of 7.9/10. The critical consensus of the website summed up the experience in the following manner, “Boasting dazzling animation, a script with surprising dramatic depth, and thrilling 3-D sequences, How to Train Your Dragon soars.” Matt Risley of Variety was blown away by what he saw on screen writing, “undoubtedly DreamWorks’ best film yet, and quite probably the best dragon movie ever made”. Matt Risley of ReelViews also gave the movie 3.5 out of 4 stars, complimenting both the “technically proficient” animation featured in the flick as well showering praise on its “witty, intelligent, surprisingly insightful script”. The movie proved to be a success during awards seasons too, nabbing nominations for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the 83rd Academy Awards and winning ten Annie Awards.
The resounding success of How to Train Your Dragon naturally spawned multiple sequels in the form of How to Train Your Dragon 2 and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World released in 2014 and 2019 respectively. Five post-movie short films and a television series set between the first and second movies, also premiered on Cartoon Network on Autumn 2012. Even though 15 years have elapsed since the first film’s debut the sheer admiration and popularity of the IP continues to grow as evidenced by the glowing response received for the trailer of the live-action adaptation of the first film due to be released this year. Thus it’s safe to say that dragon season ain’t coming to a close anytime soon!
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Hasitha Fernando is a part-time medical practitioner and full-time cinephile. Follow him on Twitter via @DoctorCinephile for regular updates on the world of entertainment.
