How to Train your Dragon
A box office flight that missed soaring higher
ESTIMATED domestic box office revenue
$219 – 291MM
Mythosis universal quests used
4
Audience appeal
5.63% – 6.89%
Hidden potential
$762 – 842MM
Director Dean DeBlois transforms the animated classic How to Train Your Dragon into a new cinematic form. The 2025 live action revolves around a young Viking who defies his village’s hostility toward dragons by forming an unexpected bond with a formidable creature.
The remake much like the animated version weaves timeless human quests of Independence, Honour, and Redemption. It also is a masterclass in reimagining the quest of David.
1. The invisible plot structure of How to Train your Dragon
1A. The script of How to Train your Dragon borrows 90% of its events from 4 mythological tales
The desire for self-reliance drives Hiccup’s quest of Independence. The quest borrows events from tale of David in Abrahamic mythology. Both David and Hiccup discover a breakthrough in the face of adversity but are rejected.
Toothless’ desire for loyalty to one’s clan/order borrows events from the tale of Hanuman in Hindu mythology. Both Hanuman & Toothless save those that they initially suspected.
The desire for companionship drive Astrid’s quest for Social contact. The quest borrows events from the tale of Psyche in Greek mythology. Psyche hates the monster but discovers his goodness and falls in love. Similarly, Astrid hates Hiccup for defeating her but falls in love.
Stoick’s quest is driven by selfishness. The quest borrows events from the tale of Valmiki in Hindu mythology. Both Valmiki & Stoick are self-centred but eventually have a change of heart.
None of the other characters have a quest.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
#121,910
Tales interweaved
Valmiki, David, Psyche & Hanuman
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. Potential of How to Train your Dragon 's plot structure: $219–291MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code. The Code is a set of principles for creating compelling stories. These storytelling principles reveal the strength of a story’s plot structure.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of How to Train your Dragon
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. How to Train your Dragon uses 4 universal quests of Accumulation, Independence, Honour & Social contact.
- In Blockbusters, every character mirrors ONLY ONE universal quest. Hiccup mirrors the quest of Independence whereas Toothless mirrors Honour. Stoick mirrors the universal quest of Accumulation. Astrid mirrors the quest of Social contact.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Hiccup borrows 48% events from the quest of Independence. Toothless borrows 26% events from Honour. Stoick borrows 24% from Accumulation. Astrid borrows 11% from Social contact.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. How to Train your Dragon’s quest interweaving score of 0.33 is below par.
For instance, an example of interweaving the quests of Hiccup & Stoick:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of How to Train your Dragon
An extremely robust quest of Hiccup that reimagines David’s quest is the highlight of the script. The quests of Stoick and Toothless could have been developed further. The lack of interweaving between quests makes the script disjointed and weakens the plot structure.
The Script Score measures the potency of a plot structure. Higher its adherence to the principles of Mythosis Code, greater is the potency. The Script Score helps estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.20
Audience appeal
5.63% – 6.89%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of How to Train your Dragon
We have identified 32 mythological tales. These are the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
32 mythological tales strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential. First, we map a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale. This exercise reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Second, identify missing events to plug the gaps. Plugging gaps deepens the character quest. Third, use missing events to strengthen the interweaving between various quests.
3A. Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Hiccup mirrors the universal quest for Independence
Hiccup’s desire for Independence stems from the need for self-reliance. The tale of David from Abrahamic mythology is the universal quest for Independence.
Quest 2: Toothless mirrors the universal quest for Honour
Hiccup’s desire for Honour stems from the need to be loyal. The tale of Hanuman from Hindu mythology is the universal quest for Honour.
Quest 3: Stoick mirrors the universal quest for Accumulation
Stoick’s desire for Accumulation stems from the need to collect and own. The tale of Valmiki from Hindu mythology has a robust expression in Dicken’s character of Scrooge which is the universal quest for Accumulation.
Quest 4: Astrid mirrors the universal quest for Social contact
Astrid’s desire for Social contact stems from the need to find a companion. The tale of Psyche from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Social contact.
3B. Gaps in the current plot structure
The quests of Toothless and Stoick could have been developed further. Astrid’s quest is shallow but importantly not interwoven with any of the other quests.
3C. Unlocking the hidden potential
The hidden potential of How to Train your Dragon is unlocked by Mythosis Plot structure #121,910 that interweaves the tales of David, Valmiki, Hanuman & Psyche. This plot structure –
- Deepens the three quests of Accumulation, Honour & Social contact, by borrowing missing events from the respective tales
- These missing events also improve the interweaving between quests
The revised plot structure can generate lifetime domestic revenues of $762 – 842MM.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure #121,910 to enhance current revenues by 2.5X!
Tags: Hanuman, Honour, Psyche, Social contact, David, Independence, Valmiki, Accumulation, Dean DeBlois, Cressida Cowell, Universal Pictures, 2025