Coming-of-age stories may be a favorite topic for YA stories, but few encapsulate the awkward transition from childhood to adulthood like How To Train Your Dragon. Since the first movie dropped in 2010, it’s been one of DreamWorks‘ most beloved animated series.
Thousands of viewers grew up with Hiccup, Astrid, Toothless, and the other Viking misfits and dragons, and took their first steps into adulthood right alongside them. With releases spanning more than a decade, the series has enraptured fans with carefully constructed storylines, beautiful animation, and unforgettable characters.
How to watch all How To Train Your Dragon movies and tv shows in order
When most of us think of How to Train Your Dragon, we picture the Viking warriors of Berk. Our favorite heroes have gone on dozens of adventures crossing from movies into television shows, and it can be difficult to place what short or season comes next.
We’ve compiled a list in chronological order starting with the fist movie on the island of Berk, and flowing seamlessly into the hyper modern The Nine Realms. Well, as seamlessly as you can with a 1300 year time skip.
1. How to Train Your Dragon
- 2010
The very first installment in the How To Train Your Dragon series, this one kicked off the entire franchise. The Oscar-nominated movie follows the awkward Viking misfit Hiccup as he befriends an injured dragon and changes the course of his village forever. A great cast, excellent writing, and the oh-so-lovable Toothless ensured How To Train Your Dragon would go down as an animated classic. Don’t even get me started on that incredible soundtrack!
The film is loosely based on a 2003 book series of the same name, which caught the attention of DreamWorks the following year. This commercial success raked in $1.6 billion worldwide and received universal praise from critics and audiences alike.
2. Book of Dragons
- 2011
Originally a bundled package with Gift of the Night Fury, this 18-minute short features Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, Toothless, and Gobber as they explain the legend behind the Book of Dragons. The short details 14 different dragon species and explains the seven classes that encompass all dragon varieties.
If you wanted to get crazy with it, you could pause HTTYD when the team discusses the book, but we wouldn’t blame you if you save it till the end.
3. Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
- 2010
Though it’s only 16 minutes long, this short is a must-see for any fan of the series. Part traditional animation, part computer-animated, the film gives some much-needed backstory on the intrepid Viking teacher, Gobber, and how exactly he came to lose all those limbs. It’s short, funny, and well worth the watch.
4. Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury
- 2012
A 22-minute-long short, Gift of the Night Fury takes place during the Viking winter celebration of “Snoggletog.” When all of the other dragons begin their yearly migration, only Toothless is left behind, and Hiccup designs a new gadget to help his scaly friend.
This one has some Easter eggs that show up way down the line in How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
DreamWorks Dragons
The DreamWorks Dragons series serves as a bridge between the first and second movies. It was originally released as 3 installments with different names (as seen below). When Netflix nabbed the series it smooshed them all under the umbrella of Dragons: Race to the Edge.
5. Dragons: Riders of Berk
- 2012
The first season of the series, Riders of Berk, picks up right where the movie left off. While there may be peace between dragons and Vikings, life isn’t going as smoothly as Hiccup expected. The exciting season lays the groundwork for the harmonious village seen in the second movie and fills in the blanks between the first and second films, showing just how Berk became a dragon-centric paradise.
The 20-episode season features a slew of great voice actors like Mark Hamill, David Tennant, and Nolan North. While its animation doesn’t hold a candle to the movies, the story is a fun romp and helps to give those amazing side characters some much-deserved screen time.
6. Dragons: Defenders of Berk
- 2013
The second season, Defenders of Berk, follows the Vikings as they start to explore the wider world around them. It introduces a ton of new dragons, and does individual deep dives into the Viking teens. It’s laced with the moral ambiguity inherent with humanity, oozing character development, and jam packed with action sequences. Plus, it adds in some characters from the books that never made it to the big screen.
Over the course of its 20-episode run, the season sets the stage for the conflict in How To Train Your Dragon 2.
7. Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers
Image via DreamWorks
- 2014
This 25-minute short came out in 2014 as a bundled set with How To Train Your Dragon 2, but it’s set three years before the sequel. The short film features the full gamut of Viking teens as they reminisce on the Island of Berk’s shift from annual boat races to annual Dragon Races and try to remember who — or what — started the trend in the first place.
8. Dreamworks Dragons: Race to the Edge
- 2015 -2018
Race to the Edge unfolds over the final six seasons of DreamWorks Dragons. Though the third season of the series starts off a little slower than its predecessors, there’s a reason it takes 78 episodes for the story to unfold. The series is the most contentious entry into the entire How To Train Your Dragon franchise due to its continuity errors, but the plethora of character growth and Easter eggs linking to the second movie make it well worth the watch.
While chronologically, this series comes before How To Train Your Dragon 2, the sheer number of callbacks to the movie begs fans to watch the film before devouring the final seasons of DreamWorks Dragons.
9. How To Train Your Dragon 2
- 2014
Set five years after the original film, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is noticeably darker than the first film and oozing with emotional depth. The now 20-year-old Hiccup tries desperately to stave off his father’s attempts to make him village chief (despite his six seasons’ worth of experience doing just that). After many of his friends and their dragons are kidnapped by the dragon-enslaving psychopath Drago Bludvist, Hiccup and Toothless must find anyone who can help them save their people. The movie is just all-around great and explores elements of storytelling that most animated movies don’t touch on.
And can we talk about the cultural impact of that mom reveal? Seriously, go watch Aquaman and tell me that scene with Queen Atlanna didn’t use HTTYD 2 as inspiration.
10. How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
- 2019
The Hidden World takes place just one year after the events of the second movie. With dragon hunting threatening the safety of dragons and the now-bustling city of Berk, Hiccup has no choice but to find a safe haven for his winged friends. The extra background laid out in DreamWorks Dragons helps to illustrate just how much danger the dragons and their Vikings were in for this film.
Gorgeously animated and beautifully written, the final installment of the blockbuster trilogy never fails to bring a tear to my eye as it wraps up Hiccup and Toothless’ silver-screen story.
11. How To Train Your Dragon: Homecoming
- 2019
The icing on the How To Train Your Dragon cake, this 22-minute short closes the series. Set just before Snoggletog, the short revolves around Astrid and Hiccup reminding New Berk of all the ways dragons changed the Viking lifestyle for the better. It’s bittersweet as beloved characters reminisce on their gone-but-not-forgotten dragon companions.
Plus, we get to see more of those adorable little Night Light dragons from the end of the last movie.
12. DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms
- 2021 – 2023
Anyone unfamiliar with the aggressive time skip between Hidden World and The Nine Realms will be more than a little baffled when starting this series. Set a whopping 1,300 years after the final How To Train Your Dragon movie, The Nine Realms follows Tom Kullersen — a descendant of Hiccup and Astrid —who discovers a living dragon hidden deep within a fissure in the Earth. With dragons considered mythological creatures in modern days, Tom and his misfit friends must find a way to keep their beastly companions safe from the modern world. It’s a fun fusion of legend and technology, and The Nine Realms doesn’t shy away from the odd combination.
With plenty of nods to How To Train Your Dragon, this series is worth watching for anyone who has ever wondered how dragons might fit into the modern world.
Honorable Mentions
13. How to Train Your Dragon: Snoggletog Log
- 2019
If you want to get crazy with it, Snoggletog Log comes before or after Homecoming, depending on your preference. Its a simple Yule log, merrily crackling in a fireplace, but every so often your favorite characters will pop up on screen.
14. DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders
- 2019 – 2020
This children’s series ran for 2 seasons and featured a slew of familiar dragon species and locations. Boasting an all-new cast of characters, Dragons Rescue Riders doesn’t have a specific spot on the timeline. It’s theorized that this series takes place just before or right after How To Train Your Dragon, but some fans believe that the series doesn’t even exist within the same universe. The adventure is aimed at kids between four and seven and is the only animated Dragons series to feature a talking dragon.
Three specials were released within the Dragons Rescue Riders universe. All three films take place between season two and season three of Dragons Rescue Riders, and can be watched in any order.
15. Hunt for the Golden Dragon
- 2020
16. Secrets of the Songwing
- 2020
17. Huttsgalor Holiday
- 2020
18. Dragons: Rescue Riders: Heroes of the Sky
- 2021-2022
The final 4 season of Rescue Riders were finished by Paramount studios. The series wraps up over 24 episodes.
19. How To Train Your Dragon — The live-action adaptation
While we don’t know much about the upcoming live-action adaptation of How To Train Your Dragon, several things have been confirmed. Dean DeBlois, the talented writer and director behind the animated movies, will be returning to helm the project. The movie should follow the same general premise as its animated counterpart and is set to hit theaters sometime in 2025. The movie is helmed by Universal producer Marc Platt (La La Land, Bridge of Spies). Filming for the project is set to begin June 30, 2023. Mason Thames (The Black Phone) has been cast as Hiccup, and Nico Parker (The Last of Us) will play Astrid.
Published: Apr 19, 2024 12:07 pm