Ephemeris of the Mind (Film Review) How to Train Your Dragon: The Short Film Collection
Time to read: 2 min read
Movie Poster
Turns out, that was the best Snoggletog ever. That year I gave my best friend a pretty great gift. He gave me a better one.
Previous How to Train Your Dragon reviews:
Review
This is a collection of four short films in the How to Train Your Dragon universe.
Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon
This short film takes place after the events of the first film and follows Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and the crew assisting Gobber (Craig Ferguson) on a quest to kill the legendary Boneknapper Dragon. The short film is clearly on a lower budget than the mainline films but it’s a fun companion story.
Book of Dragons
This short film takes place before the events of the first film. The film features the viking youth being taught about the various dragons. There are 14 dragons being mentioned in this short film and the short film dives briefly into the lore of each dragon. The short film helps build the world of HTTYD but isn’t particularly interesting on its own as it feels very bland and formulaic.
Gift of the Night Fury
This short film is probably most akin to the mainline films. It covers a story occurring during the winter holiday of Snoggletog, when the dragons all suddenly leave Berk. The story has some themes about friendship and features the original cast from the mainline films. I wouldn’t say it's quite as good as the main movies, but it’s probably the closest.
Dawn of the Dragon Racers
This short film tells the origin story of the Dragon Race, the official sport of Berk where dragon riders race against each other to capture sheep. The story does have some fun parts but feels less meaningful than the main films. It’s a neat TV special but feels soulless compared to the main films.
Conclusion
A series of HTTYD short films that aren't as good as the main films.