How To Train Your Dragon is probably my favorite animated film franchise of all time. It is a trilogy I grew up with and I associate many fond memories with all the films. The characters and story definitely hold a special place in my memories but so does the soundtrack.

How To Train Your Dragon’s soundtrack was composed by John Powell, who has worked with composers like Hans Zimmer before. The Dragon films were one of Powell’s first times taking on a project as the lead composer. He incorporates Celtic and Scottish influences into the pieces, as most of the characters seem to be of Scottish descent, which really accentuates the Viking spirit in the film, and makes the overall sound really stand out. Most scores with orchestras, dramatic and beautiful as they are, may not have much reason or want to add instruments like bagpipes into the music, but How To Train Your Dragon takes a modern route and uses unique instruments, regardless of whether people are familiar with their sound.

While the entire soundtrack is stunning just musically, the most beloved and memorable piece to me is ‘Test Drive’. This is the theme that plays when Hiccup, the protagonist, flies Night Fury for the first time. It is a jam-packed 2-minute scene and it defines the characters extremely well. While there is some dialogue from Hiccup’s side, the scene largely holds its own just through the cinematography and music.

The scene begins with Hiccup and Night Fury in the sky, where Hiccup has just extended the substitute tail wing he made himself, that Night Fury had lost due to an injury. He has a cheat sheet in front of him and is obsessed with making sure he gets all the flying positions correct. The music builds lightly here but is still in the background of the soundscape.

John Powell, in an interview, said that “animation allows you to have more of a musical commentary”, which means big, dramatic instrumental themes can be used more freely than a live-action film. That is exactly what he demonstrates in this scene. Once Toothless finds that he is able to fly, you hear the iconic, booming, dramatic, five-note theme. It is extremely memorable and has a lightness to it that genuinely evokes a feeling of free flight.

The music fades a bit to the background as Hiccup accidentally flies them into a couple of rocks. Then, high up in the sky, Hiccup unhooks from the saddle, and both dragon and dragon flyer free fall, plummeting to the Earth. The music is frightening here, the hopeful violins from a few seconds ago absent. However, as soon as Hiccup manages to get back on to Toothless, the theme returns, this time with layered, fast-paced violins, emphasizing the relief that the characters are okay. Hiccup still tries to consult his cheat sheet as they approach a labyrinth of towering stone boulders, but is overcome by the intensity of the moment, he lets go of the paper and lets his instincts take over. The five-note theme comes back in full crescendo, backed by a larger orchestra than before. The dialogue is absent here, and all you hear is the whoosh of the wind and the score before the scene ends.

How To Train Dragon as well as its sequels have some of the best film music of the last decade.

If you’d like to listen to the opening theme of the film, which incorporates almost every thematic element from the entire film, you can listen to ‘This Is Berk’.

If there’s a paper you have been procrastinating, or homework for a difficult class that you are dreading to tackle, this soundtrack just might inspire you to get started!