Ever since debuting their first animated movie, Antz, in 1998, DreamWorks Animation has been a force to be reckoned with in the animation industry. A solid competitor to Disney and Pixar with hits like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and The Wild Robot, DreamWorks has produced over 50 feature films and established some of the most lucrative and enduring animated franchises of all time, and one of its best is about to fly onto Netflix in just a matter of days.
There’s no doubt that the How to Train Your Dragon franchise is one of the best animated series ever, and the story of young Viking Hiccup and his rare Night Fury dragon Toothless is crashing onto Netflix next month – well, at least most of it. On February 1st, both the animated How to Train Your Dragon and How to Train Your Dragon 2 will arrive on Netflix, followed by the live-action How to Train Your Dragon on February 10th. The movies will join the six-season show How to Train Your Dragon: Race to the Edge on the platform, but subscribers will be out of luck when it comes to How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which oddly isn’t following the rest of the films onto Netflix.
How To Train Your Dragon Helped DreamWorks Soar to New Heights
Play video
You simply cannot overstate How to Train Your Dragon’s success or just how transformative of a moment it was for DreamWorks Animation. The movie was a critical turning point that proved DreamWorks could deliver films that were more than just pop-culture-heavy comedies, like those seen in Shrek and Shark Tale, and were instead heartfelt, technically groundbreaking storytelling. Boasting a near-perfect 99% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, How to Train Your Dragon remains the studio’s highest-rated movie ever. The film was praised for its breathtaking visuals and animation that created an almost live-action feel and easily rivaled, and in some ways even surpassed, the visual quality of Pixar, and its emotional, heartfelt story that combines a coming-of-age tale with plenty of high-stakes action and resonates with audiences of all ages.
Outside of being a critical hit that secured two Academy Award nominations, the movie was a massive financial success, grossing $495 million worldwide to become the tenth-highest-grossing film of 2010. The movie served as the foundation for what would become one of DreamWorks’ highest-grossing franchises of all time. The How to Train Your Dragon has collectively grossed over $2.3 billion worldwide across its four films, with two films ranking among DreamWorks’ 10 highest-grossing films ever, and has transitioned to include short films, TV shows, and video games. The franchise is only continuing to soar higher, with a live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2 now officially filming and slated for a June 11, 2027 theatrical release.
What’s New on Netflix?
Netflix subscribers still have to wait a few more days before the How to Train Your Dragon films fly onto the platform, but there are plenty of other great family-friendly streaming options to keep them occupied. Throughout January, the streaming giant has added Despicable Me, Despicable Me 2, and Season 3 of Pokémon Horizons. After watching the first two How to Train Your Dragon movies on February 1st, subscribers can fill the time waiting for the live-action movie’s arrival by watching the upcoming Netflix arrival of the original Night at the Museum trilogy at the start of the month.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!