DreamWorks Dragons

Updated on Nov 28, 2024

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Country of origin United States
Genre AdventureComedy-dramaFantasyAnimation Based on How to Train Your Dragon Developed by Linda TeverbaughMike Teverbaugh Voices of Jay BaruchelChris EdgerlyAmerica FerreraChristopher Mintz-PlasseJulie MarcusT.J. MillerNolan NorthZack PearlmanAndree Vermuelen Theme music composer John PaesanoJohn Powell (themes)

DreamWorks Dragons is an American computer-animated television series based on the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon. The series serves as a bridge between the first film and its 2014 sequel.

A one-hour preview consisting of two episodes aired on August 7, 2012, on Cartoon Network, with the official premiere of the series on September 4, 2012. A total of 40 episodes aired on Cartoon Network during the first two seasons, subtitled Riders of Berk and Defenders of Berk respectively; afterwards, the series was captioned as Race to the Edge, the first season of which debuted on Netflix on June 26, 2015. The second and third seasons of Dragons: Race to the Edge premiered on January 8 and June 24, 2016, respectively. The fourth season was released on February 17, 2017.

DreamWorks Dragons was announced by Cartoon Network on October 12, 2010. According to Tim Johnson, executive producer for How to Train Your Dragon, the series was planned to be much darker and deeper than DreamWorks Animation's previous television series spin-offs, with a similar tone to the movie. DreamWorks Dragons was the first DreamWorks Animation series to air on Cartoon Network rather than Nickelodeon.

The series features Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, and David Tennant reprising their roles from the How to Train Your Dragon film. New cast members includes Julie Marcus and Andree Vermeulen as Ruffnut (previously voiced by Kristen Wiig), Zack Pearlman as Snotlout (previously voiced by Jonah Hill), Chris Edgerly as Gobber the Belch (previously voiced by Craig Ferguson), and Nolan North as Stoick the Vast (previously voiced by Gerard Butler).

Plot

Taking place between How to Train Your Dragon and How to Train Your Dragon 2, DreamWorks Dragons follows Hiccup as he tries to keep balance within the new cohabitation of Dragons and Vikings. Alongside keeping up with Berk's newest installment — A Dragon Training Academy — Hiccup, Toothless, and the rest of the Viking Teens are put to the test when they are faced with new worlds harsher than Berk, new dragons that can't all be trained, and new enemies who are looking for every reason to destroy the harmony between Vikings and Dragons altogether.

Dragon Riders

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (voiced by Jay Baruchel) – Protagonist of the series; often the chief negotiator between human and draconic characters. He and his dragon, Toothless share the strongest bond of all riders and dragons.

Astrid Hofferson (voiced by America Ferrera) – Astrid is Hiccup's close friend and the unofficial second-in-command of the dragon training academy. She has a strong character, is one of the most courageous of the Dragon Riders, and is very competitive. She has a strong bond with her dragon, Stormfly.

Fishlegs Ingerman (voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) – One of Hiccup's close friends and followers; has a great encyclopedic knowledge of dragons. He is not as courageous as the other Dragon Riders, but is a loyal friend, especially to Hiccup and Astrid. He has formed a very close relationship with his dragon, Meatlug.

Snotlout Jorgenson (voiced by Zack Pearlman) – One of Hiccup's friends; reckless, quarrelsome, and often seen mocking or annoying the other riders. He has a complicated relationship with his dragon, Hookfang.

Tuffnut Thorston (voiced by T. J. Miller) and Ruffnut Thorston (voiced by Julie Marcus in Season 1, Andree Vermeulen afterward) – Male and female fraternal twins; followers of Hiccup, who quarrel constantly among themselves, and over commands given to their two-headed dragon Barf and Belch.

Notable inhabitants of Berk

Stoick the Vast (voiced by Nolan North) – The Chief of Berk and father to Hiccup; immensely strong, fearless, fierce, and possessed of shrewd judgement and compassion.

Gobber the Belch (voiced by Chris Edgerly) – The blacksmith of Berk, Stoick's closest friend, and Hiccup's mentor.

Spitelout Jorgenson (voiced by David Tennant) – Snotlout's father. Spitelout takes pride in his son's achievements, but seldom forgives his failures.

Gothi (voiced by Angela Bartys) – The village's shaman. As a mute, she communicates by gesturing or drawing lines and hieroglyphic-like pictures, translated by Gobber or Fishlegs.

Mildew (voiced by Stephen Root) – Mildew is a cantankerous, spiteful, aged and generally disliked Berk local who is a cabbage farmer and retains a strong hatred of dragons.

Villains

Alvin the Treacherous (voiced by Mark Hamill) – The main antagonist of season one and an antihero in season two. Exiled from Berk for an unspecified treachery (later revealed to be catching innocent bystanders in the crossfire of a dragon attack), he plots to displace Stoick.

Savage (voiced by Paul Rugg) – Savage is Alvin's right-hand man and later that of Dagur. He appears to be on his own in Netflix series four.

Dagur the Deranged (voiced by David Faustino) – A recurring villain-turned-ally throughout; Dagur is the leader of the Berserkers, who becomes obsessed with plotting to hunt and capture Toothless. He is later revealed to be the long-lost brother of Heather. After season two of Dragons: Race to the Edge, he starts to acknowledge the aims of the Dragon Riders, and starts to help them, along with his sister, Heather.

Viggo Grimborn (voiced by Alfred Molina) – The main antagonist for the majority of Netflix season two onward. He is the leader of the Dragon Hunters, usually accompanied by his older brother, Ryker. He is much less prominent than his brother, but for what he lacks in build he has gained in intelligence and frequently tricks the Dragon Riders.

Ryker Grimborn (voiced by J.B. Blanc) – One of the main villains of Seasons two and three, he is the second-in-command of the Dragon Hunters and the elder brother of Viggo Grimborn. He is very muscular, however comes over as stubborn when compared with his younger brother.

Secondary characters

Trader Johann (voiced by Michael Goldstrom) – Trader Johann is a seafaring merchant who visits Berk on occasion, and trades mostly in curiosities. He is an ally to Hiccup and the others of Berk.

Heather (voiced by Mae Whitman) – A mysterious teenage girl found by the Viking youths. Although she was at first introduced for actions against Berk, her true motive, to rescue her parents from Alvin the Treacherous, proved her loyalty. She returns in Season Three and bonds with a Razorwhip dragon named Windshear. She is later revealed to be Dagur's long-lost sister and pretends to be in league with him in order to get close to him and the newly unveiled dragon hunters. She leaves to parts unknown after her plot is uncovered by Viggo. She soon returns, showing romantic feelings for Fishlegs and joins the Dragon Riders.

Defenders of the Wing – A tribe of warriors who worship dragons as holy beings led by Queen Mala, the Defenders of the Wing are at war with Viggo Grimborn and his Dragon Hunters, and are therefore extremely distrusting of outsiders such as Hiccup and the other dragon riders of Berk. They also know nothing of riding or training dragons, as their culture forbids it. They live on an island in the shadow of a volcano that is home to an enormous dragon called an Eruptodon, which they worship and protect at all cost, as it feeds on the lava of the volcano, preventing their village from being destroyed. They first appear in the episode "Defenders of the Wing: Part 1"

Dragons

Toothless – An extremely rare male of the Night Fury species, befriended by Hiccup, and the only dragon that cannot fly without his rider, having lost his left tail fin in the first feature film. Has dark black scales, retractable teeth, and shoots blue/purple plasma bolts which can create light or fire. Toothless also has the unique ability to navigate in dark places using animal echolocation.

Stormfly – A blue, female Deadly Nadder dragon befriended by Astrid. Like Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly display exceptional teamwork. She and Toothless share a friendly rivalry in most of the competitions Hiccup and Astrid devise. In addition to her magnesium-fueled fire bursts, Stormfly can launch spines from her tail.

Meatlug – A brown, female Gronckle who bonded with Fishlegs. Because of her husky size and short wingspan, she lacks the aerobatic maneuverability and speed of the other dragons. She and Fishlegs have a very close, nurturing relationship. She also can eat a particular combination of iron ore and rocks and regurgitate a highly prized metal known as "gronckle iron".

Hookfang – A red, male Monstrous Nightmare, ridden by Snotlout. Hookfang has a habit of attacking Snotlout or abandoning him when Snotlout tries to assert dominance, and does not always pay attention to Snotlout. In battle, Hookfang covers his skin with his flammable saliva and sets it on fire, without harming himself; this ability is almost never used when Snotlout is riding him.

Barf and Belch – A green, male, two-headed Hideous Zippleback jointly ridden by the twins, normally with Ruffnut sitting on the dragon's right head, named Barf (which exhales explosive gas), and Tuffnut sitting on the dragon's left head, named Belch (which can ignite the gas). The heads are usually agreeable, but can have difficulty flying when their riders disagree, and sometimes therefore quarrel.

Production

On October 12, 2010, it was announced that Cartoon Network had acquired worldwide broadcast rights to a weekly animated series based on the movie. According to Tim Johnson, executive producer for How to Train Your Dragon, the series was planned to be much darker and deeper than DreamWorks Animation's previous television series spin-offs, with a similar tone to the movie, and would follow after the events of the first movie. This is the first DreamWorks Animation series to air on Cartoon Network; DreamWorks Animation's previous television series, including The Penguins of Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, and Monsters vs. Aliens, had aired on Nickelodeon.

Although it was initially announced that the series would be called Dragons: The Series, the Comic Con schedule announced in June 2012 revealed the new title to be Dragons: Riders of Berk. The second season of the show was titled Dragons: Defenders of Berk. At the end of May 2014, DreamWorks Animation announced that in spring 2015 the series would move to Netflix instead of premiering on Cartoon Network.

Critical response

Dragons: Riders of Berk has received positive reviews. Brian Lowry of Variety reviewed the series: "The program is dazzling visually, and pretty effortlessly picks up where the narrative left off," although he noted the initial episodes' "lack of actual villains" and "not-particularly-stirring array of characters". Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times said that it "retains both the personality and production value of its progenitor. Dragons promise to be lively and entertaining, with great visuals of dragons swooping and soaring." She praised its look: "It looks pretty dang spectacular even by today's standards. It's so crisply drawn and fluid that a person of a certain age would be forgiven for wondering how on earth we survived with things like Scooby-Doo and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop." According to Nielsen Media Research, episodes of the first season ranked on average #1 in their timeslot among boys 2-14.

Video game

A 3D Unity-based in-browser game, titled Dragons: Wild Skies, was launched on August 27, 2012, on CartoonNetwork.com. Players will go through a tutorial with Hiccup, and train a Deadly Nadder, before being able to free roam around the several islands in the Barbaric Archipelago, with dragons scattered around them. The player can choose to be a blonde/brunette male or female Viking, before setting off to explore the islands. To train a dragon, players must feed the dragons correct food before doing correct gestures to gain the dragon's trust. In the game, players do not die or otherwise fail. Players complete challenges to earn gold for buying tools to obtain food for training dragons. The overworld consists of six islands, each with a unique dragon to tame. The number of dragons and worlds to explore is set to expand over time, as the series introduces more and more places and dragons...

Home media

A DVD collection of the first four episodes, titled Dragons: Riders of Berk, was released on November 20, 2012. The first season of the series was released on DVD in two parts on July 23, 2013. Dragons: Riders of Berk: Part 1 contained episodes from 1 to 11, and Dragons: Riders of Berk: Part 2, episodes from 12 to 20. In December 2013, Walmart released an exclusive pack containing the Complete 1st Season in a special edition "Toothless" plastic package. A DVD collection of the first 10 episodes of the second season, titled Dragons: Defenders of Berk: Part 1, was released on March 25, 2014. The second part, titled Dragons: Defenders of Berk: Part 2, was later released on May 27, 2014.

References

DreamWorks Dragons Wikipedia

(Text) CC BY-SA

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