Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014)

Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers (2014) is a short animated film released by DreamWorks Animation and co-directed by Elaine Bogan and John Sanford. Featuring the talents of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, and the cast from the TV series, it is based on the popular How to Train Your Dragon franchise. The plot follows Hiccup and Snotlout as they train for the upcoming Dragon Race, a new sport on Berk. Tuffnut debuts his new eerie face paint, much to Astrid, Hiccup, and Toothless’ surprise. He jokes that at least his face doesn’t look like a target, poking fun at Fishlegs’ unique Ingerman family crest design. As Snotlout arrives boasting about his successful Sheep Launcher invention, Astrid reminds him that it took him thirty-two attempts to perfect it. A montage then shows various sheep launches with Snotlout’s newly created helmets making them seemingly impervious to pain upon landing in different locations. Convinced that his contraption is now ready for the big race, Snotlout eagerly declares it as such.

Astrid voices her frustration and questions when he obtained the authority to make such a decision; Snotlout confidently declares it’s because he was the pioneer of the sport. However, Hiccup and Astrid quickly refute this statement, recalling that their recollection of the events is quite different. As they try to jog their memory of who invented Dragon Racing and how it came about, a flashback shows the Riders as young teenagers, still recovering from their adventures in the second season. The village of Berk is preparing for their annual boat race, the Regatta, which will commence in a few days. Suddenly, chaos erupts as a herd of sheep runs amok throughout the town. Unsure of what is happening, Hiccup turns to Gobber for an explanation. Gobber reveals that after Silent (now called Not So Silent) Sven regained his voice, his sheep were frightened and escaped from their pens. Stoick and Gobber struggle to round up the sheep while Stoick orders Hiccup and the gang to assist; he cannot withstand any more of Sven’s ear-piercing screams or he’ll resort to extreme measures.