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DreamWorks Dragons

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DreamWorks Dragons
Season 1 Logo
GenreAction
Adventure
Comedy-drama
Fantasy
Created byChris Sanders
Dean DeBlois
Developed byLinda Teverbaugh
Mike Teverbaugh
Voices ofJay Baruchel
America Ferrera
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Julie Marcus
T. J. Miller
Zack Pearlman
Nolan North
Chris Edgerly
Theme music composerJohn Paesano[1]
John Powell (themes)
Country of originVereinigte Staaten
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes20 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersLinda Teverbaugh
Mike Teverbaugh
ProducersArt Brown
Douglas Sloan
Running time22 minutes
Production companyDreamWorks Animation
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseAugust 7, 2012 –
present

DreamWorks Dragons (otherwise known as Dragons: The Series) is an American computer-animated television series airing on Cartoon Network based on the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon. The series serves as a bridge between the first film and its 2014 sequel.[2] A one hour preview consisting of two episodes aired on August 7, 2012,[3] with the official premiere of the series on September 4, 2012.[4] A total of 40 episodes will air during the first and the second season.[2][5][6] The second season will have the new subtitle of Defenders of Berk, replacing season 1's subtitle Riders of Berk.[7]

The series features Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T. J. Miller and David Tennant reprising their roles from the How to Train Your Dragon film. New cast members includes Julie Marcus as Ruffnut (who was previously voiced by Kristen Wiig), Zack Pearlman as Snotlout (who was previously voiced by Jonah Hill), Chris Edgerly as Gobber the Belch (who was previously voiced by Craig Ferguson), and Nolan North as Stoick the Vast (who was previously voiced by Gerard Butler).

The television series is known outside of Nickelodeon as the first DreamWorks Animation spin-off series that airs on Cartoon Network.

Plot

Following directly after the events of How To Train Your Dragon but before How to Train Your Dragon 2, Riders of Berk follows Hiccup as he tries to keep balance within the new cohabitation of Dragons and Vikings. Alongside keeping up with Berk's newest installment — A Dragon Training Academy — Hiccup, Toothless, and the rest of the Viking Teens are put to the test when they are faced with new worlds harsher than Berk, new dragons that can't all be trained, and new enemies who are looking for every reason to destroy the harmony between Vikings and Dragons all together.

Characters

Dragon Riders

  • Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III (voiced by Jay Baruchel[8]) — The sarcastic, sophisticated and intelligent teenage protagonist of the series and Head Dragon Trainer of the Berk Dragon Academy. As the frictions of human/dragon co-habitation on the Isle of Berk become apparent, Hiccup is charged with resolving them as the leader of the Dragon Academy with his skills as a thinker, planner and an unparalleled rider. He lost one of his legs in the fall following the fight with the Red Death in the series's feature film.
  • Astrid Hofferson (voiced by America Ferrera[8]) — Striking, energetic and tough, Astrid is Hiccup's close friend, mutual love interest and right-hand woman as second-in-command of the Dragon Academy. An exceptionally skilled teenaged warrior of Berk who is equally formidable with either weapons or her dragon, she is shown to have an occasional temper as well as a tough personality. But under her tough surface, she is caring and willing to do anything to protect her friends, especially Hiccup and her dragon.
  • Fishlegs Ingerman (voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) — Normally nervous and timid, Fishlegs has an inexhaustible arsenal of dragon-based facts and enjoys studying and learning about dragons (among other things). Fishlegs, like Hiccup, is intelligent, but he prefers learning from books rather than Hiccup's riskier hands-on approach. He is extremely reluctant to fight or put himself or his dragon in danger, often voicing his pessimistic feelings towards a risky plan's worst possible outcome. His aversion to danger is the primary reason why he's not remarkably skilled as a rider.
  • Snotlout Jorgenson (voiced by Zack Pearlman) — Unintelligent, brash, vain, tactless and overconfident, Snotlout is a tough, ideally-trained warrior. Snotlout is also a typical bully, often trying to push around the other youth riders but usually faltering in a situation where he does not appear to have a clear advantage. He shows romantic interest in Astrid and constantly tries (unsuccessfully) to impress or woo her. While he boasts of having superior abilities as a warrior and dragon rider, his skills as a rider are somewhat lacking, though the fault is not entirely Snotlout's.
  • Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston (voiced by Julie Marcus[9] and T. J. Miller[8]) - Male and female fraternal twins of the youth Viking group, they both have low intelligence and a rather crude, immature personality; they are often found pulling mindless pranks around Berk, admiring disaster and destruction, or, most often, beating each other. As riders, they may be better than some of the other teens, if not for their sibling rivalry, which usually translates to opposite commands being given to their dragon, resulting in very chaotic flying/crashing as the dragon tries to follow both commands simultaneously. However, while almost always arguing or at odds with each other, they are inseparable, and where ever one goes, the other is not far behind.

Inhabitants of Berk

  • Stoick the Vast (voiced by Nolan North[10]) — Chief of Berk and father to Hiccup, Stoick is immensely strong, utterly fearless and a fierce warrior, embodying the traditional Viking virtues. Next to caring for Hiccup, Stoick considers the safety of Berk his top priority, even at the cost of the dragons. Despite initial reluctance, he gradually allows Hiccup more responsibility and becomes more open to his suggestions and beliefs. As the series progresses, Stoick is often found more in favour of dragons on Berk and does go out of his way to defend and protect them, especially after the initial attack of Alvin the Treacherous and bonding with his own dragon, Thornado.
  • Gobber the Belch (voiced by Chris Edgerly[4]) — The blacksmith of Berk, Stoick's closest friend, and Hiccup's mentor. As a veteran dragon-fighter, he is able to contribute his own knowledge of dragons. His duties expanded to include being a veterinarian for both the dragons (though primarily as a dentist) and the livestock of Berk after the peace with the dragons left him without work. He also acts as a voice of reason for Stoick, a voice of experience for Hiccup, and sometimes a mediator between the two of them. Gobber had lost a hand, foot and tooth in battle with dragons over his lifetime, and he then replaced them with prosthetics built in his smithy. He also replaced Hiccup's left lower leg after Hiccup lost it in the original film.
  • Mulch (voiced by Tim Conway[4]) — One of the Viking farmers responsible for gathering and producing food for the village. Unlike his partner Bucket, Mulch is more intelligent and independent, and is therefore charged with keeping an eye on Bucket due to the latter's lack of both said qualities. He is missing his right hand and his left leg and has had them replaced with a hook and a peg leg.
  • Bucket (voiced by Thomas F. Wilson[4][9]) — A rather simple-minded and soft-hearted farmer who is named after the bucket he always wears on his head. Bucket suffered a blow to the head in a dragon battle which lead to him, in addition to always wearing a bucket, suffering memory loss, an inability to perform tasks without supervision and, surprisingly, possessing artistic talent. Like Mulch, Bucket lost his right hand and has had it replaced with a hook.
  • Gothi — An elderly woman who serves as the village's shaman. As a mute, she communicates by gesturing or drawing lines and hieroglyphic-like pictures in the dirt with her staff that Gobber translates, sometimes with mixed success.
  • Spitelout Jorgenson (voiced by David Tennant) — Snotlout's father, whose personality is very similar to Snotlout's. A strong and confident Viking warrior, he expects the same results out of his son. Spitelout takes pride in his son's achievements, but often is unforgiving of his failures.

Villains

  • Mildew (voiced by Stephen Root) — Mildew is a cantankerous, spiteful, aged Berk local and the minor recurring antagonist of the series. Mildew lives reclusively in a house outside of the village by himself and festers a strong hatred of dragons. He is widely disliked by the residents of Berk, but he is, nonetheless, capable of swaying public opinion and rallying riots against the dragons, should the situation allow it, thanks to his clever and patient mentality. His hatred for dragons extends to include Hiccup, as Hiccup is the head dragon trainer, frequent advocate for all the dragons, and the primary cause of failure for most of Mildew's schemes to have the dragons evicted or killed.
  • Alvin the Treacherous (voiced by Mark Hamill[9]) — Impatient, merciless, and always desiring action, Alvin the Treacherous is the leader of the Outcast Tribe and the main recurring antagonist of the series. Exiled from Berk for an unspecified treachery, he plots to invade the village and displace Stoick to claim the island as his own. Plagued by dragon attacks as Berk once was, he seeks to capture Hiccup who he knows as the "Dragon Conqueror" in hope of training and controlling dragons for his own schemes. In the season one finale, he learns how to control dragons from Mildew and earns the trust of a Whispering Death bringing a new era to the Outcast Tribe.
    • Savage (voiced by Paul Rugg) — Savage is another member of the Outcast Tribe. He is Alvin's right-hand man and top lieutenant.
  • Dagur the Deranged[11] (voiced by David Faustino[9]) - The half-crazed teenaged leader of the Berserkers. Dagur the Deranged replaced his "retired" father Oswald the Agreeable and pursues a mission to bring the Berserkers back to their former, bloodthirsty glory, believing his father to have been "a coward" due to Oswald's rather more assumed merciful personality.

Secondary characters

  • Trader Johann (voiced by Michael Goldstrom[12]) — Trader Johann is a seafaring trader who visits Berk on occasion. As a trader, he selects his items for trade by uniqueness, quality, and/or capability, claiming to use any tactic necessary to possess it (for instance, wrestling a colossal squid for ink or personally contacting authors for books). His fondness for the residents of Berk increased since Hiccup rescued him and returned his stolen ship (though not for Snotlout and the twins), and has returned the favour by smuggling Stoick and the riders onto Outcast island to rescue Hiccup.
  • Heather (voiced by Mae Whitman) — A mysterious teenage girl who was found by the Viking youths on Thor's Beach. Her personality very much contradicts Astrid's feisty personality, but Heather is nearly as strong and as intelligent. Although she was at first introduced as a minor antagonist due to her treachery to Berk,her true motive, to rescue her parents from Alvin the Treacherous while helping the youths fight against the Outcasts, proved her loyalty as an ally to Berk.

Dragons

  • Toothless — A male Night Fury befriended by Hiccup, Toothless is the only dragon that cannot fly without his rider, due to him having lost his left tail fin in the feature film. Toothless has an extremely strong friendship with Hiccup ever since he helped him to fly again. When compared to the other dragons, Stoick observes that he hasn't "seen a dragon that can hold a candle to a Night Fury."
  • Stormfly — A blue, female Deadly Nadder befriended by Astrid. Like Hiccup and Toothless, Astrid and Stormfly are extremely loyal to one another and display exceptional teamwork. She and Toothless share a friendly rivalry in most of the competitions Hiccup and Astrid devise for the academy.
  • Meatlug — A brown, female Gronckle who bonded with Fishlegs. Because of her husky size and short wingspan, she lacks the aerobatic maneuverability and speed of other dragons. She and Fishlegs have a very close, albeit, overly nurturing relationship.
  • Hookfang — A red, male Monstrous Nightmare, ridden by Snotlout. Hookfang has a habit of attacking Snotlout or abandoning him when Snotlout tries to assert dominance. He is often distracted and doesn't always pay attention to Snotlout. Despite Snotlout's pride and their sometimes antagonistic behavior towards each other, they are shown to be extremely close.
  • Barf and Belch — A green, male, two-headed Hideous Zippleback jointly ridden by the twins, normally with Ruffnut sitting on the dragon's right head, named Barf (which breathes explosive gas), and Tuffnut sitting on the dragon's left head, named Belch (which can ignite said gas). The heads are usually agreeable, but can have difficulty flying when their riders start to disagree, although it has been shown that the twins are the only ones able to successfully control the dragon, though with occasional mixed results.
  • Thornado — Named for having the strength of Thor and the power of a tornado, Thornado is a blue, male Thunderdrum and Stoick's bonded dragon; Stoick gained his trust and friendship after helping him defend an injured friend from a pack of hungry wild boars. Like his rider, Thornado is rather stubborn, although he and Stoick are, regardless, just as close with one another as the other riders and their dragons.

Episodes

Main article: List of DreamWorks Dragons episodes
SeasonUntertitelEpisodesOriginally released
First releasedLast releasedNetwork
1Riders of Berk20August 7, 2012 (2012-08-07)March 20, 2013 (2013-03-20)Cartoon Network
2 Defenders of Berk20September 19, 2013 (2013-09-19)March 5, 2014 (2014-03-05)
3Race to the Edge13June 26, 2015 (2015-06-26)Netflix
413January 8, 2016 (2016-01-08)
513June 24, 2016 (2016-06-24)
613February 17, 2017 (2017-02-17)
713August 25, 2017 (2017-08-25)
813February 16, 2018 (2018-02-16)

Production

On October 12, 2010 it was announced that Cartoon Network had acquired worldwide broadcast rights to a weekly animated series based on the movie.[13] How To Train Your Dragon producer, Tim Johnson, said that, unlike the TV series spin-offs of the films Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and Monsters vs. Aliens, How To Train Your Dragon's series would be much darker and deeper, like the movie and would follow after the events of the first movie. The show is the first DreamWorks Animation spin-off series outside Nickelodeon and the first DreamWorks Animation series to air on Cartoon Network, unlike previous series such as The Penguins of Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness and future series such as Monsters vs. Aliens.[14]

Although it was announced that the series would be called Dragons: The Series,[8] TV promos shown in June 2012 revealed a new title — Dragons: Riders of Berk.[15] The second season will be accompanied by the new subtitle of Defenders of Berk, replacing the current Riders of Berk.[7] John Sanford, who directed seven episodes in the first season, confirmed that there will also be a second season.[6]

Reception

Critical response

Dragons: Riders of Berk has received positive reviews. Brian Lowry of Variety reviewed the series: "The program is dazzling visually, and pretty effortlessly picks up where the narrative left off." Although he found that the initial episodes "lack of actual villains" and have "not-particularly-stirring array of characters".[16] Mary McNamara of Los Angeles Times said that it "retains both the personality and production value of its progenitor. Dragons promise to be lively and entertaining, with great visuals of dragons swooping and soaring." She praised its look: "It looks pretty dang spectacular even by today's standards. It's so crisply drawn and fluid that a person of a certain age would be forgiven for wondering how on earth we survived with things like Scooby-Doo and The Perils of Penelope Pitstop."[17]

Accolades

Year Association Kategorie Nominee Result
2012 Annie Awards[18][19] Best Animated Television Production For Children Episode: "How to Pick Your Dragon" Won
Character Animation in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Shi Zimu Nominated
Teri Yam
Yan Jiazhuang
Character Design in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Andy Bialk (for "Alvin and the Outcasts")
Directing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production John Eng (for "Animal House") Won
Music in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production John Paesano (for "How to Pick Your Dragon")
Storyboarding in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Doug Lovelace (for "Portrait of Hiccup as a Buff Man")
Writing in an Animated Television/Broadcast Production Mike Teverbaugh, Linda Teverbaugh (for "Animal House") Nominated
Editorial in an Animated Television Production Lynn Hobson (for "Animal House")

Video game

File:Flying Toothless.jpg
Screenshot from Dragons: Wild Skies

A 3D unity-based in-browser game, titled Dragons: Wild Skies, was launched on August 27, 2012, on CartoonNetwork.com.[20] Players will go through a tutorial with Hiccup, and train a Deadly Nadder, before being able to free roam around the several islands in the Barbaric Archipelago, with dragons scattered around them. The player can choose to be a blonde/brunette male or female Viking, before setting off to explore the islands. To train a dragon, players must feed the dragons correct food before doing correct gestures to gain the dragon's trust. In the game, players do not die or otherwise fail. Players complete challenges to earn gold for buying tools to obtain food for training dragons. The overworld consists of six islands, each with a unique dragon to tame. The number of dragons and worlds to explore is set to expand over time, as the series introduces more and more places and dragons.[21]

Home media

A DVD collection of the first four episodes, titled Dragons: Riders of Berk, was released on November 20, 2012.[22] The first season of the series will be released on DVD in two parts on July 23, 2013. Dragons: Riders of Berk: Part 1 will contain episodes from 1 to 11,[23] and Dragons: Riders of Berk: Part 2, episodes from 12 to 20.[24]

References

  1. ^ "John Paesano to Score 'How to Train Your Dragon' TV Series". Film Music Reporter. May 12, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2012.
  2. ^ a b Ito, Robert (September 8, 2012). "'Dragons: Riders of Berk' spreads its wings on Cartoon Network". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 11, 2012.
  3. ^ berksgrapevine (July 16, 2012). "Dragons: Riders of Berk (sneak peak & announcement)". YouTube. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d "DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk Brings High-Flying, Fire-Breathing Fun to Cartoon Network Tuesday, Sept. 4". DreamWorks Animation. August 8, 2012. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  5. ^ Sanford, John (July 17, 2012). "The one hour will be 2 episodes. 2 out of 20 for season 1. I have been quoted as saying 26, but it is 20. I never said 26". Twitter. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  6. ^ a b Sanford, John (October 23, 2011). "Yet another Mea Culpa and other things…". Chippy & Loopus. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  7. ^ a b IcelandicEel (February 14, 2013). "Season 2 called "Defenders of Berk"". Berk's Grapevine. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
  8. ^ a b c d "Cartoon Network Celebrates 20th Anniversary with Ratings Growth and a New Generation of Content for a New Generation of Kids". Reuters. March 28, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  9. ^ a b c d Carp, Jesse (July 12, 2012). "Dragons: Riders of Berk Comic-Con 2012 Live Blog". Cinema Blend. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  10. ^ JEFF B (July 12, 2012). "Dragons of Berk will retain most of the movie cast, Nolan North takes over for Gerard Butler & Chris Edgerly replaces Craig Ferguson". Twitter. Retrieved July 13, 2012.
  11. ^ del Carmen, Louie (February 3, 2013). "It's Dagur the Deranged, not Dagus". Twitter. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  12. ^ IcelandicEel (July 27, 2012). "A New Character: Trader Johann". Berk's Grapevine. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
  13. ^ "Cartoon Network Soars With Worldwide Broadcast Rights To DreamWorks Animation's How To Train Your Dragon Television Series". Cartoon Network via Business Wire. October 12, 2010. Retrieved April 22, 2012. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |newspaper= (help)
  14. ^ Fischer, Russ (January 17, 2011). "'How to Train Your Dragon' Producer Offers Details on First Sequel and TV Series". Slash Film. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  15. ^ BlackRose108 (June 12, 2012). "TV Series name changed to "Dragons: Riders of Berk"". Berk's Grapevine. Retrieved June 14, 2012.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ Lowry, Brian (September 3, 2012). "DreamWorks Dragons: Riders of Berk". Variety. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  17. ^ McNamara, Mary (September 4, 2012). "Review: 'Dragons: Riders of Berk' is TV with big-screen quality". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  18. ^ "Annie Award Nominations Unveiled". Deadline. December 3, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
  19. ^ Beck, Jerry (February 2, 2013). "Annie Award Winners". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved February 3, 2013.
  20. ^ "WHAT'S UP: DRAGONS SOAR AND BEN 10 GOES BIG". Cartoon Network. August 27, 2012. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  21. ^ "NEW DRAGONS GAME IS ONE WILD RIDE!". Cartoon Network. August 23, 2012. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  22. ^ Nolan, Kyle (October 9, 2012). "DRAGONS: RIDERS OF BERK Flies Onto DVD November 20". NoReruns.net. Retrieved October 10, 2012.
  23. ^ "Dragons: Riders of Berk Part 1". Fox Connect. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
  24. ^ "Dragons: Riders of Berk Part 2". Fox Connect. Retrieved June 2, 2013.
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