How to Train Your Dragon (film)

How to Train Your Dragon is a computer animated comedy adventure movie based on the book by Cressida Cowell. The film is directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, and written by Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (script). Stars: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Gerard Butler, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Craig Ferguson. The film was released on March 26, 2010 by DreamWorks Animation / Paramount Pictures, receiving mostly favorable reviews. It grossed an estimated $43.3 million dollars in its opening weekend.

Plot (Contains Spoilers)
The movie is about a young viking named Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) who is Chief Stoick the Vast's son. Like every other young viking, Hiccup is expected to fight and kill a dragon. However, he is small for a viking his age and can hardly lift traditional viking weapons. During an attack on the village he snares a rare Night Fury with a bola shot from a cannon he made. When he goes to find the dragon where it fell, he can't bring himself to kill it. After releasing it, he starts to befriend it; and he also gives the Night Fury a new tail he made himself to help the Night Fury fly.

Meanwhile, Hiccup begins Viking Training along with several other teenagers in the village. He proves unable to accomplish even the most simple tasks necessary to fight dragons. However, attempting to simultaneously train the Night Fury, which he dubs Toothless, and go through Viking Training soon proves to be a strain on Hiccup. Astrid, one of the other teenagers in Hiccup's training, notices, and eventually follows Hiccup and discovers Toothless. In an attempt to keep both Toothless and his relationship with him a secret, Hiccup offers Astrid a ride on Toothless. Astrid accepts Hiccup's offer, but in the middle of their ride they meet other dragons that are carrying food to their nest. Toothless follows them and they discover that the dragons are feeding a Red Death, a huge Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus, in their nest. They discover that the dragons are forced to feed the Red Death, or else they will be eaten by it. After they escape the nest and return home, Astrid punches Hiccup in the shoulder for "kidnapping" her, and then kisses him on the cheek for the ride and leaves.

Unfortunately, the secret was no more when Hiccup went through his final test to become a Viking. He was sent to fight a dragon, more specifically a Monstrous Nightmare in a battle arena. Instead of chopping its head off, he tries to tame it, but was stopped short by the shouts of his father and the other vikings. As the Monstrous Nightmare attacks Hiccup, Toothless hears his cries of fear and goes off to save him. Astird enters the battle arena in an attempt to save Hiccup, but fails. The Chief opens the gate to the arena to let Hiccup and Astrid out. Astrid manages to get out but Hiccup is stopped short when the Monstrous Nightmare blocks him from escaping. Just then, Toothless arrives and saves Hiccup by fighting away the Monstrous Nightmare. The other vikings see Toothless and attempt to capture him. In defence, Toothless attacks the vikings and the Chief but was stopped by Hiccup, causing him to be captured. Hiccup tried to tell Toothless to leave before he was captured, but Toothless' strong devotion to protecting Hiccup caused him to stay put.

Hiccup tries to explain to his father that dragons were not as harmful as they thought they were, but the Chief would not hear a word. During his attempt to explain, Hiccup accidentally mentions the dragons' nest; something that the Vikings have been after since the day the Vikings settled in. He says only a dragon can enter the nest, which gives the Chief an idea to use Toothless as the ticket



to get into the dragons' nest. Hiccup tries to explain to his father why the dragons were so fierce when they took the viking's livestock, and tells him of the Red Death and it's treatment of the dragons. Stoick refuses to listen, and says to Hiccup, "You're not my son."

The Vikings prepare themselves and leave to fight the dragons. Hiccup watches them from the village's harbor as Astrid encourages him to do something. He goes and teaches his friends to ride the dragons in the arena. They then head for the dragon's nest, with Hiccup riding on Astrid's dragon.

The vikings reach the nest and use explosives to blow a hole in the nest's lower base. Upon doing so, they enrage the Red Death, causing it to break through the walls and attack the vikings.

When Hiccup and his friends arrive, they see the Red Death and begin to attack it. Hiccup and his father rescue Toothless and Hiccup uses him to trick the large dragon into flying. They then scorch its wings and send the giant dragon plummeting to the ground. However, Toothless's fake tail fails, and Hiccup falls off. After smoke from the battle clears, it is shown that Toothless saved Hiccup.

Hiccup wakes up in his bed and discovers that he lost his left foot in the battle against the Red Death. Now, both Hiccup and Toothless have replacements that are needed for movement. In the end, the Viking Tribe and the dragons learn to coexist in peace.