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How to Train Your Dragon: How (and where) to watch the movies and shows in chronological and release order

Here’s how to watch the movies, shorts and series in the DreamWorks Dragon franchise.

Avery Kaplan avatar
How to by Avery Kaplan Contributing writer
Published on

The How to Train Your Dragon series is a heartfelt fantasy that pairs Vikings and dragons for an irresistable adventure. Since the debut of the first movie in 2010, the DreamWorks Dragons franchise has spread its wings and grown to encompass a trilogy of movies, five short films and 22 seasons of television.

It goes without saying that figuring out how to watch How to Train Your Dragon can be a daunting proposition. But here’s how (and where) to watch How to Train Your Dragon, in release and chronological order.

How to watch the How to Train Your Dragon franchise in release order

Here’s how to watch the How to Train Your Dragon franchise in release order:

How to watch the How to Train Your Dragon franchise in chronological order

Here’s how to watch the How to Train Your Dragon franchise in chronological order:

Note: 'How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming' takes place after the majority of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, but before the movie’s epilogue. And while most of the series takes place within the span of two decades, Dreamworks Dragons: The Nine Realms takes place 1,300 years after The Hidden World.

In addition to this chronology, one DreamWorks Dragons series and one holiday special cannot be included, but for different reasons. They are:

In the case of Rescue Riders, the series is geared toward a younger audience than the majority of the DreamWorks Dragons franchise. Rescue Riders is intended for a preschool audience. This means the action and violence are less intense, and lighter themes are addressed. Additional narrative misalignments, such as the dragons communicating with speech, suggest Rescue Riders may be more closely related to the How to Train Your Dragon books than the movies (see below for more on the novels).

Meanwhile, the 'Snaggletog Log' is a holiday special based on seasonal 'Yule Log' videos. The special features a window into the Haddock family home during the holidays, with various characters making appearances throughout. However, inconsistencies in continuity throughout the half-hour of slow television make it impossible to place it on the DreamWorks Dragon series chronology.

What actors star in How to Train Your Dragon?

The DreamWorks Dragons franchise has a cast that features a plethora of actors, with stars known for both live action and voice over performances. The main character of the How to Train Your Dragon series, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, is played by Jay Baruchel. Baruchel has played Hiccup in the vast majority of the characters’ apperances. Hiccup’s dragon companion, Toothless, is voiced by Randy Thom. Thom is the current director of sound design at Skywalker Sound and a two-time Oscar winner.

Additional main cast members include Astrid Hofferson, voiced by America Ferrera, and Fishlegs Ingerman, voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse. Other recurring characters are played by David Tennant (Spitelout Jorgensen and Ivar the Witless), Cate Blanchett (Valka), Kit Harington (Eret Son of Eret), Mae Whitman (Heather), F. Murray Abraham (Grimmel the Grisly), Mark Hamill (Alvin the Trecherous), Alfred Molina (Viggo) and Thomas F. Wilson (Bucket).

Some characters are played by different actors across the big and small screen entries of the series, like Snotlout Jorgensen (Jonah Hill and Zack Pearlman), Gobber the Belch (Craig Ferguson and Chris Edgerly), Ruffnut Thorston (Kristen Wiig and Andrée Vermeulen/Julie Marcus) and Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler and Nolan North).

DreamWorks Dragons: The Nine Realms is set more than a millenia after “How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming,” and therefore has its own distinct cast. This includes Jeremy Shada as main character Tom Kullersen. Additional cast members include Ashley Liao, Aimee Garcia, Marcus Scribner and Vincent Tong, with recurring and supporting roles for Julia Stiles, Haley Joel Osment, Lauren Tom and D’Arcy Carden.

What inspired How to Train Your Dragon?

The DreamWorks Dragons franchise was inspired by the How to Train Your Dragon series of novels by Cressida Cowell. There are many similarities between Cowell’s novel series and the DreamWorks Dragons franchise, like the title of the first entry, 2003’s How to Train Your Dragon, and a similar name for the protagonist, Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. However, there are also many differences, like the dragons’ speaking ability.

Some of the ideas in the series of novels that were not used in the main How to Train Your Dragon adaptation were utilzed for DreamWorks Dragons: Rescue Riders.

All twelve novels in Cowell’s series have been recorded as audiobooks narrated by David Tennant.

What is the future for How to Train Your Dragon?

An upcoming live action reboot of the How to Train Your Dragon series has been announced, and is currently scheduled for release in June 2025. The reboot will feature Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid.

Looking to explore other animated franchises from DreamWorks Animation? Check out Popverse’s guide to how and where to watch the movies and shows in the Kung-Fu Panda series.

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