The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers
Animation · Family · Adventure · 2014
A hunt for a lost sheep turns into a competition between Hiccup and friends as they compete to become the first Dragon Racing champion of Berk.
Movie details
Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers
2014 Animation · Family · Adventure 26m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.0 / 10
2.2K votes
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
A hunt for a lost sheep turns into a competition between Hiccup and friends as they compete to become the first Dragon Racing champion of Berk.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Legend of the BoneKnapper Dragon
Animation · 2010
Hiccup and friends accompany their mentor, Gobber, on a quest to kill the legendary Boneknapper Dragon.
The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run
Adventure · 2020
When his best friend Gary is suddenly snatched away, SpongeBob takes Patrick on a madcap mission far beyond Bikini Bottom to save their pink-shelled pal.
My Father's Dragon
Animation · 2022
Struggling to cope after a move to the city with his mother, Elmer runs away in search of Wild Island and a young dragon who waits to be rescued. Elmer’s adventures introduce him to ferocious beasts, a mysterious island and the friendship of a lifetime.
Dragon Rider
Animation · 2020
An unlikely trio of heroes – a dragon, a boy and a forest brownie – embark on an epic adventure to find the “Rim of Heaven” - the mythological safe haven for all dragons.
Zog
Family · 2018
Zog is a keen young dragon who wants to learn to fly, roar, and breathe fire, so he studies at the Dragon School. He is desperate to impress his teacher and win a golden star, but he is prone to accidents and he has to be helped by a kind young girl who patches up his bumps and bruises.
Welcome to Smelliville
Animation · 2021
The Oggly family arrive at the municipal rubbish dump of Smelliville and must look for a new home, but they never feel really welcome anywhere. They stink and are for most humans just a tad too oggly. When Firebottom, the family dragon, crash-lands on the run-down rubbish tip of the small town of Smelliville, the Ogglies at once feel at home. And it's here they want to stay.
Onward
Adventure · 2020
In a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there.
Firebreather
Fantasy · 2010
It's not easy being a teen like Duncan. His mom wants him to pay more attention to his homework, while his dad - a 120-foot-tall monster known as a Kaiju - wants him to become the next King of All Monsters. When these worlds collide, Duncan must use his human wits and his Kaiju powers - including super strength, agility and the ability to breathe fire - to protect his family and friends from a giant monster rampage.
Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury
Animation · 2011
Hiccup and Toothless go on an exciting adventure and discover an island of new dragons.
Puss in Book: Trapped in an Epic Tale
Family · 2017
After tumbling into a magic storybook, Puss in Boots must fight, dance and romance his way through wild adventures as he searches for an escape.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Elaine Bogan · John Sanford
Written by
Art Brown · Douglas Sloan
Jay Baruchel
Hiccup (voice)
America Ferrera
Astrid (voice)
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Fishlegs (voice)
T.J. Miller
Tuffnut (voice)
Tim Conway
Mulch (voice)
Chris Edgerly
Gobber (voice)
Tom Kenny
Silent Sven (voice)
Court is in session
Put Dragons: Dawn of the Dragon Racers on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.