Image via DreamWorks
Coming-of-age stories may be a favorite topic for many series aimed at those in the flush of youth, but few encapsulate the awkward transition from child to adult as well as How To Train Your Dragon. Since the first movie dropped in 2010, it has been one of DreamWorks‘ best-received animated series. Released over nearly a decade, the series has demanded fan adoration with carefully constructed storylines, beautiful animation, and a colorful cast of characters. Its lengthy tenure ensured that thousands of viewers grew up alongside Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and many other Viking misfits and dragons. Beyond the silver screen, DreamWorks has been incredibly busy fleshing out the wonderful world of How To Train Your Dragon with a plethora of animated series just to sate fans’ appetites. From the many adventures of Hiccup and Astrid to the hyper-modern The Nine Realms, here are all of the How To Train Your Dragon series and what order to watch them in.
How To Train Your Dragon
The very first installment in the How To Train Your Dragon series, this delightful animated film kicked off the entire franchise. Released in 2010, the Oscar-nominated movie follows the awkward Viking misfit Hiccup as he befriends an injured dragon and changes the course of his village forever. A great cast, excellent writing, and the oh-so-lovable Toothless ensured How To Train Your Dragon would go down as an animated classic. The film is loosely based on a 2003 book series of the same name, which caught the attention of DreamWorks the following year. This commercial success raked in $500 million worldwide and received universal praise from critics and audiences alike.
Book of Dragons
Originally a bundled package with Gift of the Night Fury, this 18-minute short features Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Toothless, and Gobber as they explain the legend behind the Book of Dragons, a fledgling dragon tamer. The short details 14 different dragon species and explains the seven classes that encompass all dragon varieties. Viewers finally get to see all of the entries listed in the Book of Dragons featured in the first film.
Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
Though it’s only 16 minutes long, this short is a must-see for any fan of the series. Part traditional animation, part computer-animated, the film gives some much-needed backstory on the intrepid Viking teacher, Gobber, and how exactly he came to lose all those limbs. It’s short, funny, and well worth the watch.
Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury
A 22-minute-long short, Gift of the Night Fury takes place during the Viking winter celebration of “Snoggletog.” When all of the other dragons begin their yearly migration, only Toothless is left behind, and Hiccup designs a new gadget to help his scaly friend. Of course, the fun doesn’t stop there, but we won’t ruin the surprise. This one has some Easter eggs that show up way down the line in How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
DreamWorks Dragons
The DreamWorks Dragons series serves as a bridge between the first and second movies of the trilogy. The series features a darker tone than many of the other supplemental materials, matching the much more grim feeling of the second film. Jay Baruchel (Hiccup) and America Ferrera (Astrid) reprise their roles for the whole eight-season run.
Dragons: Riders of Berk
The first season of the series, Riders of Berk, picks up right where the movie left off. While there may be peace between dragons and Vikings, life isn’t going as smoothly as Hiccup expected. The exciting season lays the groundwork for the harmonious village seen in the second movie and fills in the blanks between the first and second films, showing just how Berk reformed into a dragon-centric paradise. The 20-episode season features a slew of great voice actors like Mark Hamill, David Tennant, and Nolan North. While its animation doesn’t hold a candle to the movies, the story is a fun romp and helps to give those amazing side characters some much-deserved screen time.
Dragons: Defenders of Berk
The second season of the series, Defenders of Berk, follows the Vikings as they start to explore the wider world around them. It features a slew of new dragons and explores each one of the Viking teens’ motivations. Awash with character development, excellent action sequences, and emphasizing the moral grey areas of human enemies, the second season introduces many wonderful supporting characters that unfortunately never made it to the films. Over the course of its 20-episode run, the season sets the stage for the conflict in How To Train Your Dragon 2.
Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers
This 25-minute short came out in 2014 as a bundled set with How To Train Your Dragon 2, but it’s set three years before the sequel. The short film features the full gamut of Viking teens as they reminisce on the Island of Berk’s shift from annual boat races to annual Dragon Races and try to remember who — or what — started the trend in the first place.
Dragons: Race to the Edge
Race to the Edge unfolds over the final six seasons of DreamWorks Dragons. While the third season of the series starts off a little slower than its predecessors, there’s a reason it takes 78 episodes for the story to unfold. The series is the most contentious entry into the entire How To Train Your Dragon franchise due to its continuity errors, but the plethora of character growth and Easter eggs linking to the second movie make it well worth the watch. While chronologically, this series comes before How To Train Your Dragon 2, the sheer number of callbacks to the movie begs fans to watch the film before devouring the final seasons of DreamWorks Dragons.
How To Train Your Dragon 2
Set five years after the original film, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is noticeably darker than the first film and oozing with emotional depth. The now 20-year-old Hiccup tries desperately to stave off his father’s attempts to make him village chief (despite his six seasons’ worth of experience doing just that). After many of his friends and their dragons are kidnapped by the dragon-enslaving psychopath Drago Bludvist, Hiccup and Toothless must find anyone who can help them save their people. The movie is just all-around great and explores elements of storytelling that most animated movies don’t touch on, and the introduction of Hiccup’s mother has been reused several times over the years since — seriously, go watch Aquaman and tell me that scene with Queen Atlanna didn’t draw heavily from that reveal.
How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
The Hidden World takes place just one year after the events of the second movie. With dragon hunting threatening the safety of dragons and the now-bustling city of Berk, Hiccup has no choice but to find a safe haven for his winged friends. The extra background laid out in DreamWorks Dragons helps to illustrate just how much danger the dragons and Berkian Vikings were in for this film.Gorgeously animated and beautifully written, the final installment of the blockbuster trilogy never fails to bring a tear to my eye as it wraps up Hiccup and Toothless’ silver-screen story.
How To Train Your Dragon: Homecoming
The icing on the How To Train Your Dragon cake, this 22-minute short closes the series. Set just before Snoggletog, the short revolves around Astrid and Hiccup reminding New Berk of all the ways dragons changed the Viking lifestyle for the better. It’s a little bittersweet as beloved characters reminisce on their gone-but-not-forgotten dragon companions. Plus, we get to see more of those adorable little Night Light dragons from the end of the last movie. It’s a great little feel-good story that reminds us to be thankful for everyone in our lives.
DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms
Anyone unfamiliar with the aggressive time skip between Hidden World and The Nine Realms will be more than a little baffled when starting this series. Set a whopping 1,300 years after the final How To Train Your Dragon movie, The Nine Realms follows Tom Kullersen — a descendant of Hiccup and Astrid —who discovers a living dragon hidden deep within a fissure. With dragons considered mythological creatures in modern days, Tom and his misfit friends set out to try and keep their new beastly companions safe from the modern world. It’s a fun fusion to see dragons with technology, and The Nine Realms doesn’t shy away from the odd combination. With plenty of nods to How To Train Your Dragon, this series is worth watching for anyone who has ever wondered how dragons might fit into the modern world. The series has six seasons so far, with a seventh yet to be announced.
How To Train Your Dragon — The live-action adaptation
While we don’t know much about the upcoming live-action adaptation of How To Train Your Dragon, several things have been confirmed. Dean DeBlois, the talented writer and director behind the animated movies, will be returning to helm the project. The movie should follow the same general premise as its animated counterpart and is set to hit theaters sometime in 2025. The movie is helmed by Universal producer Marc Platt (La La Land, Bridge of Spies). Filming for the project is set to begin June 30, 2023. Mason Thames (The Black Phone) has been cast as Hiccup, and Nico Parker (The Last of Us) will play Astrid.
DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders
This children’s series ran for six seasons and featured a slew of familiar dragon species and locations. Boasting an all-new cast of characters, Dragons Rescue Riders doesn’t have a specific spot on the timeline. It’s theorized that this series takes place just before or right after How To Train Your Dragon, but some fans believe that the series doesn’t even exist within the same universe as the rest of the How To Train Your Dragon stories. The series is aimed at kids between four and seven and is the only animated Dragons series to feature a talking dragon.
Three specials were released within the Dragons Rescue Riders universe. Hunt for the Golden Dragon, Secrets of the Songwing, and Huttsgalor Holiday. All three films take place between season two and season three of Dragons Rescue Riders.
