How To Train Your Dragon launched one of the most successful Dreamworks trilogies that they have ever created. It's a beloved film that has also had a number of spin-off TV series set within the same world. The first film follows a young Viking called Hiccup who learns to co-exist with the dragon enemies of his people.
Looking back on the film though, a number of things don't make sense. Sometimes brilliant fan theories have been created to fill in these gaps, while other times fans have just added a little extra color to this first film. We're taking a look at 5 things that make no sense whatsoever (especially without a fan theory) and 5 fan theories that make a surprising amount of sense!
MAKE NO SENSE: HICCUP LOSING A FOOT
The finale of the first film shows Toothless and his rider Hiccup fighting a giant dragon. We've already seen Toothless damage his wing after Hiccup had shot him from the sky, so it made symbolic sense for Hiccup to also lose a part of himself.
During this massive fight he unfortunately gets injured and loses a foot. However, it's unclear how he actually lost a foot in the first place. The nature of the accident wouldn't suggest that a limb would have been lost and fans are confused by what actually happened in that moment.
FAN THEORY: TOOTHLESS REVENGE
Because fans have a few questions about the events that led to Hiccup losing his foot, some have created a few theories as to how it could have happened. The first one is that Toothless deliberately bit off Hiccup's foot to get revenge for the wing situation.
Not only would this animalistic behavior make sense from a wild dragon, but it also adds up in terms of benefiting Toothless. By removing Hiccup's leg, the two depend on one another even more. Hiccup therefore cannot stop riding Toothless and Toothless can fly fully with the help of Hiccup.
MAKE NO SENSE: GIANT DRAGON
Much like many dragon films, the final part of the movie features a massive dragon, as we previously mentioned. It's probably one of our favorite dragons that we've seen in these films, but its sheer size and relationship with the other dragons raises a lot of questions.
How did such a huge dragon go unnoticed for so long? Surely something of this size would have been discovered before this moment. Furthermore, why didn't the dragon go hunting for itself considering the size. Finally, why were the other dragons scared of it, when they could have flown away without any consequences, considering how lazy this dragon was.
FAN THEORY: LEG ACCIDENT
Heading back to the leg accident now and there's another more prominent theory now about how Hiccup really did lose one of his feet. Some fans think that it really could have been an accident but it was Hiccup who was responsible.
Hiccup and Toothless have one of the best animal and human relationships we've ever seen. Toothless would probably do anything to save his rider therefore. He may have gotten a little over-enthusiastic about saving him however and grabbed his leg, accidentally biting it off.
MAKE NO SENSE: OTHER NIGHT FURIES
In the first How To Train Your Dragon we don't get to see any other Night Furies. Despite the fact that all the other dragons involved clearly have a lot of brothers and sisters in the same species, Toothless was the only one of its kind.
This is a head-scratcher for us. Where are all the other Night Furies? Do they have to remain separate for fears of infighting or are they native to another part of the world? And how did the dragon book have any information on it at all when no one had seen it and it moved so quick that it could have been a meteor for all they know.
FAN THEORY: IMMIGRATION METAPHOR
The story of the first film is a touching one. After Hiccup and Toothless create their strong bond, the young Viking boy realises that the dragons are not their enemies at all. He sets out on a mission to get his people to accept these newcomers.
Many fans believe that this story is actually a metaphor for an immigration crisis. Scary outsiders who are misunderstood are being fought off by the natives of a land. But when it comes down to it they are actually pretty similar and can live together in harmony.
MAKE NO SENSE: HICCUP THE FIRST TO LEARN
What's odd is that no one in the history of these Viking people thought to investigate the dragons further. Despite the fact they had actually captured some dragons, they didn't learn nearly as much as Hiccup had during his short amount of time with them.
While it could be argued it's because he approached the problem from a completely different angle, it seems strange that no one had accidentally discovered the same things. It's also odd that no one thought to try to be compassionate to these beasts.
FAN THEORY: GAME OF THRONES
Any time that dragons are involved in nowadays, the story of ice and fire is of course mentioned. Like always, fans have convinced themselves that this first film is a prequel of sorts to the HBO show based on the books by George R.R. Martin, which of course heavily feature dragons.
Fans have speculated that Hiccup is a Targaryen ancestor and this is why their family line has such a good relationship with these fire breathing beasts. There's plenty of insights into a number of ways that they could be linked but we really just want the argument to be compelling.
MAKE NO SENSE: NO TRAITORS
The decision to start siding with the dragons was a universal one where everyone in the village stepped on board with Hiccup's plan. Luckily, it all worked out really well and the two sides now live harmoniously with each other.
However, it's strange that not one person seemed to be traitorous and rebel against these decisions. These dragons would have killed family members, yet people are supposed to just forgive them and live with them. There's a step missing here that we don't understand.
FAN THEORY: TOOTHLESS BECOMES ALPHA
It's also odd that all the dragons decided to trust Toothless and live with the humans considering they had been captured and killed by them. But, there's also a fan theory to help explain why the other dragons would follow this Night Fury.
Fans have speculated that when Toothless killed the giant dragon he became the new alpha of the group. This then convinced the rest of the creatures to follow his every decision, which was why it was so easy to get them to start living alongside their Viking killers.