Why is “How to Train Your Dragon” rated PG? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of intense action, and peril.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a kiss between teens, some awkward flirting, numerous encounters with dragons that spray fire in a village, on ships, and in the sky that leave some people and some dragons injured without evident blood or gore, several scenes of teens in a training arena fighting dragons that spray fire at them, several close encounters with dragons while trying to tame and train them, several arguments with yelling and some pushing, and some name-calling. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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A live action version of the animated 2010 movie: A gentle, inventive teenage boy (Mason Thames) tries to impress his father (Gerard Butler) when he thinks he has found a way to end the conflict with the dragons, which has been the source of terror in their Viking island for generations. Also with Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Murray McArthur and Peter Serafinowicz. Directed by Dean DeBlois. [Running Time: 2:05]

How to Train Your Dragon SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A teen girl punches a teen boy on the arm and then kisses him tenderly. A teen girl hits a teen boy in the chest and then kisses him on the cheek. A teen boy stares lovingly at a teen girl in a few scenes. A teen boy tries to touch a teen girl’s hand and she twists his arm.
► A teen boy says, “I might even get a girlfriend.” A man gives his teen son a helmet that he tells him was half of his mother’s breastplate.
► A teen girl wears tight-fitting tights throughout the movie.

How to Train Your Dragon VIOLENCE/GORE 3

 – Ships sail into a narrow passage covered in heavy fog and bump into rocks underwater, dragons swim around the ships, and one slams into a ship and throws people overboard as others swoop through the air blowing flames. Ships sail toward an island and through narrow passages to a cave entrance; one ship grounds and a man steps on shore where numerous boulders are launched at the side of the cave opening a hole in the wall and many dragons fly out before a giant dragon appears, rocks fall on top of a couple of people and others appear to be trodden by the giant dragon (we don’t see blood or gore); the dragon blows flames across the ships and people jump overboard. Several dragons with teens on their backs fly around a giant dragon and one teen falls off onto the dragon’s head where he stabs one of its eyes (we see gel and goo). A teen struggles to release a dragon from chains on a ship and the ship is capsized throwing them both into the water; the boy is retrieved and the dragon sinks until a man frees it and it surfaces.
► A dragon shoots holes in another dragon’s wings and then entices it to follow it into the air; they fly through thick cloud cover and another dragon shoots a blast into the other dragon’s mouth causing it to lose control and crash into the water below; a teen boy falls off a dragon’s back and toward the ground below and the dragon charges toward him and through a wall of flames out of site; we later see the dragon wounded and moaning on the ground and it raises a wing to reveal the teen still alive (he is missing his lower leg, although we do not see this until he has a prosthetic attached later).
► A sheep is swooped up off the ground sounding an alarm as numerous large dragons soar through the air spraying fire on a village; villagers on the ground scramble to arm themselves and put out the fires, a teen girl swings on a water chute to douse a house on fire, a teen boy opens a door and a dragon outside blows flames at him covering the door with flames and he recoils from the heat when he open it, a man throws a shield into a dragon’s mouth knocking it out of the air, a man jumps onto a dragon that has been wrapped with a net, a teen takes aim at a dragon and it shoots flames at him, and the teen runs and the dragon chases him continuing to blow flames at him.
► A teen boy faces a large dragon that blows flames all around an arena where people are gathered to watch; the teen puts down his weapons and reaches out to touch the creature and argues with his father that they don’t need to kill dragons; the dragon swats the teen with its tail and another dragon enters the ring to fight the first dragon and protect the teen; many people pile on top of a dragon and a man raises his sword over it, and we see the dragon lashed to a wooden framework with a strap covering its mouth later.
► A dragon with a teen boy and a teen girl on its back flies into thick clouds where we see many other dragons flying, they fly with them into a volcanic cave where a large fire burns in the center and dragons drop what they are carrying into the flames; a large mouth pushes out of the flames and it snatches a couple of dragons out of the air. A very large dragon naturally engulfed in flames swoops through a village and blows flames around, it pulls the roof off a barn where sheep are collected, and fires something at a weapon mounted on a peak in the distance (it explodes).
► A dragon flies around a training arena and shoots flames at teens that dodge and use shields and break walls as defense; the dragon pins one teen against a wall and blows flames at him hitting the wall next to him (the teen is not harmed). A dragon picks a teen girl up and flies her to a sheer wall where it leaves her to climb to the top (she is retrieved unharmed). Teens run through a maze in a training arena while dragons shoot flames at them and one throws spikes from its back; one teen girl hits a dragon, backs it into a cell and closes the door. Teens are chased through an arena by large dragons; one dragon has two heads and it surrounds two teens until another teen coerces it into its cell using an eel (they appear afraid of them). A small dragon jumps on a teen boy’s face and bites his nose (we do not see any blood or a wound). A teen girl throws a teen boy to the ground and hits him with her axe handle (we do not see injuries). A teen girl throws several axes into a tree and yells in frustration. A teen girl holds an axe to a teen boy’s throat and yells at him.
► A teen boy attaches a makeshift tail fin to a dragon’s tail and the dragon swoops up into the air with the teen clinging to its tail; they nearly crash into rock walls and formations and the teen is thrown into water unharmed. A teen boy attaches a saddle with a steering mechanism to a dragon’s back and they fly together swooping between rock walls and formations and through a waterfall before landing on a mountaintop. While flying together a teen boy falls out of his saddle and hurtles toward rocks and water below; the dragon swoops toward the teen and retrieves him before he is harmed. A man punches a dragon in the face several times and it flies away. A man pushes his teen son and the boy falls to the floor; the man tells him, “You are not one of us. You are not my son.”
► Dragons are shown carrying animals and fish as they fly away from a village a couple of times. A teen boy finds a dragon wrapped in ropes and lying motionless on the ground; he approaches the dragon and it moans, as the teen raises a knife over it and prepares to kill it (he does not); he instead cuts the ropes to free it and the dragon lunges toward the teen pinning him against a wall, roaring loudly in his face. A dragon tries to fly out of a deep gully, but is unable to get enough lift; we see that part of its tail is missing. A teen boy brings a fish to a dragon trapped in a gully and the dragon snatches the fish from the teen’s hands, and then spits the fish’s head out onto the teens lap (to share); the teen takes a bite and seems to gag before swallowing hard. A teen boy tries to touch a dragon’s snout and the dragon snarls at him; it eventually moves close to the teen’s hand and allows him to touch it. A teen boy scratches a dragon on the neck (like a dog), and it taps its foot and collapses (as if it’s asleep).
► A teen boy shows a weapon that he has built and it shoots a net with weights attached, accidentally hitting another person (no injuries are shown). A teen boy pushes a tree branch out of the way in frustration and it slaps him in the face. A man gives his teen son an axe that belonged to a family member, and a helmet that belonged to his mother.
► A teen boy describes the weapons and strength of a variety of dragons in a couple of scenes. We hear several types of dragons described as “extremely dangerous” and the directive to “kill on sight.” A teen girl tells a teen boy while flying on a dragon’s back for the first time, “If we survive, I’m going to kill you.” A woman pours bones onto a table and reads them indicating that a mission will be successful. During training lessons, teens protest having to “read words” in a book with information about dragons. We hear that as a child a man, “Popped a dragon’s head clean off its shoulders.” Teens mock another teen about being the chief’s son and not being capable of fighting. A man and his teen son argue about their views of his future. A teen boy is reprimanded numerous times for being in danger.
► A teen boy sharpens sword blades and forges metal in a couple of scenes. A dragon sleeps hanging upside down from a rock like a bat. A dragon sneezes from dandelion seed fluff. Several people are shown with missing limbs replaced by artificial arms and legs; one man has tools and weapons on his artificial arm.

How to Train Your Dragon LANGUAGE 1

 – Mild scatological terms (people’s names include snot, phlegm, hiccup), 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (toothless, bud, meathead, insane, wretches, cool kids, disaster, weak, sword, kooky flare, tough, tasteless, stupid, crazy, disgraced, bloody beasts, extremely dangerous, big bag of wool, bloody kids, stubborn), exclamations (oh great, shush, wow, oh come on, you’re kidding right, oh you’ve gotta be kidding me, you live in a different world), 2 religious exclamations (e.g. for God’s sake, oh God). | profanity glossary |

How to Train Your Dragon SUBSTANCE USE

 – None.

How to Train Your Dragon DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Family pressure, traditions, disrupted animal habitats, rites of passage, growing up, being protective, death of loved ones, celebrity, disappointment.

How to Train Your Dragon MESSAGE

 – Trying to be something you’re not is not good for anyone. Making an effort to understand others can reduce conflict.