A Major Disappointment

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This is a half-hour (well, actually a little over 20 minutes) animated short film which came out four years ago, between the two first "How to Train Your Dragon" movies. The voice cast are the actors from the feature films as well. The writer and director have very long and prolific careers in the industry already, so here they are getting a good chance with a prestigious project that could even result in them being in the same position in future movies if the HTTYD-franchise runs for a couple more entries. Sadly, I have to say I was fairly underwhelmed by this short film. I don't think it is really better than any the episodes of the series. The heart and great moments from the two feature films are almost completely missing here. The relationship between Hiccup and Toothless gets elaborated on a bit further, but nothing that really goes much under the surface. The dragon babies are cute and maybe the best thing about this film. But beyond the cuteness, there isn't really a lot either. Dragons fly away and people wonder where they have gone. And that exploding dragon egg storyline was actually pretty bad and just added some "animated special effects" to the movie, but did nothing at all otherwise apart from randomly bringing some chaos to Berk. Disappointing short film. Not recommended.

can be a lovely Christmas movie. because it has the entire spirit of holiday, remember a splendid movie events, gives to the original few original lines and preserves its air.and atmosphere, humor, the characters are at right place. a film who has the role of gift more than second part of a real good movie. more human, in same measure nice, impressive animation and inspired lesson about life. it is short and not so great but it is touching and gives a not bad story, a frame for the source. and, more important, seems be a nest for a lot of adventures and amusing situations. it is not the original. but it can be seed for another impressive part.

Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury (2011) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Very entertaining spin off from HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON has the viking town of Berk about to celebrate their winter holiday when everyone notices that the dragons are all missing. The children of the village set out to try and locate them and see what's going on. DRAGONS: GIFT OF THE NIGHT FURY is without question one of the better shorts that Dreamworks have released over the years. A lot of this is due to the terrific screenplay, which comes up with a very entertaining story full of wonder, imagination and action. I thought the visual style of the film was also a lot better quality than what we've seen in some of the shorts from the studio. I've often felt that some of the shorts look their smaller budgets but that certainly wasn't the case here because the look was quite professional and right on target with the original film. I thought the look of the film was exception and especially the scenes where the dragons are flying around. I can't (or won't) spoil the ending with what happened to the dragons but it was quite funny and especially the aftermath. Fans of the feature should really love this short but even if you're not familiar with it there's enough entertainment here for two movies and this comes highly recommended.

As many of you were fearing, we all thought after the...."interesting" short that was "Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon" last year that hope for the HTTYD franchise being up to par with the movie was very slim, and it was...but somehow out of all those odds, Dreamworks managed to release a short with so much depth you literally drown in the ocean of emotions it overwhelms you in...and a holiday short, nonetheless."Gift of the Night Fury" is certainly a "gift" to all the fans who are really looking for something that matches the emotional depth of the movie, and in some cases (dare I say) the level of mature character development in this short exceeded the movie. It manages to cram more emotion in 22 minutes than most movies can in 2 hours, which says a whole lot.This could've easily been another silly short with slapstick comedy, sassy one-liners, and clichéd morals about holiday nonsense, but even though "Gift of the Night Fury" was a holiday short, it really does more to bridge the gap between the movie and ultimately the TV show with the holiday theme as more of an undertone to everything else going on.The character development, as mentioned before, was where this story really shined. Everyone was so in character and the interactions between everyone was believable, easy, and lovable. Who mostly stood out, though, was of course Hiccup and Toothless's bond (honestly, one of the best friendships for animated characters in general) it really showed how much closer these two are becoming and gives promises that everything you see is 100% genuine. But, surprisingly enough, even Hiccup's relationship with his new girlfriend Astrid was a nice and easy addition to the mix of things as well. I really applaud shows that have the guts to have two people openly date since most animated TV shows (or just TV shows in general) always focus on getting two characters together rather than what happens afterwards. Hiccup and Astrid's interactions were so wonderful and you can really feel the chemistry and strong yet relaxed feelings of comfort and warmth between these two (ah, young love).The addition of baby dragons was handled very carefully as well, and it did it's job to make you go "awww" when you were supposed to as well as giving the Vikings and Dragons one more thing to bond over. I love how this short shows how attached the Vikings already are to their dragons and this is definitely shown in the ending.Even the animation quality was up to speed with the movie. You could tell it wasn't the same scoop as the movie--probably due to a budget cut and time issues--but it had the same level of detail to surroundings and careful attention to movement as the movie did.Honestly, in my opinion this short pulled out all the stops and went above and beyond the call of duty to create a heartwarming story with all the assets of the movie that we know and love as well as throwing in some new ones that only made us love Hicucp, Toothless, Astrid, and all the other Vikings and Dragons on Berk even more.I'd give it a 12 out of 10 if I could...yes, it's THAT good. And if anyone is a fan of the movie and simply fears franchise expansion, don't be afraid to watch "Gift of the Night Fury" it's a wonderful second chapter to the HTTYD story.