All 9 How to Train Your Dragon Projects, Ranked from Good to Perfect

The project about the touching friendship between the Vikings and the dragons is rightly considered to be an animation classic. In total, there are nine projects that will help your kids (and probably you) see that even the worst enemies can become BFFs.

9. Book of Dragons

In the 17-minute animation, Hiccup, along with Astrid, discuss unusual species of wild dragons and compile a reference book. Tiny Terrible Terror is cute and harmless at first glance, but it likes to hunt in large groups, and you don't want to get in the way of a pack of these lizards. Monstrous Nightmare loves to spontaneously combust, but all you have to do to subdue it is stroke its face – respectfully, of course.

The creators cut most of the 3D footage from the feature animation, added a few new scenes, and made the rest in 2D – cheap and cheerful. Anyway, young viewers are happy and excited to discuss the types of winged reptiles.

8. How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming

In 2019, the studio released a Christmas episode. The 20-minute animated short was as good as the third full-length movie and allowed viewers to enter the beloved world once again.

Astrid and Hiccup find out that the oldest daughter has discovered a book detailing the ferocity and violence of dragons. After seeing how impressed the girl was, her parents decided that something needed to be done. They perform a play that teaches the kids that dragons and humans make wonderful friends. Naturally, though, things don't always go as expected.

7. Dawn of the Dragon Racers

When How to Train Your Dragon 2 hit theaters, the studio decided it was time to fill the void in dragon racing history. Just six months later, viewers were treated to a new half-hour movie.

In an attempt to become the first Dragon Race champion, Hiccup and his friends turn the hunt for the missing sheep into a competition. This is the tale of how racing on the dragons got its start and rose to prominence on the island.

6. Gift of the Night Fury

The animation was created almost entirely from scratch: there is little footage from the feature film, and no episodes of 2D animation. The studio prepared such a gift for its fans at the end of 2011 by creating a Christmas episode. Of course, the Vikings don't have Christmas, but the fictional Snoggletog successfully replaces it.

Toothless helps Hiccup become a hero again as they take flight and discover an island full of dragons which have never been seen before. The dragons have many surprises in store for Hiccup and other Vikings.

5. Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon

Literally six months after the premiere of the first project, the studio released a 15-minute animation about the new adventures. It is dedicated to Gobber and his long-running conflict with a rather unusual dragon.

The Viking was just a teenager when he first encountered the reptile, which wore armor made of bones. Gobber managed to escape, but since then he has regularly encountered the bone dragon under various circumstances. This time, Boneknapper has wreaked havoc by burning down the blacksmith's house. Gobber gathers a team of young Vikings to go in search of his nemesis.

4. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

In the third full-length animation, Berk has changed beyond recognition, now resembling the dragon island. Hiccup became a leader. He remembers the legends his father told him as a child about the secret land of the dragons. The young leader is determined to find this mysterious land, which he has chosen as the new home for his people.

The third feature-length animation was released at the height of the popularity of 3D computer visualization and completed the trilogy just in time. The gorgeous visuals and smooth, detailed animation are still a source of delight and fascination today.

After the second movie, the project progressed even further, but by then it was clear that it was time to move on. The next milestone for the studio would be Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which will be filmed in a completely different artistic style.

3. Riders of Berk

In 2012, the franchise expanded with an entire animated series. The creators of the project introduced a whole collection of new dragons. Some of them had already been seen in the movie, but others were created specifically for the new show.

The Vikings of Berk and their former enemies, the dragons, now live together in peace, but the neighborhood is still not as harmonious as we would like. Despite their peaceful coexistence, dragons remain unpredictable and dangerous creatures. Hiccup decides to open a dragon training school to help dragons integrate into human society.

2. How to Train Your Dragon 2

Hiccup has grown into a mature rider, almost married Astrid, and his father is ready to give his son full control of the village. Still, the young Vikings are flying through the skies, discovering new places, encountering dragons, and running into new difficulties. One of them turns out to be the vicious Drago's dragon trappers.

The second chapter deservedly became an Oscar nominee and winner of the 2015 Golden Globe. The cute Dragons continued to be popular with audiences and even picky movie critics, and the graphics became even more amazing.

1. How to Train Your Dragon

The story of teenager Hiccup, who is not too close to the traditions of his tribe, which has been waging war against dragons for many years. Hiccup's world is turned upside down when he unexpectedly meets the dragon Toothless, who will help him see the world from a completely different perspective.

This animation once again confirmed DreamWorks' reputation as one of the most advanced animation studios in the world. The movie was released in 3D, and its creators took full advantage of its potential. Although the project lost out to the third Toy Story in the 2011 Oscar race, it has long proven to be more popular than the Pixar franchise.