Gift of the Night Fury

If I can be very honest, I'm pretty surprised out of all the Dreamworks franchises, they gave a Christmas special to the How To Train Your Dragon series! Now, I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's just that the world of Berk. Still, it could be pretty creative given that they did that Legend of the Boneknapper Halloween special. One thing I was surprised with in this is that they got all of the original voice actors back to do this (I know Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse & TJ Miller have done everything including the TV show & specials) including Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill, Craig Ferguson & Kristen Wiig. Anyway, can this special soar high like an angel, or is it too much to handle like a giant Christmas dinner? Let's find out!

Story: In this one, we get to see the teens preparing for their version of Christmas, Snoggletog, as the dragons begin leaving Berk. However, Toothless can't because of the tail Hiccup built can only be controlled by him, so he ends up making another one so he can leave whenever he pleases. It's then revealed that they left to lay eggs & take care of their babies, with hijinks ensuring when Astrid comes up with the idea to put them in Viking's houses as presents. That's all I can really say for the plot, but one part I'm glad about is it focuses on the relationships between the teens & their dragons, as it shows that they are all affected when the dragons fly away during Snoggletog (especially Fishlegs out of all the characters) also showing how used they are to the dragons in their everyday lives compared to the first movie. Another thing that is interesting to see is more on the dragons & what they do during winter along with what happens with their babies. I also particularly enjoyed how they gave equal screen time to all the teens instead of just Hiccup because he's the protagonist, & they all get an opportunity for comedic moments (i.e 'THE EGGS EXPLODE!!!')But easily the best part about the special is the heart of it. Now, I know that's not very shocking considering the How To Train Your Dragons franchise is pretty notorious for pulling on your heartstrings, but it's especially shown with the reason why Toothless returned after all of the other dragons (I won't say why, but it's pretty heartwarming along with the ending despite it being pretty predictable) Overall, this is a very sweet & funny special & a great addition to the How To Train Your Dragon franchise!

 

Animation: Considering How To Train Your Dragon is known for it's gorgeous animation, it's pretty solid in this (much better than the TV series anyway). The character designs of course keep the Chris Sanders style since they haven't changed at all compared to the first film, but the designs of the baby dragons were pretty well done with looking cute with their large puppy dog-like eyes (which makes sense since the dragons in general act like cats & dogs). As for the backgrounds, Berk's interpretation of Christmas/Snoggltog is pretty creative & oddly funny like drinking yak eggnog, and it oddly does put me in that Christmas feeling thanks to the colourful lights & lighting & atmosphere along with the snow.  If there is one thing I'd critique, it'd probably be the texturing on things like snow isn't as defined compared to the films, & the character animation isn't really as polished. That's just nitpicking from me because the animation is pretty great for a 22 minute special from Dreamworks Animation!

 

Characters: Even if all the characters are pretty much their same selves, it's for the better this time round! Hiccup & Toothless are still the same being best buds while the former learns more about dragons & the latter still being as loyal as ever (especially during the end) & they are both easily the heart of the special. As for the rest of the teens, it's nice to see them be given more attention as they plan to help Berk during Snoggletog with Astrid when their dragons have disappeared, with Fishlegs being my personal favourite since his friendship with Meatlug is surprisingly sweet, and Astrid finally knows how Hiccup feels whenever he inadvertantly screws up. Ruffnut and Tuffnut are still their same funny selves along with Snotlout still being pretty cocky & now fawning for Ruffnut. It's also nice to see a first glimpse of how much Stoick embraces dragons in Berk compared to the first film & his friendship with the eccentric & funny yet good hearted Gobber is also nice to watch. Even the dragons the teens own like Meatlug, Stormfly  & Hookfang are memorable thanks to their fun personalities & distinguishable designs! It's so nice to see all the characters I love with their personalities intact because they're easily the best part of the franchise next to the heart put in!

 

 

Overall, this is a very heartwarming special (typical in the How To Train Your Dragon franchise) with a sweet story, amazing animation from the best & the same loveable & funny characters we know & love. This is easily a must watch for How To Train Your Dragon fans during the holidays because there's no doubt that they'll love this immediately as the same amount of effort put into the movies is the same as in this!

Story: 9/10
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 9/10