Animation Source Forums

When I first saw How to Train your Dragon in theaters when it first came out, a loved it. It was a heartwarming, deep film with beautiful animation and smart characters. I've heard of the short films, and of the new TV series airing on Cartoon Network. (Dunno why Dreamworks wants to milk all the money on Dragons when it's got two sequels planned). But anyways, are the shorts and cartoons as good as the movie was? Should I watch it? (I'm no huge fan of the movie, just seen it three times)

I've seen some of the episodes from the tv show, and I gotta tell you, it's a hit and miss with me. I hate some, and others are just 'okay'. It depends how much of a fan you are I guess. The bigger fans will likely say 'OF COURSE HOW CAN YOU NOT ALKDJF;LIASD'. It's worth a look, but I don't think it's a "must see".

The shorts however, 'Gift of the Night Fury' and 'Book of Dragons'... Well GotNF is good. Real good. Certainly worth a watch. ...BoD though I have to get back to you on as I haven't watched it yet, but if they took as much time to work on it as they did GotNF, then yea it's probably worth a watch too. If there are any other specials I don't know of them.

The series I imagine is rushed, so the animation isn't QUITE on par with the movie. But the stories are what really bombed for me. I mean. In the episode where they try to find a new job for Gobber as he kinda can't kill dragons anymore... It doesn't make sense and to me the ending was stupid and demeaning for such a great talent. Hidden text : click to show

If you liked the movie cuz of the comedy, and heartwarminess of it, then you will LOVE "Gift of the Night Fury"! It is so sweet! You could call it a holiday version of the movie Dreamworks captured it so well! I say: You haven't lived till you see this!

There is also "Legend of the Bonenapper Dragon" which is funny, but doesn't catch the heartwarminess of the movie quite as good. More funny then sweet, but I still am glad I watched it.
I say: Not a short to miss.

"Book of Dragons" is good for those fans who want to know more about the dragons, and see other new dragons too. There are funny little 2D animated parts throughout the entire thing, showing how the founder of the actual Book of Dragons (Hark) discovered all the dragons, and learned about them. If you watch it, watch it at different times, not all at once. Other then the funny parts, its informational.
I say: Okay. I would only watch it once though.

"Dragons: Riders of Berk" (tv series) is, in my opinion, 'good'. It isn't great, but it doesn't suck like some of those other movie-to-tv shows. It's a good show, and in every episode there is a lesson to be learned, but they don't teach the lesson in a "Blue's Clues" type way, they teach it in a teen-type way. I was disappointed with a few episodes, but I wouldn't miss an episode for all the money in the world. And the animation isn't as good as the movie (which you would expect as one airs every week)
I say: Good, worth watching.

Well, that does it. It seems like Gift of the Night Fury is the most favored one on here, and it sounds great too. ^^ I may even buy the shorts. The TV show, i'll watch it when it's on, maybe DVR it. They all sound worth a watch to me. Thanks!

Here are the links to all three if you wanna warch them before buying:

Gift of the Night Fury: http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=35Rm2ndnazc

Legend of the Bonenapper Dragon: http://youtube.com/watch?v=sOMpvNTA0_w

Book of Dragons: http://youtube.com/watch?v=IHsRuwSbqWE&feature=related (no audio, sorry)

I can't remember much from Book of Dragons or The Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon, but Gift of the Nightfury is wonderful! It's heartwarming and funny and it just leaves you with a happy feeling. I'd definitely recommend it.

As for the TV show, as many have said, the animation isn't as great as the movie, which is to be expected since they're working on a TV show budget and whatnot, but the animation isn't bad either. In fact it's really good compared to most of the other CGI shows I've seen. As for the story, I quite enjoy it. Some episodes aren't as good as the others, but overall it's a good show and I definitely enjoy watching it.