Back to the first part of the “Dragons” trilogy, produced by Dreamworks studios in 2010, and to all the easter eggs that are hidden inside.
A little dragon grown up, a flying hippopotamus and the time convector of Back to the future… A look back at all the winks, references, easter eggs or cameos that should not be missed when (re)discovering the excellent first part of the Dragons trilogy.
In the moonlight
DreamWorks Animation
From the first seconds of Dragons, be on the lookout! Before the film even begins, when the famous Dreamworks logo appears on the screen, and provided you don’t blink, you will be able to see the silhouette of Toothless cleaving the skies to the right of your screen, just behind the little guy fishing on the moon.
A family resemblance
DreamWorks Animation
Two large bulging eyes, ears erect on the skull, a koala nose and a slit downward mouth… It is clear that the little alien from Disney studios and the dragon Toothless share a lot of physical characteristics. No doubt this is due to the fact that Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the two directors of Lilo & Stitch, are also those of Dragons.
Voice cameo
DreamWorks Animation
This imposing Viking warrior, father of young Snotlout Jorgenson, is not voiced by anyone in the original version of Dragons. Indeed, although his role in the film is relatively secondary, this character is vocally embodied by David Tennant, famous interpreter of Doctor Who or Bartemius Croupton Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Temporal convector
DreamWorks Animation
This three-pointed symbol, hung among the sketches lining Harold’s studio, may ring a bell, name of Zeus!
Indeed, it strangely resembles the one drawn by the Doc in Back to the future, the day he hit his head in his toilet. The incident then allowed him to create the temporal convector, making time travel possible. Is this a conscious reference to Robert Zemeckis’ famous trilogy? It’s entirely possible.
Runes
DreamWorks Animation
Although you will probably need a magnifying glass and a little imagination to decipher them, the characters that appear in the dragon manual consulted by Harold are not real runes. If they are indeed inspired by the calligraphy used by the Vikings, they actually correspond to encrypted English words.
little dragons
DreamWorks Animation
Called the Terrible Terrors, these funny little specimens who clumsily try to steal the dinner of the two heroes could have had a much more important role in the film. Indeed, in How to Train Your Dragon – the original work by Cressida Cowell which inspired the animated film – it was with a small Terrible Terror (and not with a Night Fury) that Hiccup was to befriend, giving him the nickname Toothless.
Replaced by the much more imposing specimen that we know in order to offer viewers magnificent flight sequences, the Terrible Terror was nevertheless retained in the film, but in a more secondary role.
A hippo for dinner!
DreamWorks Animation
Among the many animal carcasses that the dragons carry to present to their leader, fans may have noticed the presence of another Dreamworks character: the hippopotamus Gloria, from the Madagascar trilogy!
A small easter egg confirmed by the directors in the audio commentary of the film, and a very sad fate for our friend Gloria.
A first
DreamWorks Animation
Harold, the young protagonist of the trilogy Dragons, is out of the ordinary in more ways than one. Indeed, he is one of the very rare left-handed heroes in animation, and even becomes the very first to have a limb amputated, at the end of the film.
