---
name: "Dean DeBlois"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/dean-deblois"
fi1m_id: "dean-deblois"
imdb_id: "nm0213450"
tmdb_id: 69797
wikidata_id: "Q1181049"
roles: ["Writer","Director","Producer"]
born: "7 June 1970"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 8
average_as: "writer"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-10-05T14:55:47.184264+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Dean DeBlois

## Identity

Dean DeBlois

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/dean-deblois
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** dean-deblois
- **IMDb ID:** nm0213450
- **TMDB ID:** 69797
- **Wikidata ID:** Q1181049
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_DeBlois, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1181049, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213450/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/69797

Writer and director. Born 7 June 1970 in Brockville, Ontario, Canada.

## Details

- **Work:** Writer, Director, Producer
- **Born:** 7 June 1970, Brockville, Ontario, Canada
- **Active:** 2002–present
- **Also known as:** Dean DeBois, Dean Allan DeBlois
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 8: 5 directing, 1 writing, 1 producing, 1 other
- **Frequently works with:** [Gerard Butler](https://film.one/person/gerard-butler.md), [America Ferrera](https://film.one/person/america-ferrera.md), [Bonnie Arnold](https://film.one/person/bonnie-arnold.md), [Jay Baruchel](https://film.one/person/jay-baruchel.md), [Cate Blanchett](https://film.one/person/cate-blanchett.md), [Chris Sanders](https://film.one/person/chris-sanders.md), [Craig Ferguson](https://film.one/person/craig-ferguson.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 3 Oscar nominations
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 2000s 82 (1), 2010s 78 (3), 2020s 68 (4)
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_DeBlois, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1181049, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0213450/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/69797

## Coming up

- *How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2027-06-10), Producer

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Lilo & Stitch*](https://film.one/film/lilo-and-stitch.md) (82)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*How to Train Your Dragon 2*](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-2.md) (74)
- **Netflix:** [*How to Train Your Dragon*](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon.md) (60)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Dean DeBlois

> Dean DeBlois makes friendship with an unfamiliar creature worth caring about, giving a familiar family adventure patience and warmth. We rate that gift highly; his live-action return to *How to Train Your Dragon* shows how little copying it achieves.

Hiccup meets the wounded Toothless and starts to doubt the wisdom of fighting dragons. In *How to Train Your Dragon* (2010), Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders give that doubt enough attention to make the boy's change of mind convincing. We were moved by his growing concern for the creature, because the film takes time over his reasons for questioning what he has been taught. The lesson is familiar. The care taken over the friendship makes it worth hearing again.

DeBlois had already co-directed *Lilo & Stitch* (2002) with Sanders. Away from animation, he directed *Heima* (2007), a documentary about Sigur Rós's homecoming concerts in Iceland. For *How to Train Your Dragon*, he consulted cinematographer Roger Deakins in pursuit of realistic lighting. We welcome that attention to making the surroundings credible, though the writing of the friendship does more to persuade us that the dragon deserves a closer look.

The 2010 film also makes some weaknesses plain. Its opening is unsettled, the jokes sometimes get in the way, and the human supporting characters receive less care than Hiccup and Toothless. DeBlois, Sanders and fellow screenwriter William Davies rely on family-adventure conventions that make the plot easy to anticipate. It remains a warm, exciting film we recommend, with the caveat that the people around the boy can feel like obligations the script has yet to attend to.

DeBlois went on to direct *How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2014) and *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World* (2019) without Sanders as co-director. His next return, *How to Train Your Dragon* (2025), is much harder to recommend. He writes, directs and produces a live-action version that keeps the story, the scenes and most of the lines of the animated film. Having once made something of his own from Cressida Cowell's books, he seems reluctant to reconsider any of his choices.

The flying still works, and Mason Thames gives the remake a good Hiccup. Real rock and weather offer something to look at, but the longer, slower telling adds almost nothing the earlier film lacked. There is care here, and little curiosity about what actors might let him do differently. Start with the 2010 animation, and leave the remake for an evening when familiarity is the point.

## Biography

Dean DeBlois is a Canadian filmmaker, writer and director. He studied Classical Animation at Sheridan College while working as an assistant animator and layout artist.

DeBlois co-wrote and co-directed the animated feature *Lilo & Stitch* (2002) with Chris Sanders for Walt Disney Animation Studios. He later co-wrote and directed the *How to Train Your Dragon* animated trilogy for DreamWorks Animation: *How to Train Your Dragon* (2010, also with Sanders), *How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2014) and *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World* (2019). He also directed the 2007 music documentary *Heima* about the band Sigur Rós.

DeBlois wrote, directed and produced the live-action remake *How to Train Your Dragon* (2025), his first live-action feature film.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, en.m.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (8)

### Directed (5)

- *How to Train Your Dragon* (2025), Fi1m 60, as Viking (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon.md)
- *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World* (2019), Fi1m 78, Director, Writer, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-the-hidden-world.md)
- *How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2014), Fi1m 74, Director, Executive Producer, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-2.md)
- *How to Train Your Dragon* (2010), Fi1m 82, Screenplay, Director — [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-2010.md)
- *Lilo & Stitch* (2002), Fi1m 82, Director, Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/lilo-and-stitch.md)

### Wrote (1) — the average rests on these

- *Lilo & Stitch* (2025), Fi1m 58, Original Film Writer — [page](https://film.one/film/lilo-and-stitch-2025.md)

### Produced (1)

- *The Wild Robot* (2024), Fi1m 80, Executive Producer — [page](https://film.one/film/the-wild-robot.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Nimona* (2023), Fi1m 74, Thanks — [page](https://film.one/film/nimona.md)

## Complete filmography (24)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2027), Producer, Director, Writer
- *How to Train Your Dragon* (2025), as Viking (uncredited) · Producer, Director, Writer — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon.md)
- *Lilo & Stitch* (2025), Original Film Writer — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/lilo-and-stitch-2025.md)
- *The Wild Robot* (2024), Executive Producer — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/the-wild-robot.md)
- *Nimona* (2023), Thanks — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/nimona.md)
- *Ten* (2022), Director, Director of Photography
- *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World* (2019), Director, Executive Producer, Writer — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-the-hidden-world.md)
- *The Other Side of the Wind* (2018), Co-Producer
- *The Boss Baby* (2017), Thanks — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/the-boss-baby.md)
- *Where No One Goes: The Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2015), Executive Producer
- *How to Train Your Dragon 2* (2014), Director, Writer, Executive Producer — Fi1m 74, [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-2.md)
- *Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury* (2011), Executive Producer
- *Jónsi: Go Quiet* (2010), Director, Camera Operator
- *How to Train Your Dragon* (2010), Screenplay, Director — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/how-to-train-your-dragon-2010.md)
- *Heima* (2007), Director
- *Leroy & Stitch* (2006), Characters
- *The Origin of Stitch* (2005), Characters
- *Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch* (2005), Characters
- *The Story Room: The Making of 'Lilo & Stitch'* (2004), Director
- *Lilo & Stitch: The Series* (2003), series, Characters, Creator
- *Stitch! The Movie* (2003), Characters
- *Lilo & Stitch* (2002), Director, Writer — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/lilo-and-stitch.md)
- *Atlantis: The Lost Empire* (2001), Story Artist
- *The Wild Robot Escapes*, Executive Producer

## Gallery

- ![Dean DeBlois speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "How to Train Your Dragon 2", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-d06b4128a855.jpg) Dean DeBlois speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "How to Train Your Dragon 2", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-1.jpg/1280px-Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Jay Baruchel speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "How to Train Your Dragon 2", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-3815569bb6d5.jpg) Jay Baruchel speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "How to Train Your Dragon 2", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-2.jpg/1280px-Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-2.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dean DeBlois](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-f0206c1eb1f5.jpg) Dean DeBlois — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-3.jpg/1280px-Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-3.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dean DeBlois and Jay Baruchel speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "How to Train Your Dragon 2", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California.](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-a01ce7aec866.jpg) Dean DeBlois and Jay Baruchel speaking at the 2014 WonderCon, for "How to Train Your Dragon 2", at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Dean_DeBlois%2C_Jay_Baruchel%2C_2014_WonderCon.jpg/1280px-Dean_DeBlois%2C_Jay_Baruchel%2C_2014_WonderCon.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Dean DeBlois](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-913df7f36d67.jpg) Dean DeBlois — Image via TMDB
- ![Dean DeBlois](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-5d9b5d6af512.jpg) Dean DeBlois — Image via TMDB
- ![Dean DeBlois](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-4c77f28e4688.jpg) Dean DeBlois — Image via TMDB
- ![“How to Train Your Dragon 2” cast Dean DeBlois, writer and director, Jay Baruchel, voice of Hiccup, and America Ferrara, voice of Astrid, conduct an interview d (2014)](https://film.one/media/person/8393/gallery-603859f5b324.jpg) “How to Train Your Dragon 2” cast Dean DeBlois, writer and director, Jay Baruchel, voice of Hiccup, and America Ferrara, voice of Astrid, conduct an interview d (2014) — Scott Saldukas, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Dean_DeBlois%2C_Jay_Baruchel_and_America_Ferrara%2C_Joint_Base_McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst_2014.jpg/1280px-Dean_DeBlois%2C_Jay_Baruchel_and_America_Ferrara%2C_Joint_Base_McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst_2014.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 3 nominated

- 2020: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World*
- 2015: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *How to Train Your Dragon 2*
- 2011: Best Animated Feature (nominated), for *How to Train Your Dragon*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/dean-deblois