Dean DeBlois, best known for Lilo & Stitch and The How To Train Your Dragon movies, knows how to create an emotionally resonating story for audiences of all ages. The’ father of dragons’ has garnered two Oscar Nominations for the first two movies in the franchise. Creative Screenwriting Magazine got up close and personal with Dean to see what drives this talented writer-director-producer.
His education in screenwriting came from working as a storyboard artist in animation. He met Chris Sanders (with whom he still collaborates) who was the Head Of Story on Mulan and DeBlois’ screenwriting career in animation took off. “Chris and I share similar sensibilities and humor. We worked on an animation script after work and during lunchtimes which later became Lilo & Stitch. The studio bosses recognized we worked well together and made us co-directors of the film.”
DeBlois also sold three live-action studio films during this time which were ultimately not produced. When Chris Sanders moved to Dreamworks pictures, they collaborated on the first How To Train Your Dragon movie.
Dean DeBlois
The screenwriter initially wanted to become a comic book artist. This desire led to work as a storyboard artist. “What appealed to me is that I could draw out the characters and the settings of the drama in a visual way. I equally loved the world-building and character development in the story itself,” he added.
This was his bona fide screenwriting education because “there is a lot of writing involved in the storyboarding process. Many pages assigned to me were underdeveloped and required thought about character, continuity, and pacing. Storyboarding is another version of writing. As a screenwriter, I wrote what I would have previously drawn.”
DeBlois was asked what type of stories especially lend themselves to the animation medium. “If there’s an element of fantasy and whimsy, it’s a predominant part of the conversation when an animation studio is considering a project. There should also elements of wish fulfillment the lyrical power of pantomime baked into the story,” added the screenwriter.
“That line, however, is blurred because there are so many animation elements in live action films today and so many animated films can feel more like live action movies.” DeBlois feels he has a live-action writing sensibility in his animated films. “I try to keep the characters real and familiar, and treats their stakes as palpable and visceral, but the visual components are boundless. I don’t do very well in animation where the characters cannot get damaged and their world feels very cartoonish.”
As a screenwriter, DeBlois is attracted to stories “that resonate emotionally and have an element of wonder. If it feels like a series of actions and gags, often seen in animation, I see it as temporary entertainment and it doesn’t stay with me. I’m also attracted to certain themes. In the latest installment of How To Train Your Dragon, we explore a group of disparate characters coming together and having a profound impact on one another’s lives. It’s a timeless, bittersweet tale of changing and letting go.”
Dean DeBlois boarded the first How To Train Your Dragon film when there was just over a year left on the project. The initial drafts of the screenplay were a faithful adaptation of the novel by Cressida Cowell. “Jeffrey Katzenberg (Head Of Dreamworks) loved the worlds, the dragons, the larger than life settings, and the mythical Vikings. However, he felt that the bones of the story skewed too small and too young.”
When DeBlois was brought on to write the next draft of the screenplay, Katzenberg requested “a father and son story, a big David and Goliath ending and a Harry Potter tone.” Despite Katzenberg setting these rigid story parameters, he allowed DeBlois and Sanders freedom to depart from the original story.
The dragons and the Viking children (around ten years of age) in the book lived in harmony. The Vikings collected dragon eggs and raised dragons to do tricks. Hiccup (the runt of the Viking kids) breaks this tradition of an aggressive training regimen and instead is kind to his dragon (Toothless), which in turn turns out to be the runt of his litter. With the help of Hiccup. Toothless was able to perform far more impressive tricks than his peers. In the end, a malicious dragon takes them on and Hiccup and Toothless save the day.
These recognizable key story elements remained intact. “We have a symbiotic relationship between Hiccup and Toothless and a contentious dragon at the end. The contentious relationship lent itself more the fantasy adventure tropes and we redesigned the story so Hiccup would be the first Viking to take a chance and befriend a dragon and end the age-old war between dragons and Vikings,” expounded DeBlois.
The writers also had to “reinvent Toothless’ character. He should be impressive, ferocious, fearsome, and a legend in the Viking world,” said DeBlois.
The screenwriters also had to consider how to reinvigorate the tired tropes of dragons traditionally seen in movies. “We explored the notion of a dragon that was injured and needed assistance to fly. Hiccup created a prosthetic that would enable him to fly on Toothless’ back. This not only created a purpose for their friendship, but something visually fresh.”
Shifting the story from the traditional battles between humans and dragons stemmed from a dream DeBlois had about an undersea volcano with a dragon flying into the lava to explore the magical world where it leads.
Hiccup harbored deep insecurities and was always made to feel inferior to the other Vikings. Toothless gave him the power to be confident and consequential. “The idea of losing Toothless forced Hiccup to look at himself and decide if he’s worthy as a human being and a leader.”
After the success of the first How To Train Your Dragon film, DeBlois was asked to pitch ideas for a sequel. He pondered the larger coming of age questions of Hiccup. “These laid the foundation for a trilogy as audiences track the evolution of a runt Viking who bonds with his dragon (Toothless), transforms his world and becomes a selfless and wise chief. In the process, he must say goodbye to Toothless.”
“There is something very compelling about this story, and with it came an increase in scope and scale compared to both the book and the first movie. The Vikings saw the world beyond their known boundaries. The second movie had a more epic scope, but the third and final film was intentionally pulled back to focus on the core of the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless – learning to let go, the ultimate act of love. This meant less spectacle in favor of more tender, heartfelt moments. Their separation was not a banishment, but a return of the dragons to their ancestral home.”
DeBlois doesn’t set out to write a children’s or family film. “I write what I want to see. It’s dangerous to second-guess an audience. I hope my sensibility is reflected by the greater audience. We set out to make a movie that’s entertaining and full of surprises and discovery to appeal to as broad an audience as we can. We all want to be moved to tears and laughter and hold ourselves accountable to that standard.”
The screenwriter is deeply aware of injecting his personal story into his movies. “In the second film, Hiccup loses his father at the age of nineteen. That’s exactly what happened to me. That loss carries forward in the third film as Hiccup uses experiences from the past to inform his decisions in the present. There is something empowering and life-affirming when someone passes, as parts of them remain in your thoughts and actions,” mused DeBlois.
Dean also has memories of being an outsider in his childhood. Similar to Hiccup, he felt inferior and wondered how he would ever fit in. “It’s compelling to write a character determined to succeed in a world they don’t fit into while being ill-equipped. These characters eventually realize their perceived embarrassing weaknesses could actually be the thing that changes their world. Maybe they can stop being like everyone else and be themselves?”
Toothless & Hiccup
In terms of advice to aspiring screenwriters, Dean DeBlois urges them to continue writing. Looking to his own writing process, “as miserable as the process might be in the moment, I’ll persist until I get there no matter how full of despair I am. Sometimes, I loathe the writing process and procrastinate, but I must eventually face my demons.”
“Writing is the solitary, most difficult task of giving birth to something from nothing. Writing in animation is more about surrounding yourself with an exceptional story team, giving them ownership and acting as a referee to defend the essence and purity of your story.”
The difference between a professional and aspiring screenwriter is incorporating feedback according to DeBlois. “Many aspiring writers want their vision to be upheld in the purest way. Professional writers know this is rarely the case. They realize the importance of defending the ideas they believe in, but also accommodate other ideas that may not deserve support, but deserve to be considered. Be open to incorporating feedback through your filter.”
