Dawn of the Dragon Racers

Dawn of the Dragon Racers (also known as Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers) is a 2014 animated short film by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Elaine Bogan and John Sanford. Based on the How to Train Your Dragon novel and film series, the short features the voices of Jay Baruchel and America Ferrera^[1] along with the cast from the television series.

Quick Facts Directed by, Written by ...

Dawn of the Dragon Racers
DVD cover
Directed by	Elaine Bogan John Sanford
Written by	Art Brown Douglas Sloan
Produced by	Chad Hammes
Starring	Jay Baruchel America Ferrera Zack Pearlman Christopher Mintz-Plasse T.J. Miller Andrée Vermeulen Tim Conway Chris Edgerly
Edited by	John Laus
Music by	John Paesano
Production company	DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release date	November 1, 2014 (2014-11-01)
Running time	26 minutes^[1]
Country	United States
Language	English

The short film takes place three years before the events of the sequel, in between the events of Defenders of Berk and Race to the Edge. In the short, a hunt for a lost sheep turns into a competition between Hiccup and his friends for the first title of Dragon Racing Champion of Berk.^[2]

Hiccup and his friends compete and practice catching sheep for the annual Dragon Race, the new and official dragon sport event on Berk. When Snotlout states that he created the sport, Hiccup and Astrid quickly deny that claim, saying that is not how they remember it, so they recall the events of how and who invented Dragon Racing.

Cutting to a flashback, when the Riders were still in their early teens, Berk is getting ready for the traditional annual Regatta which starts in a few days, when suddenly a herd of sheep run throughout the village, causing minor trouble. Gobber explains that after Silent Sven broke his silence, his sheep ran out of their pens because they are afraid of his new voice. While in the process of catching the sheep, the Riders end up turning it in to an impromptu competition against each other in getting as many sheep as possible. Meanwhile, Stoick is preparing to set sail down at the docks, and informs Hiccup that he will be gone for several days to get wood from Loki Island to their Regatta ship with it. He appoints Hiccup to oversee the preparations for the Regatta in his place, which Hiccup is not excited to hear about due to the fact that he sees boats slowly moving across the harbor to be 'boring'. Stoick justifies that the Regatta is tradition and claims that it is a good way to 'blow off steam'.

Meanwhile, at the Academy, Tuffnut is plotting out some rules for the Riders' sheep competition, but is interrupted as Hiccup arrives reluctantly prohibiting them to carry on with their plan as he has Stoick's strict orders to prepare for the Regatta. The next day, Hiccup discovers that the Riders' have disobeyed his order and have carried on the sheep catching. Down below, the villagers are enjoying the Riders' sheep catching competition and say that it is much better than the Regatta. Later, the villagers gather at the Great Hall, growing restless for entertainment and they want to see the race again. Hiccup has Toothless quiet down the crowd, then tries to regain their enthusiasm for the Regatta but is unsuccessful.

Inspired by the twins, the crowd wants another Dragon Race, and Hiccup reluctantly agrees. The dragon riders split into teams, Snotlout and the Twins teaming up, while Hiccup and Astrid then go to get Fishlegs, who declines joining the race as he is too busy getting ready for the Regatta, refusing to back down on his family tradition. The race starts, and both teams catch as many sheep as they can. Shortly thereafter, Astrid and Snotlout collide as neither of them were backing out trying to catch the Black Sheep, and this causes Astrid to injure her arm. Some time later at the Great Hall, the villagers demand another race, but Hiccup tells them the deal was only one race and then on to the Regatta, but the villagers are unsatisfied with that and continue to shout for another Dragon Race. Suddenly, Snotlout announces that Hiccup is right, but mocks him by saying that it is not like he will beat him anyway. Hiccup decided to continue the race, and once again asks Fishlegs to join his team, but Fishlegs refuses as he is putting the finishing touches on his ship. Fishlegs slowly sails out to sea with Meatlug, but she quickly begins to feel sea sick and vomits lava, causing the ship to immediately sink, and Fishlegs quickly changes his mind about accepting the offer.

They both head off to the Academy where the competition is about to start. Just as the flag is about to be dropped, Stoick had returned earlier than expected. Instead of punishing Hiccup for contradicting his order, Stoick allows him to proceed with the race, but only if they do it right. Stoick announces to the crowd around the academy the start of the first annual Berk Dragon Race and explains that each white sheep is worth one point, while the Black Sheep is worth five. He also appoints Astrid as the referee to make sure no cheating happens. Stoick then proclaims that the team who wins the race will have their portrait hung in the Great Hall, and a feast thrown in their honor. The race begins and the teams fly all over Berk catching the sheep and bringing them back to the Academy. When the teams are all tied up, they attempt to the Black Sheep, which will win them the race. While Hiccup and Fishlegs look for the Black Sheep in the well, the Twins fly by with another black sheep, which shocks Hiccup. Team Snotnuts win the race, but just as they are about to take their victory, Fishlegs arrives with the real Black Sheep, revealing that Team Snotnuts had cheated by painting a regular sheep with black paint. A reversal is announced by Astrid, swapping the victory from Team Snotnuts to Team Hiclegs, making them the first official champions in Dragon Racing.

Back to the present, Hiccup concludes that it was technically Tuffnut who invented Dragon Racing, because he was the one came up with the concepts of the rules, humiliating the three of them, especially Snotlout, but they decided to say that they all invented the sport. Suddenly, a horn blows, signalling that it is time for the Dragon Race and all the Riders quickly set off to start.

Dawn of the Dragon Racers

Plot

Voice cast

Home media

References

External links

Wikiwand - on