“ | Our loved ones are always nearby, when we hold them in our hearts. | ” |
— Hiccup |
How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming is a Holiday Special that aired on NBC and was released to DVD on December 3, 2019.[1]
Synopsis[]
“ | This holiday season, reunite with Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Light Fury and all your friends on the Isle of New Berk in this all-new CG animated adventure based upon the critically acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy from DreamWorks Animation. Starring the vocal talents of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson and Christopher Mintz-Plasse among others, the story centers around Hiccup's plan to celebrate dragons with a grand holiday pageant at the Snoggletog Festival. This heartwarming idea leads to a series of unexpected, hilarious and thrilling events — but no matter what happens, everyone in Berk is reminded that dragons and humans are forever bonded. [src] | ” |
“ | Snoggletog is the best time of the year! It's been ten years since the dragons moved to the Hidden World, and even though Toothless doesn't live in New Berk anymore, Hiccup continues the holiday traditions he once shared with his best friend. But the Vikings of New Berk were beginning to forget about their friendship with dragons. Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber know just what to do to keep the dragons in the villagers' hearts. And across the sea, the dragons have a plan of their own... [src] | ” |
“ | When it becomes clear that the new generation of Vikings doesn't remember the bond between dragon and human, Hiccup sets a plan to celebrate with a grand Snoggletog holiday pageant and gets a heartwarming surprise visit from Toothless for one more adventure. Reunite with Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, Light Fury and all your friends on the Isle of New Berk in How To Train Your Dragon Homecoming, a brand new adventure based upon the critically acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy. [src] | ” |
Development and Production[]
“ | That's why we want to bring back the Snoggletog Pageant! ... So we were thinking we'd like to bring back the Snoggletog Pageant. [src] | ” |
— Jay Baruchel |
On February 12, 2019, Jay Baruchel dropped what would become the first hint of a holiday short in his Instagram Stories. It featured an eight second clip of himself in the sound booth, recording lines about a Snoggletog Pageant.
At the Annecy Film Festival in June, 2019, Dean DeBlois confirmed a holiday special was coming to fans in attendance. He would later also mention it in an interview. The interview was in French, but the English translation is "Apart from perhaps a special episode for the holiday season, there is — to my knowledge — no other project in development".[2]
On July 21, Richard Hamilton acknowledged the special in a tweet, saying that "anything is possible".[3]
Around September 8, Universal Pictures posted a title page for the special, complete with a logo and a synopsis in the form of a PDF.[4]
Around the same time, the European official Playmobil websites unveiled a licensed toy to accompany the special. It features Zephyr, Nuffink, and the Night Light hatchlings with a snowy background.[5]
Around September 21, the American electronics retail company Best Buy listed a Homecoming DVD, which is set for release on December 3, 2019.[6]
Around October 8, the special in book form popped up on sites like Target.com and Amazon, set for release a month before the DVD.
On October 11, DreamWorks officially announced the special and the air date of December 3, along with an official poster, a few stills from the special, and cover art for the DVD.
On October 15, DreamWorks launched an official website for the special.
Plot[]
A decade after the dragons left the Vikings, the residents of New Berk are preparing for the annual Snoggletog festivities. Around this time, Hiccup and Astrid find out that their daughter, Zephyr has been building dragon traps around their home and has developed a fear of dragons after finding some of Stoick's old books that were written before Vikings and dragons became friends. Not wanting Zephyr and Nuffink to have the same hatred towards dragons as their ancestors did, Astrid suggests bringing back the Snoggletog Pageant and centering it around the time when the Vikings and dragons made peace. This situation also makes Hiccup miss Toothless.
Back in the Hidden World, Toothless is missing his friend too. He draws a picture of Hiccup and New Berk in the sand. He then shows it to the Light Fury and their children. Dart, bored with the daily routines of living at the Hidden World, grows curious about the picture's origin. That night, while their parents are sleeping, Dart convinces her brothers, Pouncer and Ruffrunner, to sneak out of the Hidden World and fly to New Berk with her. When Toothless wakes up, he notices nothing out of the ordinary about the stacks of rocks that the children have left in place of themselves. The Light Fury, however, awakes a minute later and ignites a crystal as a light in her suspicion. The parents then panic, realizing that their children have gone.
Gobber agrees to help Hiccup and Astrid with the pageant as he sees it as an opportunity to remind the youth of New Berk of the impact Stoick had on their village. He casts himself as Stoick and Tuffnut as Hiccup while the real Hiccup creates a mechanical costume that resembles Toothless. Much to Hiccup's dismay, Gobber portrays Stoick as the hero who unites the Vikings and the dragons rather than him.
During their rehearsal, the Night Lights arrive on New Berk and sneak around the village. Dart catches a glimpse of Hiccup, but the group retreat upon coming across Hiccup's Toothless costume and a sheep. Toothless and the Light Fury eventually catch them and the angry parents roar, giving the young dragons a serious telling off. At that moment however, the pageant begins, so the Fury family decides to settle down and watch from the top of a snowy bank.
The pageant quickly turns disastrous when Gobber accidentally lights the whole stage on fire. Hiccup is sent out of control in his costume and falls off the cliff, but Toothless manages to rescue him in time. Whilst Hiccup is confused and unable to see, believing that Gobber has saved him, Toothless recognizes his master's familiar scent even after all the time passed, and licks the head of the costume appreciatively. Thanks to the smoke from the fire still covering the stage, Toothless is able to fill in for Hiccup and helps Gobber end the show by reenacting the moment when he allowed Hiccup to touch him. Both New Berk and Toothless' family applaud the performance and are reminded of the bond the Vikings have with the dragons. After the show ends, Zephyr goes backstage to check on her father and ends up meeting Toothless before he flies off with his family. Touched by the Night Fury's kind demeanor, she changes her opinion on dragons, exclaiming to her father that Toothless is "adorable" as she skips off back home.
Despite the chaos of the pageant, Hiccup, Astrid, and Gobber see that they've succeeded as they witness the children of New Berk develop a newfound appreciation for both Stoick and the dragons. When they arrive at the Haddock residence, they find a glowing crystal from the Hidden World and see that the bowl that contained the offering of Toothless' favorite fish is empty. They run outside and see Toothless, the Light Fury, and the Night Lights all flying away from New Berk. The experience reminds Hiccup that their loved ones are always close as long as they hold them in their hearts. Astrid remarks that their family should return the favor by visiting Toothless and the dragons at the Hidden World, leading to the epilogue of the third film several months later.
Transcript[]
The full transcript can be found here.
Characters[]
People[]
- Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III voiced by Jay Baruchel
- Astrid Haddock voiced by America Ferrera
- Gobber the Belch voiced by Craig Ferguson
- Zephyr Haddock voiced by Madalyn Gonzalez
- Nuffink Haddock voiced by Liam Ferguson
- Fishlegs Ingerman voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse
- Snotlout Jorgenson voiced by Zack Pearlman
- Tuffnut Thorston voiced by Justin Rupple
- Stoick the Vast voiced by Gerard Butler (flashback and impression)
- Ruffnut Thorston ♣
- Haggis ♣
- Phlegma the Fierce ♣
- Starkard ♣
- ♣ indicates a character that appears but does not speak
Dragons[]
- Toothless
- Light Fury
- Dart
- Pouncer
- Ruffrunner
- Stormfly (credits)
Dragon Species[]
- Deadly Nadder (credits and drawing)
- Gronckle (drawing)
- Hideous Zippleback (drawing)
- Light Fury
- Monstrous Nightmare (drawing)
- Night Fury
- Night Light
- Skrill (drawing)
- Thunderdrum (drawing)
- Whispering Death (drawing)
Locations[]
- New Berk
- Haddock House (New Berk)
- Fishlegs' House (New Berk)
- Snotlout's House (New Berk)
- Isle of Berk
- Hidden World
Objects[]
- Astrid's Kransen
- Dragon Manual
- Hiccup's Prosthetic Leg
- Hiccup's Toy
- Mechanical Toothless Puppet
- Nuffink's Dragon Mask
- Stoick the Vast Statue
- Toothless' Saddle and Tail Fin
- Yaknog
- Zephyr's Dragon Traps
Flora and Fauna[]
Events and Practices[]
- Black Plague Friday (mentioned)
- Snoggletog
Trivia[]
- This is the second How to Train Your Dragon holiday short to be released, with the first being Gift of the Night Fury.
- This is also the first short film to feature Nuffink, Zephyr, the Night Light hatchlings, and the Light Fury.
- The special aired prematurely on October 25, 2019 on the FOX channel in a number of Latin American countries.
- The digital format of the special became legally available for purchase in the UK on sites such as iTunes on November 19, 2019.
- In Hiccup's workshop, when he places the model head of Toothless on the table, the dragon stuffed toy that Valka made when he was a baby can be seen.
- Gobber's reference to his and Stoick's run-in with "Visigoths" may allude to the book series' Visithugs.
- Though Visigoths were also a real Germanic tribe who overthrew Rome and ruled Spain prior to the Viking era.
- The back cover of the DVD case is the image of old Berk seen during Gift of the Night Fury.
- The animation was provided by Jellyfish Pictures who worked on DreamWorks' Spirit Untamed, a feature film based on the Netflix series Spirit Riding Free.
- The green crystal Toothless left for the Haddock family is possibly Dragonsite, however its unconfirmed whether it is or not.
References[]
- ↑ "This holiday season, we're celebrating Snoggletog! How to Train Your Dragon Homecoming, an all-new holiday special featuring the original voice cast, is coming to NBC on December 3." (Date Posted - October 10, 2019). Facebook.
- ↑ Cusseau, Clément. (Date Published - June 12, 2019). Dragons 3 : "C'est la fin de la franchise" nous confirme le réalisateur Dean DeBlois. Allociné.
- ↑ "Without spoiling anything, I would say anything is possible." (Date Posted - July 21, 2019). Twitter.
- ↑ How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming. (Copyright - 2019). NBCUniversal.
- ↑ Bébés dragons avec enfants. (Copyright - 2019). PLAYMOBIL.
- ↑ Best Buy's HTTYD listings
[]
How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming is also available in other languages. Do visit these pages if you prefer reading content from the respective languages: Deutsch • Español • Polski • Français |