Die Geschichte vom Knochenräuber-Drachen

As with so many animated films, How to Train Your Dragon created this short film I presume to go on the DVD as an extra. The plot is that the gang of children set out in search of a completely mythical dragon called the Boneknapper – a dragon only known via the highly dubious stories told by Gobber. While the main parts of the short are CGI, the stories snap into a nicely effective cartoon style which I liked as it differentiated it from the "reality" of the rest of the film. I can understand why some would see these sections as "cheap" because they clearly are less expensive to produce, but this didn't mean that this was the motivation – it worked as a device for me, not as a cost-saving.

The plot is simple and most of the laughs do come from the exaggeration in the story-telling in the cartoon sections. It isn't great but I did like the "and what came rising out of the water/volcano/ice" bits as they were out of nowhere and consistent. The rest of it comes and goes pretty quickly though and I certainly don't think the short is worth making an effort to seek out and it certainly doesn't stand up to the standard of the main film. But as a throwaway extra on a DVD? Sure, why not?

See, now this is what you get when you inject British humor into a film primarily viewed by Americans. They don't get it. I haven't laughed so hard since I last watched Monty Python or read a Douglas Adams novel (or maybe a Doctor Who episode).

This short was definitely quite outlandish and different than the feature film. And guess what! It was supposed to be! This being a short film, it allowed the filmmakers to get away with a lot more creativity and freedom than a big blockbuster would've allowed. It seems that any idea, no matter how ridiculous, that leapt to the writers mind ended up on the page. And it was damn funny, too. So get over yourself people and enjoy the ride.

I actually enjoyed these 16 minutes more than the entire theatrical film. And it was all because of The Mighty Craig Ferguson. God bless him. Watch his show. Or you're a terrorist.

Hiccup and his friends embark on a quest to find the legendary Boneknapper dragon, which, as told by Gobber, tried to get him and his treasure numerous times. It's a short story from the "How to train your dragon" universe and although Toothless is missing, it manages to be quite entertaining through its cartoony inserts. It's finale is a laugh and predictable but it's a good short overall. Nothing out of the ordinary unfortunately.

This is a wonderful little short story, which gives an in depth look at a much loved character, filled with barrels and barrels of laughs!!!!!! Its so hilarious!!!!!!!!!!

Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010) is the first short film in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise and it was fun.

Positives for Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010): This short film does its job at giving you enough entertainment in this franchise. The Boneknapper Dragon is a cool idea and it looks good. The humor was very good. You get a solid chase sequence at the end. And finally, the ending was nice.

Negatives for Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010): This short film exists to capitalize on the success and fandom of the first movie in the franchise. I did have fun with this short film, but you can tell this was obviously a cash grab for DrewmWorks.

Overall, Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon (2010) was a good short film on the How to Train Your Dragon franchise and that is cool.