Dreamworks launched a captivating animated fantasy film in 2010, and it continues to be considered one of the best fantasy movies of the 21st century, steadily growing in popularity. While adapting fantasy novels for the screen isn’t new – many successful adaptations, like those of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings, fall into this genre – it’s a notoriously difficult task. An animated fantasy movie faces even greater challenges than live-action ones.
The enduring popularity and success of How to Train Your Dragon is particularly noteworthy. Starting as a book by Cressida Cowell in 2003, the first animated movie premiered on March 26, 2010, and quickly became a hit with both audiences and critics. It launched a successful franchise that continues to thrive today, and even spawned a well-received sequel – a rare achievement for a popular animated film.
How To Train Your Dragon Was A Near-Perfect Fantasy Movie
Released in 2010, How to Train Your Dragon was a major financial hit, earning $494 million globally on a production budget of $165 million. But what really stands out is how well-received the movie was by critics. Even today, it boasts a remarkable 99% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences giving it a 91% rating. Critics and viewers alike praised the film’s beautiful animation, compelling story, strong performances, and emotional depth.
What truly makes How to Train Your Dragon special isn’t just one thing, but especially its story. The film focuses on Hiccup, a young and unconventional Viking—the son of the tribe’s chief, Stoick the Vast. Growing up, Hiccup was taught to fear and despise dragons, and at the start of the movie, he largely believes everything he’s been told.
Everything shifts when Hiccup encounters a Night Fury dragon he calls Toothless, who acts a lot like a playful puppy despite his fearsome appearance. Beyond this heartwarming connection, How to Train Your Dragon delves into deeper subjects like family, overcoming hardship, tradition, right and wrong, and love, all within a concise 93-minute runtime. This strong base is why the many follow-up films, TV series, and reboots have been so successful, consistently achieving similar positive results.
The Original Had Many Successful Spinoffs And Sequels
The popular movie How to Train Your Dragon continued with two sequels: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) and How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019). Beyond the films, the franchise expanded to include the short film How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming (also released in 2019) and several TV series, like Dragons: Race to the Edge and Dragons: The Nine Realms. Generally, the sequels and spinoffs of How to Train Your Dragon have been successful, even though it’s rare for every installment in a franchise to be equally good.
The How to Train Your Dragon sequels were also very successful financially. How to Train Your Dragon 2 earned $621 million worldwide, surpassing the original film’s earnings. While The Hidden World made a bit less, at $539 million, it still outperformed the first movie. Both sequels were well-received by critics and audiences alike: How to Train Your Dragon 2 has a 92% critic score and 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, while The Hidden World scores 90% with critics and 87% with audiences.
Overall, the numbers show that How to Train Your Dragon is a remarkably successful franchise, especially considering it’s an animated fantasy series aimed at children. But the story didn’t end with the original trilogy. The first film is already considered highly rewatchable, the sequels have performed strongly, and now a live-action remake has also proven to be a hit – perhaps even more so than expected.
Even The Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Was Well-Received
The animated film How to Train Your Dragon got a live-action remake in 2025. While most people agree the original is better, the remake was generally popular with audiences. It earned $636 million worldwide and received a strong 97% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics, however, weren’t as impressed, giving it a 77% score – the lowest rating of any film in the How to Train Your Dragon series.
I have to say, I was really impressed with the live-action How to Train Your Dragon! It’s so refreshing to see a remake actually succeed, especially when so many others are getting negative reactions. And the best part? They’re already making a live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon 2! I truly hope they handle it with the same care and respect as the first one – the original animated trilogy was just brilliant, and they clearly knew what they were doing. It’s a fantastic sign for the franchise!
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2026-03-26 16:12