''Gift of the Night Fury'' is a 2011 American

computer-animated Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes (still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refer ...

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a divisio ...

and directed by Tom Owens. It was released on November 15, 2011 on DVD and Blu-ray, along with another original animated short film ''

Book of Dragons ''How to Train Your Dragon'' (abbreviated ''HTTYD'') is an American media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the eponymous series of children's books by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: '' ...

''. Based on '' How to Train Your Dragon'', the short takes place in the middle of preparing for the Viking winter holiday. After all dragons inexplicably fly away, the last one of them unwittingly kidnaps Hiccup.

Jay Baruchel Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the '' How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...

Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as '' Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film '' Tomorrow Never ...

Craig Ferguson Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show '' The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won ...

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featu ...

Jonah Hill Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including '' Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), '' 21 Jump Street'' (2012), '' This Is the End'' (201 ...

T.J. Miller Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American actor and comedian. In 2008, he made his acting debut in ''Cloverfield'', and from 2010 to 2014, he voiced Tuffnut Thorston in the first two ''How to Train Your Dragon'' films. From 2014 to ...

Kristen Wiig Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she jo ...

, and

Christopher Mintz-Plasse Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in ''Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (201 ...

all reprise their roles from the original film.

Plot

Right before Berk's traditional winter holiday of Snoggletog, all the dragons of Berk unexpectedly depart, leaving everyone distraught – except for Toothless, who cannot fly by himself. Out of compassion, Hiccup builds him a new automatic

prosthesis In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

allowing him independent flight, thus gifting him his freedom; he then flies off too. Three days later, Meatlug, Fishlegs' dragon whom he had secretly kept chained, escapes, inadvertently taking Hiccup with her. Meatlug flies to an island with hot springs, where all the dragons (except Toothless, who is nowhere to be found) have been hatching their eggs. Meanwhile, on Berk, Astrid and the other teens discover dragon eggs in Meatlug's nest, which they scatter around Berk in hopes of lifting the villagers' spirits; this plan backfires, because dragon eggs hatch explosively (normally underwater). Berk is severely damaged in the process. On the dragons' island, Hiccup meets Stormfly (Astrid's dragon) and Hookfang (Snotlout's dragon) and their newly-hatched babies; in asking for a ride home, he inadvertently triggers the dragons' return migration. He quickly decides to use a nearby wrecked ship to carry the baby dragons, who cannot yet fly as far as Berk. The Berkians are overjoyed at their dragons' return and the new babies, though Hiccup is still distraught at Toothless' absence. During the ensuing Snoggletog celebration, Toothless returns with Hiccup's lost helmet, which he had dropped into the sea earlier; the two enjoy a heartfelt reunion. The next day, Toothless discards his new tail, begging Hiccup to put the old tailfin on him and fly with him by controlling his fin manually as opposed to passively riding him; in doing so, he gives Hiccup a "better gift" – his friendship and companionship.

Voice cast

as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III *

as Astrid Hofferson *

as Gobber the Belch *

as Stoick the Vast *

as Fishlegs Ingerman *

as Snotlout Jorgenson *

as Tuffnut Thorston *

as Ruffnut Thorston

Home media

''Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury'' was released on Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2011 along with ''

''. It was released on Blu-ray and DVD as part of the ''DreamWorks Holiday Classics''. It was re-released on DVD on October 1, 2013 along with '' Shrek the Halls'', ''

Merry Madagascar ''Merry Madagascar'' is a Christmas special first broadcast on the NBC network on November 17, 2009, which starred the characters from the film series ''Madagascar'', and takes place sometime between the first and second film. It is the second Dre ...

'', ''

Kung Fu Panda Holiday ''Kung Fu Panda Holiday'' is a 2010 American computer-animated Christmas comedy-drama television special produced by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Tim Johnson. A spinoff of the ''Kung Fu Panda'' franchise, the special stars the voices of ...

'', and ''

The Croods ''The Croods'' is a 2013 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and stars the voices of Nicol ...

''. The short was released again on Blu-ray and DVD on October 15, 2019 by

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...

, this time as part of the DreamWorks Ultimate Holiday Collection set.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gift of the Night Fury 2011 films 2011 computer-animated films 2010s American animated films 2010s animated short films 2010s children's animated films DreamWorks Animation animated short films Animated films about dragons Animated films based on children's books How to Train Your Dragon Films scored by Dominic Lewis Films scored by John Powell Films set on fictional islands 2010s children's adventure films 2010s English-language films