How to Train Your Dragon: Key Differences Between the Films and the Books

How the How to Train Your Dragon adaptation differs from the book series.

How to Train Your Dragon is a book series by British author Cressida Cowell and an animated franchise from DreamWorks, based on her books. Despite sharing characters and a core idea, the films and books differ significantly in plot.

Cressida Cowell has described how thrilling it is to see her creations come to life on the big screen, calling How to Train Your Dragon 3 a truly grand conclusion to the film trilogy and saying she's incredibly proud of all three films, adding that it holds special meaning for her as a deeply personal story, she writes.

She has also said it means a great deal to her that the story is told on screen with such sincerity and emotion, alongside such beautiful animation, the author adds.

Setting and Plot

The events, in both the book series and the animated films, take place on the island of Berk, inhabited by Vikings during the Middle Ages.

In the books, the Vikings catch and train dragons. Hiccup, the protagonist, struggles with training his own dragon. The boy doesn't like shouting and isn't inclined toward harsh methods — exactly the methods the Vikings consider the most effective and the only ones described in Professor Yobbish's book How to Train Your Dragon. Instead, the hero uses his ability to speak Dragonese, which is also a unique part of the books.

In the films, by contrast, the Vikings have been at war with dragons for generations. Dragons attack their settlements and steal food, and the Vikings' goal is to wipe the great creatures out entirely.

Characters

Most characters from the book version kept their personalities in the animated version. There are exceptions: Astrid, who serves as the protagonist's love interest in the films, doesn't exist in the books. On top of that, Fishlegs is portrayed as less friendly in the films than in the books, while Snotlout's character is significantly softened compared to the literary original.

Hiccup is the chief's son: short, thin, freckled, and without the standout skills Vikings value. Stoick, the protagonist's father, is a typical Viking — physically strong, warlike, and blunt. The chief struggles to connect with his son. Stoick expects more 'typical' behavior from Hiccup, but at the same time cares about him and loves him.

The difference in Stoick's character comes down to his attitude toward dragons. The animated version genuinely hates dragons and leads an expedition against a dragon's nest in the first film. In the books, by contrast, Stoick owns two dragons of his own.

Antagonists

In the animated trilogy, the antagonists change from film to film. In the first film, the Red Death serves as the starting villain and sets up the overall conflict. In the second film, we meet Drago Bludvist — a warlike, brutal character who uses fear and violence to control dragons and people.

Drago Bludvist appears as an opponent who relies on brute force and intimidation, while the third film introduces Grimmel, who confronts the heroes through strategic thinking and manipulation.

In the book series, the antagonists are different. The Green Death, who appears in the first book, serves as the literary counterpart to the Red Death, but her character is developed in more detail. The Green Death is a giant sea dragon, whose cruelty comes through in detailed descriptions of her behavior and how she treats her prey.

In the books, Alvin the Treacherous is also the main personal enemy of Hiccup. The antagonist is a Viking driven by a hunger for power and revenge, who opposes not just the protagonist, but the residents of Berk as a whole. Though the character appears in the film adaptation, he plays a secondary role there and doesn't have the same influence over events as he does in the book version.

Dragons

Cressida Cowell depicts dragons as smaller creatures. The characters don't ride them, but use them for hunting and battle.

Toothless, Hiccup's dragon, differs dramatically between versions. In the animated films, the dragon belongs to the dangerous Night Fury species. The book version of Toothless is depicted on the cover of How to Train Your Dragon. There, he's a small green creature belonging to the ordinary Common Garden dragon species.

In the first book, Snotlout even mocks Toothless, since the small dragon genuinely has no teeth, rather than hiding them the way he does in the film.

Cressida Cowell's book series and the How to Train Your Dragon animated franchise show how the same idea can be reimagined depending on format and creative approach, while still preserving recognizable characters and world.