A look back at the famous animated feature film directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois in 2010, and at a well-hidden little easter egg that risks traumatizing fans of Dreamworks studios.
Like the animated feature films from Disney or Pixar studios, the films made by Dreamworks artists are often sprinkled with winks, references to notice, easter eggs or small hidden details.
Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois at the very beginning of the 2010s, Dragons is perhaps not the most extensive in this area, but nevertheless contains some nuggets for viewers who have an explorer’s soul.
Recounting the touching friendship between a young Viking and a wounded dragon, while their two peoples are waging a centuries-old war, the film notably reserves for its most observant fans a particularly gloomy wink… especially for those who have grown up with the Madagascar trilogy (you will understand why).
If you press “pause” at exactly 57 minutes and 18 seconds into the film, during the sequence where Hiccup and Astrid follow a strange swarm of dragons flying towards a volcano, you may be able to see a familiar character, in an awkward position.
Each of the dragons that make up the swarm carries a dead animal, constituting loot for their leader. However, in the greenhouses of one of the monsters, we can distinguish the plump silhouette of the hippopotamus Gloria, one of the protagonists of Madagascar (also produced by Dreamworks studios).
Dreamworks Animation
Certainly, at first glance, one would be entitled to strongly doubt the veracity of this easter egg. After all, the dragon crosses the screen in less than a second, and the shape of the supposed Gloria is not so clear. Not to mention that it is difficult to accept this sad fate for the hippopotamus.
However, it is indeed her! Indeed, the two directors of the film have themselves confirmed it in the audio commentary, which leaves no room for doubt.
But that rather sordid cameo isn’t the only detail to spot in Dragons. Don’t worry, other much more cheerful references are also part of the film.
(Re)discover all the details hidden in “Dragons”…