catastrophic

FADE IN: EXT. NORTH SEA/VILLAGE - NIGHT We skim above a dark, wild ocean. The camera turns toward a lone island, Berk. It is a gigantic shard of rock jutting straight out of the water. HICCUP (V.O.) This, is Berk. It's twelve days North of hopeless, and a few degrees South of freezing to death. It's located solidly on the meridian of misery. The camera drifts over rolling hills to reveal a small village nestled on an outcropping of sea mounts. HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D) My village. In a word, sturdy. And it's been here for seven generations, but every single building is new. The camera drifts closer, circling. HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D) We have fishing, hunting, and a charming view of the sunsets. The only problems are the pests. You see, most places have mice or mosquitos. We have... Sheep graze peacefully on a hillside. Suddenly one is snatched. CUT TO: INT. STOICK'S HOUSE - CONTINUOUS A door is pulled open... as a DRAGON swoops directly toward it, BLASTING FIRE. The door is SLAMMED. The fire shoots through the slats of wood, illuminating HICCUP, a gangly teenage Viking. HICCUP ...dragons. EXT. STOICK'S HOUSE He reopens the sizzling door, as leaps off of the front porch. He weaves through the erupting mayhem as Vikings pour out of the buildings, ready for a fight. "Dragon" DeBlois/Sanders Final Draft (Rev.19) 02-13-2010 2. More dragons swarm in, setting rooftops alight and hauling off sheep. HICCUP (V.O.) Most people would leave. Not us. We're Vikings. We have stubbornness issues. Vikings sound the alarm. Viking men and women pour out into the streets, axes in hand. ON HICCUP darting through alleys, staying under eaves, making his way through the battle. HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D) My name's Hiccup. Great name, I know. But it's not the worst. Parents believe a hideous name will frighten off gnomes and trolls. Like our charming Viking demeanor wouldn't do that. Dragons sweep back and forth, dodging axes and blasting the Vikings who throw them. A burly warrior gets tossed in an explosion, knocking Hiccup to the ground. VIKING (FIERCE) Arggghhhhh! (cheery, insane) Mornin'! Hiccup gets to his feet and continues to rush past gigantic men and women. HICCUP (V.O.) Meet the neighbors. Hoark the Haggard... HOARK What are you doing out!? HICCUP ... Burnthair the Broad... BURNTHAIR Get inside! HICCUP ... Phlegma the Fierce... PHLEGMA THE FIERCE Get back inside! "Dragon" DeBlois/Sanders Final Draft (Rev.19) 02-13-2010 3. HICCUP . Ack. He passes a silent ox of a viking, picking his ear. HICCUP (CONT'D) Yep, just Ack. Enter STOICK, the biggest Viking of all. He yanks Hiccup from the path of a strafing dragon and holds aloft to the crowd. STOICK Hiccup!? (accusingly; to the crowd) What is he doing out again?! (TO HICCUP) What are you doing out?! Get inside! The flames light up his scowling face and matted red beard. He sets Hiccup down and turns to the sky, searching. HICCUP (V.O.) (IN AWE) That's Stoick the Vast. Chief of the tribe. They say that when he was a baby he popped a dragon's head clean off of its shoulders. Do I believe it? Stoick grabs a wooden cart and hurls it, knocking the strafing dragon out of the sky. HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D) Yes I do. An EXPLOSION forces Vikings to DUCK. Stoick stands firm, brushing flaming debris off of his shoulder. STOICK (barking; to his men) What have we got? VIKING #1 Gronkles. Nadders. Zipplebacks. Oh, and Hoark saw a Monstrous Nightmare. STOICK Any Night Furies? VIKING #1 None so far. "Dragon" DeBlois/Sanders Final Draft (Rev.19) 02-13-2010 4. STOICK (RELIEVED) Good. VIKING Hoist the torches! Massive flaming braziers are raised on poles, lighting up the night sky... and revealing swirling dragons of all types. Below, Hiccup crosses an open plaza and ducks into an open building with a tall chimney. INT. BLACKSMITH STALL - CONTINUOUS He crosses behind a counter, where a peg-legged, one-armed hulk of a Blacksmith reshapes blades with a hammer and tongs appendage. GOBBER Ah! Nice of you to join the party. I thought you'd been carried off. Hiccup dons a leather apron and starts to put away Gobber's scattered appendages. HICCUP Who me? Nah, come on! I'm way too muscular for their taste. They wouldn't know what to do with all this. Hiccup strikes a bodybuilder pose. GOBBER They need toothpicks, don't they? Hiccup gets to work, transferring bent and chipped weapons to the forge as Vikings crowd the counter for replacements. HICCUP (V.O.) The meathead with attitude and interchangeable hands is Gobber. I've been his apprentice ever since I was little. Well...littler. EXT. VILLAGE - CONTINUOUS ON STOICK STOICK We move to the lower defenses. We'll counter-attack with the catapults. "Dragon" DeBlois/Sanders Final Draft (Rev.19) 02-13-2010 5. Armed men rush past, flanking others who carry sheep to safety. Stoick follows up the rear as, overhead, a dragon strafes the rooftops with Napalm-like fire. HICCUP (V.O.) See? Old village. Lots and lots of new houses. VIKING FIRE! In response, the fire brigade charges through the plaza -- four TEENS, tugging a large wooden cask on wheels. From it, they fill buckets of water to douse the flames. One among them is a cute, energetic Viking girl. Hiccup leans out of the stall to watch her. HICCUP (V.O.) Oh and that's Fishlegs, Snotlout. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. And... (DREAMY) Astrid. A SLOW-MOTION explosion erupts behind her, framing her in a sexy ball of fire. The others join her, looking awesome and heroic. HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D) Their job is so much cooler. Hiccup tries to join them as they pass, but he's hooked by Gobber and hoisted back inside. HICCUP (CONT'D) (PLEADING) Ah, come on. Let me out, please. I need to make my mark. GOBBER Oh, you've made plenty of marks. All in the wrong places. HICCUP Please, two minutes. I'll kill a dragon. My life will get infinitely better. I might even get a date. GOBBER You can't lift a hammer. You can't swing an axe... Gobber grabs a bola (iron balls connected by rope). "Dragon" DeBlois/Sanders Final Draft (Rev.19) 02-13-2010 6. GOBBER (CONT'D) ... you can't even throw one of these. A Viking runs by and nabs it out of Gobber's hand, hurling it at a dive-bombing Gronkle. The bola binds its legs, sending it into a heavy crash. HICCUP (ready with the answer) Okay fine, but... He rushes to the back corner of the stall and presents a bizarre, wheel barrow-like contraption. HICCUP (CONT'D) ... this will throw it for me. Hiccup OPENS the hinged lid of the device. An arm springs up, equipped with twin bows. They prematurely launch a bola, narrowly missing Gobber... and taking out a Viking at the counter. VIKING Arggh! GOBBER See, now this right here is what I'm talking about. HICCUP Mild calibration issue. GOBBER Hiccup. If you ever want to get out there to fight dragons, you need to stop all... Gobber gestures in Hiccup's general direction. GOBBER (CONT'D) ... this. HICCUP (ASTONISHED) But... you just pointed to all of me. GOBBER Yes! That's it! Stop being all of you. "Dragon" DeBlois/Sanders Final Draft (Rev.19) 02-13-2010 7. HICCUP (THREATENING) Ohhhh... GOBBER (MIMICKING) Ohhhhh, yes. HICCUP You, sir, are playing a dangerous game. Keeping this much, raw...Vikingness contained. (BEAT) There will be consequences! Gobber tosses him a sword. GOBBER I'll take my chances. Sword. Sharpen. Now. Hiccup takes it begrudgingly and lobs it onto the grinding wheel. He stews... fantasizing... HICCUP (V.O.) One day I'll get out there. Because killing a dragon is everything around here. EXT. VILLAGE - LOWER PLAINS - CONTINUOUS Nadders land, gathering like seagulls around a seemingly vacant house. HICCUP (V.O.) A Nadder head is sure to get me at least noticed. The Nadders clamber onto the building, tearing the roof and walls apart. Sheep pour out and SCATTER. Elsewhere, hippo-like Gronckles pick drying racks clean of fish and fly off like loaded pelicans. HICCUP (V.O.) (CONT'D) Gronckles are tough. Taking down one of those would definitely get me a girlfriend. A stealthy, snake-like dragon head peeks over a rooftop, breathing gas into a chimney.