How To Train Your Dragon (film) - Production

Production

The book series by Cressida Cowell began coming to attention to the executives at Dreamworks Animation in 2004. Coming off her success to Over the Hedge, producer Bonnie Arnold shortly became interested in the newly acquired property. She kept focusing on the project as time went on, and when DreamWorks Animation co-president of production Bill Damaschke asked her what she wanted to work on next, she chose “How to Train Your Dragon”.

In initial development, the plot followed the original novel closely but was then altered. About halfway through production, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, the writer-directors of Disney's Lilo & Stitch, took over as co-directors. The original plot was "heavily loyal to the book", but was regarded as geared to a too-young demographic and too "sweet" and "whimsical", according to Baruchel. In the novel, Hiccup's dragon, Toothless, is a Common-or-Garden Dragon, a breed that is equivalent in size of the Terrible Terror breed in the film. In the film, Toothless is a Night Fury, the rarest of all dragons, and is large enough to serve as a flying mount for both Hiccup and Astrid. Elements of Toothless's behavior were inspired by a domesticated mountain lion owned by Dean DeBlois's uncle. The filmmakers hired cinematographer Roger Deakins (known for frequently collaborating with the Coen brothers) as a visual consultant to help them with lighting and overall look of the film and to "add a live-action feel".