The Music of the How to Train Your Dragon Trilogy

One of the many reasons why children and adults love the How to Train Your Dragon films is the music. John Powell composed the music for all three films, maintaining thematic consistency while writing new themes for each film. This book serves as a score guide for the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. Every note has been examined to thoroughly discuss the music for Hiccup, Toothless and the other dragons, Vikings, and the enemies and friends that they encounter. It features interviews with the composer and nearly 100 musical excerpts.

Erik Heine is a professor of music theory at Oklahoma City University. He is the author of one book and several articles and book chapters concerning film music analysis.

Erik Heine
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 208
Bibliographic Info: 101 photos, appendix, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9367-5
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5232-0
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments viii

Foreword by Tim Greiving 1

Preface 3

Introduction 5

1. Musical Influences on the HTTYD Music 15

2. Pitch Collections 24

3. The Themes of the HTTYD Trilogy 30

4. How to Train Your Dragon Cue Analysis 58

5. How to Train Your Dragon 2 Cue Analysis 96

6. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Cue Analysis 134

7. Themes Across the Trilogy 174

Conclusion 185

Appendix 189

Chapter Notes 195

Bibliography 197

Index 199