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Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) is
the son of the chief Viking, Stoick (voiced by Gerard Butler), on the
island of Berk. The Vikings have been plagued by attacks of dragons
raiding their livestock and destroying their homes; Stoick has searched
for the dragons' lair in vain. Hiccup, scrawny and destructively clumsy
compared to others in his community, attempts to compensate by building
contraptions to kill dragons, specifically the most dangerous dragon
known, the mysterious Night Fury, whom no one has ever fought and
survived. He hopes to earn some respect from the village, most importantly
from Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera), a competently aggressive girl of
his age intent on joining the Viking ranks.
After the latest dragon attack, Stoick organizes yet another search for
the dragons' nest, while signing Hiccup up for dragon killing lessons with
other children under the tutelage of Gobber (voiced by Craig Ferguson),
the local blacksmith. Between lessons, Hiccup explores the nearby woods
and finds that one of his inventions has indeed trapped a Night Fury,
damaging its tailwing. Hiccup tries to kill it but cannot bring himself to
do so, and instead cuts the dragon free. The dragon pins him down and
roars at him but then disappears. Hiccup returns later to find the dragon
cannot fly away from a small depressed glade due to the condition of its
tail. Hiccup becomes friendly to the dragon, and over time he learns what
actions please or distress the Night Fury. In understanding how he can
make the Night Fury react, Hiccup is able to transfer this knowledge to
his dragon training classes and "defeats" the foes Gobber sets on the
class through pacification, becoming renowned in his community as a
formidable warrior, much to Astrid's dismay. Due to the dragon's
retractable teeth, Hiccup names the Night Fury "Toothless".
Hiccup secretly fashions a make-shift prosthetic tail and riding assembly,
allowing him to guide Toothless in free flight. Hiccup and Toothless
develop a close bond over time, and Hiccup finds that other dragons can be
similarly domesticated. One day, Hiccup finds Astrid spying on them;
worried that Astrid will reveal this to the rest of the village, Hiccup
has Toothless bring Astrid aboard, then shows Astrid the joys of flying.
However, while soaring, Toothless finds himself lured along with a flock
of dragons returning with stolen livestock, heading towards a volcanic
island. Inside, they find the dragons fearfully serve a gargantuan dragon
(a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus) living inside the island, feeding it
the stolen livestock to avoid being eaten themselves. Hiccup, Astrid, and
Toothless escape and return to Berk. By this time, Stoick and the fleet
have returned, having failed to find the lair themselves.
The next day, Hiccup is put to the final test, and when he refuses to kill
the offered dragon and instead tries to pacify it, Stoick attempts to end
the fight, scaring the dragon and putting Hiccup's life in danger.
Toothless hears Hiccup's screams and saves his life from the other dragon,
but is soon caught by the other Vikings. Hiccup is forced to reveal his
training and the lair, and Stoick, after disowning his son, sets out with
another fleet, using a chained-up Toothless to guide them. Left alone,
Astrid helps the aggrieved and heart-broken Hiccup come to a personal
epiphany that his empathy and daring inventiveness with Toothless are in
fact strengths of a worthy warrior. Thus inspired, he convinces Astrid and
the other teenagers to pacify and mount the other training dragons to set
off to try to stop the Viking fleet, yet unaware of the giant dragon
awaiting them.
The children are too late to prevent the Vikings from rousing the
monstrous dragon against them, but they are able to delay it long enough
for the Vikings to retreat safely, and for Hiccup and Stoick to free
Toothless. Hiccup and Toothless lead the giant dragon on a dangerous
flight, eventually into a direct descent to the ground. As the giant
dragon nearly devours them, Toothless turns around and ignites the
dragon's breath; the dragon cannot stop and collides into the ground,
killing it and releasing a giant fireball. Hiccup is struck in the head by
the falling dragon's armored tail, and Toothless saves his boy and
protects him from the flames with his wings, much to Stoick, Astrid, and
the other Vikings' relief.
Some time later, Hiccup wakes up from the injuries and finds himself back
in Berk. Toothless is in his home, and Hiccup finds out that he has lost
his left foot and is now wearing a prosthesis built by Gobber. Whatever
regrets he has are quickly forgotten when he exits the house to find that
the Vikings and dragons are living together. Hiccup is celebrated as a
hero by everyone, particularly Stoick and Astrid. Hiccup and Astrid race
their dragons through the newly-reformed Berk, signifying a new beginning
for both worlds. |
