SUSTAINABLE ART, IMPACTFUL COMMUNITY.

When we think of dragons, we think of fantastical beasts of old. Enemies of the Vikings of Scandinavia who wander the skies, protecting their young with their fiery breath. The actual existence of dragons, as depicted in folklore, is purely mythical. Although there are animals with ‘dragon’ in their names, there is no evidence that fire-breathing, flying lizards have existed in human history. However, dragons, as fantastical beasts, are popular with children and have sparked numerous franchises that feature them in film, one of the most popular being How to Train Your Dragon.

Toothless in the Animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DuBlois. Dreamworks Animation (Copyright Universal Pictures). Image courtesy of IMDb.

What started as a book series by author Cressida Cowell has evolved into a multi-part animated film adaptation by DreamWorks, as well as multiple television series and short films. The film series, in particular, offers a great message of coexistence, conservation, and care for dragons, reflecting on how even animals one might consider ‘dangerous’ or ‘deadly’ have their unique contributions to their environment. With the release of the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon (2010) in June 2025, we would love to revisit the importance of conservation in the animated film franchise, a value that it has been passing on to its audience for years. This relates to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal of Life on Land.

Toothless from the Live Action Film How to Train Your Dragon (2025) Cinematography by Bill Pope. Dreamworks (Copyright Universal Pictures). Image courtesy of IGN.

Children’s media has served as a valuable educational tool for many years; from SpongeBob SquarePants, an ode to creator Stephen Hillenburg’s passion for marine biology and teaching kids about tide pools, to cartoons like Bluey, which teaches kids important life lessons through easy-to-understand themes and metaphors. DreamWorks, in particular, has created cinematic gems that teach children the importance of acceptance and understanding others, such as Megamind, Wild Robot, Shrek, and How to Train Your Dragon. How to Train Your Dragon highlights the importance of educating oneself about different animals and how they interact with their environment. Studies show that narrative films are an effective way of changing beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours. How to Train Your Dragon (2010) showcases environmental change through its narrative in the first film. The sequels, on the other hand, focus on discovering new species and learning more about the dragons, much like how environmental scientists and zoologists study animal species today.

Hiccup flying with Toothless from the Live Action Film How to Train Your Dragon (2025) Cinematography by Bill Pope. Dreamworks (Copyright Universal Pictures). Image courtesy of Empire.

“They’ve killed hundreds of us!” says Stoik the Vast to his son, Hiccup. “And we’ve killed thousands of them!” This is poignant in the context of how we behave towards animals we deem as 'dangerous.' Animals such as sharks, for example, are often deemed monsters of the sea, having been hunted for generations and contributing to their overall decline in population. Matheus C. Drago writes in a study, “If dragons were classified according to their extinction risk (just as real species are classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, IUCN, for example), Night Furies would surely be classified as ‘Threatened.’” By creating connections to real-world conservation classifications and the fictional animals within the How to Train Your Dragon universe, educators can easily teach their peers about the importance of conserving similar species in real life.

Similar to how dragons contribute to the food chain in the films, predators at the top of the food chain play a vital role in maintaining ecological balance. Predators regulate prey populations to ensure environmental balance, forcing them into equilibrium, which in turn maintains vegetation diversity within ecological areas. In How to Train Your Dragon, the dragons maintain ecological balance by ensuring their alpha dragon stays fed so that it does not harm the humans who ‘provide’ them with their prey. As humans and dragons coexist, the depletion of the dragon population due to human influence is reduced, creating a more balanced environment within the world.

The Red Death from How to Train Your Dragon (2010) Directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DuBlois. Dreamworks Animation (Copyright Universal Pictures). Image courtesy of IMDb.

As humans, we have the potential to help ensure environmental balance by aiding in the conservation of our predator species, as shifts in predator species diversity and composition may threaten various ecosystem services, such as natural pest control. However, unlike the movies, conservation efforts are often challenging due to human activity, regulatory mandates, a lack of funding, and difficulty in determining which particular species deserve more focus than others.

Regardless, films can be a vital tool for promoting ecological conservation awareness and education. The live-action adaptation of the beloved film franchise has received praise for its portrayals of Cressida Cowell’s fantastical world. It is exciting to see what comes next for the franchise. We hope that the current remake can inspire a new generation of people to care about the environment and the fate of animal species that are often misunderstood.

You've successfully subscribed to Arts Help
Welcome back! You've successfully signed in.
Great! You've successfully signed up.
Success! Your account is fully activated, you now have access to all content.