Who made How to Train Your Dragon?

How to Train Your Dragon was produced by DreamWorks Animation under the direction of Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders.

How to Train Your Dragon revolves around the story of Hiccup, a young Viking living in the dragon-fighting village of Berk. Unlike his warrior friends in the village, Hiccup is inventive and curious, following his own path. One day, he injures a rare Night Fury dragon but ends up making friends with him, naming him Toothless and understanding that dragons are not the creatures his elders believed to be. Together, they challenge the village’s beliefs about dragons. As the story continues, Hiccup and Toothless intend to unite humans and dragons to save Berk from powerful enemies.

Who made How to Train Your Dragon?

While the book was authored and published by Cressida Cowell back in 2003, it was made an animated movie by DreamWorks Animation in 2004. Producer Bonnie Arnold became interested in the project and was offered to work on the film by DreamWorks Animation co-president of production Bill Damaschke. Initially, for the movie, director Peter Hastings was brought in and he made a version of the movie which was extremely close to the narratives in the novel.

While Hastings had potential, DreamWorks Animation realized that his story was more centered toward a younger audience, which might negatively impact potential box-office revenue. These sole reasons made them remove Hastings from the project and reach out to Chris Sanders to make another version of the story. Chris then offered Dean DeBlois, with whom he had previously worked on Lilo & Stitch to co-direct the movie with him.

The two directors, while taking inspiration from the novel, changed multiple components of the movie. According to DeBlois, the original plot of the movie (created by Hasting) was too sweet and was directed towards a younger audience. While in the novel, Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, is believed to be a Common or Garden Dragon, in the version created by Chris and DeBlois, Toothless was an injured Night Fury, who is the rarest species of all dragons, far faster and more powerful than the other species.

The cast of How to Train Your Dragon

How to Train Your Dragon has featured a talented cast of voice actors bringing its characters to life. Starting with the main characters - Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the Viking chief’s son, who has a friendship with a dragon named Toothless. America Ferrera lends her voice to Astrid Hofferson, alongside Gerard Butler who plays Stoick the Vast, Hiccup’s formidable father and the chief of Berk. The cast also features Craig Ferguson providing the voice for Gobber the Belch, along with Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller voicing the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The cast lastly includes Jonah Hill who portrays Snotlout Jorgenson, the boastful and overconfident warrior, while Christopher Mintz-Plasse voices Fishlegs Ingerman, the dragon expert and a close friend of Hiccup.

Also read: Cast of the live action How to Train Your Dragon