We have looked at Project Hail Mary as a “dude with a problem” (you can read about it in my previous blog). Now we will look at one of my favorite movies of all time—How to Train Your Dragon—and see how this movie fits the story type of The Fool Triumphant perfectly.
It has been almost 16 years since the first part came out back in 2010.
Yes, we are talking about the original DreamWorks animated movie, and not the live-action adaptation that came out in 2025.
I was unlucky that I did not get to watch the movie in theatres back in 2010, but I have seen it at home almost 100 times
Luckily, I got to watch the sequels in theatres. I also watched the animated series DreamWorks Dragons.
As I was reading Save the Cat! by Blake Snyder and came across the story type “The Fool Triumphant”, I could immediately visualize How to Train Your Dragon and Kung Fu Panda fitting this type very well.
We will talk about Po the Panda in some other blog.
But first, let’s understand quickly what this story type actually is.
What is the fool triumphant?
In the Fool Triumphant story type, the fool is a very important character.
On the outside, he/she just seems like an idiot, the odd one out, the black sheep (or a panda :)).
But as the movie unfolds, the story slowly reveals them to be the wisest among us.
Now this fool—the underdog—has to go up against a bigger, more powerful, and often “establishment” bad guy or institution.
According to Blake, there are several working parts to this type of story.
- First, the underdog—so inept that they struggle even with daily chores.
- Then an institution or a bad guy for the underdog to attack or rebel against.
- And lastly, an insider. (More on this later.)
Forrest Gump is the example given in the book for this story type.
1. Hiccup the underdog
Our protagonist and the fool of the story—Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III.
Yupp… that’s his full name. I bet you also did not know that… did you?
Hiccup is the spirited son of Stoick the Vast, chieftain of Berk, and he is 15 years old in the first film.
He was named Hiccup because he was born prematurely and was small, weak, and considered a “runt” compared to other Viking babies.
So Hiccup’s underdog journey starts almost as soon as he is born.
Poor Hiccup was so small and weak that the entire village used to keep an eye on him.
During the first introductory monologue scene, we see the Berk village getting attacked by dragons, and the Vikings of the village—even Hiccup’s peers—are fighting them.
Amongst all the chaos, we see Hiccup stumbling around trying to reach Gobber’s workshop.
And after reaching the workshop, we see tiny Hiccup trying to handle the giant weapons of the huge Vikings.
We clearly see him not fitting in at all.
But Hiccup makes up with brains what he lacks in brawn.
He knows his way around the workshop.
He knows his tools.
And he is an engineer.
He creates gadgets and knick-knacks, which are quite useful.
And spoiler alert… with those, he becomes the first ever Viking to shoot down a Night Fury and eventually the first one to ride a dragon.
Which is pretty impressive.
2. Vikings, Berk, The Institution
The Vikings of Berk are of course fictional, but they take heavy inspiration from actual Vikings from Northern Europe.
And like those real Vikings, Berkians are tough, brave, and huge.
I mean massive.
Just look at Stoick the Vast single-handedly picking up Hiccup. His arm is bigger than Hiccup’s torso.
These massive Vikings use their big muscles to do many things and give their brains the kind of rest we modern humans rarely give.
The more muscular, brave, and more “Viking” you are, the more respected you are in the village.
Hiccup’s fight with these Vikings—his own people—is not just brains vs brawn.
Berk has a long twisted history with dragons.
Ever since the first Viking settled on Berk, dragon raids on their village have been very common.
Vikings of Berk deal with this “occupational hazard” the best way they know—fighting dragons.
We never really see them kill dragons on screen, but there is a lot of talk in the village about killing a dragon to become a worthy Viking.
Now our poor Hiccup does capture the Night Fury, the most dangerous and mysterious dragon of all. But he cannot bring himself to kill it.
Instead, he does what a “good Viking” (according to the rest of Berk) would never even dream of doing.
He sets the Night Fury free.
Feeds him.
Then befriends him.
Feels sorry for messing up his tail.
And helps him get airborne again.
Wow.
It does not get more anti-Viking than that. Hiccup is a true rebel.
Hiccup understands dragons as beings just like any other. He understands they are deeply misunderstood creatures and can become great friends.
Now he has to convince the village… which is hellbent on killing them.
Hiccup, being a naturally curious person, starts observing dragons and studying them.
He learns things that no other Viking has the means—or even the intention—to learn.
Then he uses those learnings during dragon training, which impresses the village.
Except one person…
Astrid.
3. Astrid the insider
The insider is a very interesting character in such stories.
According to Blake, the insider is someone who is “in on the joke” and cannot believe the fool is getting away with the ruse.
Most often, the insider is also the one getting the brunt of the slapstick.
And Astrid’s character arc fits this role very well.
She is a Viking in its truest form according to the Berkian definition.
She is tough, strong, disciplined, and willing to fight dragons to protect her village.
She also takes dragon training very seriously and wants to ace the class so that she can have the “honor” of killing a dragon in front of the entire village.
But there is a problem…
Hiccup.
As Hiccup discovers secrets about dragons in his “me time”, he starts applying them during dragon training.
He clears obstacles. Tames dragons. And does it flawlessly.
He starts gaining popularity and eventually overtakes Astrid as the favorite.
Astrid sees all of this and is furious. She knows something is off, but she cannot put a finger on it.
She also notices Hiccup disappearing into the forest with training gear.
She suspects Hiccup is secretly training with someone.
And she is right! Hiccup is training with dragons.
Fool triumphs
All of the above-mentioned working parts come together in the climax of the movie.
The fool has to step up. Fight the institution, which is Berk itself, and even his own father. Gets defeated.
But that is not the real defeat.
Hiccup rises again, fights and defeats the giant colossal dragon controlling all the other dragons.
But his true victory—his real triumph—comes when he changes the opinions of his friends, his father, and everyone in Berk about dragons.
And we get a perfect opposite image from the beginning.
In the beginning: Berk fighting dragons.
In the end: Berk living with dragons.
Man… I love this movie. You can check out the official IMDB page and How to Train Your Dragon Wiki here.
And if you also share a similar love for How to Train Your Dragon, let me know in the comments below.
