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Eels are a group of Fish seen in various DreamWorks Dragons Franchise media, starting with the first movie, How to Train Your Dragon.
Description[]
Eels are a large group of fish usually distinguished by their elongated appearance similar to snakes and small fins, belonging to the Order Anguilliformes. They can be found in a variety of environments from deep seas to shallow freshwater environments. For the most part, Eels are predators of other fish. They move by undulating their bodies, and can even move in a reverse direction.
To note, the electric eel is not an eel, but a type of knifefish, and it belongs to the family Gymnotidae. Its long body looks very similar to true eel species and often gets lumped in with them.
The eels seen in the DreamWorks Dragons Franchise are generally fictitious and not based on true eel species. They range greatly in size, and even growing to gigantic, unrealistic proportions. All eels that appear in the franchise can move efficiently and without a struggle on land. This may be because these eels resemble the electric eel more than actual eel species, as electric eels do breathe air.
Function[]
Humans in the real world are known to use eels as a food. Vikings are not specifically seen eating eels in the Franchise, but it is implied when Hiccup brings the injured Toothless a variety of fish to eat from his village in the How to Train Your Dragon movie. One spin-off activity book, Look And Find: How to Train Your Dragon, does show eels on the dinner table at the Haddock house. There are only four known species of dragons that like to eat eels: the Skrill (specifically Shadow Skrills), the Typhoomerang, the Death Song, and the Slithersong.
In actuality, eels are toxic to humans and mammals if eaten raw, and must be cooked to neutralize its poisons before eating. This is mirrored somewhat in the Franchise by the human disease Eel Pox (though for humans the source of the illness isn't specified to be eels), as well as an illness in dragons caused by eating eels, as seen in the TV show episode "The Eel Effect". To note, the cure for Eel Pox in humans includes the Bloodvein Eel.
In the Franchise, eels are also used for playing games, such as the mini-game "Eel Roast" in School of Dragons, as well as obstacles, such as the tests to be king of the Defenders of the Wing.
Types of Eels Seen in the Franchise[]
"Striped" Eel[]
For ease of referring to, this eel can be referred to as the "striped" eel, though this type seen in the Franchise was never specifically named. It is the first type of eel seen, starting in the first movie. It seems to be common on Berk, and is often the eel used in dragon training. Hiccup first discovers dragons' aversion to eels by holding up one of the striped eels to Toothless.
The "striped" eel is perhaps about 2 to 3 feet long, or so it would seem from images of them. They are typically black with yellow rings down the length of their bodies. However, in the game School of Dragons, eels with other colored rings are seen in the mini-game "Eel Roast", including purple, red, blue, and green. There are also sparkly ones and electrical ones, but this is mostly for gameplay.
| “ | An eel's blood is harmful to other mammals, and even humans. | ” |
| — Fish Fact in School of Dragons |
| “ | Eels are covered with a slimy mucus substance which allow them to slither around without getting scratched. | ” |
| — Fish Fact in School of Dragons |
| “ | Eels feed at night and rest during the day. | ” |
| — Fish Fact in School of Dragons |
| “ | Eels are carnivores. They feed on crabs, snails, fish, lobsters, mussels, octopi, and frogs. | ” |
| — Fish Fact in School of Dragons |
| “ | An eel's backbone is constructed of more than 100 vertebrae. It makes an eel very flexible. | ” |
| — Fish Fact in School of Dragons |
| “ | An eel can swim forwards and backwards, and can also travel on land for short distances. | ” |
| — Fish Fact in School of Dragons |
| “ | There are more than 400 species of eels in the world. Eels live in both salt and fresh water. | ” |
| — Fish Fact from School of Dragons |
| “ | Most eels live and hide in rock gaps and caves, and also burrow in the sand. These behaviors allow them to attack unexpectedly. | ” |
| — Fish Fact from School of Dragons |
| “ | Eels have poor vision, but have an excellent sense of smell that helps them hunt their prey. | ” |
| — Fish Fact from School of Dragons |
| “ | A life span of an eel is about 85 years. | ” |
| — Fish Fact from School of Dragons |
Bloodvein Eel[]
The bloodvein eel is a violet colored eel with many red spots on their body. They are native to waters of Eel Island. This species of eel is highly aggressive, and are known to attack humans, shown when a bloodvein eel attacked Hiccup and attempted to choke him in the episode, "The Eel Effect". This particular type of eel is also part of the remedy for Eel Pox in humans.
Giant Screaming Eel[]
| “ | Pardon me. Does anyone else think that Johann could have warned us about... I don't know... THE GIANT SCREAMING EELS?! | ” |
| — Snotlout in "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 1" |
Giant screaming eels are huge, perhaps even longer than some ships. They have two small pectoral fins and almost snake-like heads. The heads are grey, while the entire length of the body has tiger stripes of yellow, black, grey, and white. They have small, but plentiful teeth and produce a high-pitched screaming noise. They are shown to be very intelligent, which was seen in "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 1" and "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 2" when they try to sink a ship to eat the Dragon Riders. At least some individuals can produce electricity, as evidenced in "Shock and Awe".
"Electric" Eel[]
This eel is different from the actual electric eel in real life (which isn't an eel at all). The electric eel of the Franchise made its first appearance in the episode "Total Nightmare". It closely resembles the "striped" eel in size and shape, except it can produce electricity. They are just a few feet long with a black base color and mottled yellow down the length of its body. These eels also seem to be able to produce a hissing sound.
According to the game Titan Uprising, a group of Skrills living in the Mysterious Marshlands known as Shadow Skrills are known to eat electric eels, which can be fed to the dragons during training as a way of bonding with this group of deeply apprehensive dragons.
Poisonous Eel[]
This type of eel made its debut in the episode, "Saving Shattermaster", and are kept by the Defenders of the Wing on their island for human trials. They seem to be similar in shape and size to the "striped" and bloodvein eels but have more variety in coloring. Some look suspiciously like bloodvein eels and "electric" eels from other episodes. Despite being called poisonous, Snotlout appears to be able to get bitten several times with no ill-effects. These poisonous eels are well adapted for life in shallow water and on land. In the pit where they are kept on Caldera Cay, they have burrows in the rock face. They can shoot out of these like missiles at intruders.
Other Eels[]
Eels appear in other media as well. The mini-comic "The Eel Plague" shows purplish-grey eels of "normal" size. The children's activity book Look And Find: How to Train Your Dragon shows green eels ready for the dinner table.
The eels that appear in Dragons: Rescue Riders are very large, but not as large as the aforementioned giant screaming eel. They share similar coloration, being a yellow shaded base color with a cream underbelly. These eels additionally have dark bars along their backs and red fins.
Appearances[]
How to Train Your Dragon[]
When feeding Toothless in the cove, Hiccup discovered Toothless was afraid of eels. He later used this knowledge to stave off a Hideous Zippleback in the arena. He scared the Zippleback (later named Barf and Belch) back into the cage by hiding an eel under his shirt, leaving the teens and Gobber in shock.
Dragons: Riders of Berk[]
Eels have made two appearances in the series. First, in the episode "Animal House", they are used to show the animals of Berk that dragons are afraid of things too. However, the eels get loose and scare the dragons, who in turn scare the livestock.
Eels made a second appearance in the episode "The Terrible Twos". The Dragon Riders use eels as a new test called the "Eel Reaction Test" on a baby Typhoomerang (later named Torch), only for it to devour the eel, making the Typhoomerang one of the few dragons that can eat eels with impunity.
Dragons: Defenders of Berk[]
Mulch fights off Berserker soldiers with an eel, using it to bat them over the side of his ship in "A View to a Skrill, Part 1", his battle cry is: "Slimy, stinky eel! Meet slimy stinky marauder!" Eels also appear in the episode, "The Eel Effect", in which the bloodvein eel is introduced. The people of Berk are suffering from an illness called Eel Pox and one of the ingredients for the remedy is the bloodvein eel. Hiccup and Toothless travel to Eel Island to obtain some. However, the eels attack Hiccup, and while trying to save him, Toothless accidentally bites into one. The eel causes Toothless to become ill until Hiccup gives him some of the remedies and gets him to throw it up.
Dragons: Race to the Edge[]
Season 1[]
At the very beginning of "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 1", a red eel is seen slithering out of a bucket of bread in the Outcast dungeon, right before a jailer grabs up the bucket. The other possibility is a snake.
The giant screaming eel appears in the episode "Dragon Eye of the Beholder, Part 1". They live in the Ship Graveyard, and attempt to sink a ship the Dragon Riders are on. Later, the riders get attacked again while on the ship, The Reaper.
In "Total Nightmare", Snotlout throws a basket with an electric eel in it at Girl Hookfang in an attempt to chase her off and win back his dragon. However, Hookfang knocks the eel away and it hits Snotlout, electrocuting him.
Season 2[]
In "Shock and Awe", the twins were told to gather "electric" eels so they could make the two Scauldrons think they are the Seashocker, while the actual dragon makes its escape. Instead of bringing back several small eels, the twins find a gigantic electrical eel that scares even the Scauldron. The image of this eel might be "recycled" imagery from the giant screaming eels from Season 1.
Season 4[]
In the episode "Saving Shattermaster", two types of eels are used in the second stage of the trials to choose a king by the Defenders of the Wing. Snotlout takes up the trials, and is attacked first by deadly Poisonous Eels, and second by giant screaming eels. Surprisingly, he can make it through the entire second stage and save Fishlegs.
Season 6[]
In "Darkest Night", Hiccup faces some tough decisions. The riders each tell a story about how things might have been on Berk if they had not left for Dragon's Edge. In the twins' story, they wreak havoc in the village and get caught unaware by Johann and Krogan. One scene is a small cauldron that appears to contain bloodvein eels, which flips over onto Stoick's head.
Dragons: Rescue Riders[]
Season 1[]
Very little scares Cutter, but Marena and Burple are able to make him jump when Marena tells a scary story about giant eels in "Boo to You".
The aquatic Fastfin species is said to be one of the few species of dragons that do not fear of eels in "Sick Day". However, Summer, a young Fastfin, is afraid of them, due to being attacked by one at a young age. The episode also introduces a new food source for eels: Help Kelp.
Burple, Winger, and Dak encounter eels while stranded on Sea Stacks in "Crash Course". They are barely able to escape them as each dragon has an injured wing, but Dak can lash the two dragons together and they fly out of the way at the last moment.
Season 2[]
In "Summer Holiday", the Rescue Riders decided to take a break from their missions on Huttsgalor, so they traveled to an exotic island. There, they were surprised by giant eels, who attacked them and stole their food. They fought off the eels and retreated to a forest nearby.
Season 3[]
Dragons: Rescue Riders: Hunt for the Golden Dragon[]
A couple of eels attacked Summer and Aggro while they were running from pirates with a fake Golden Dragon egg. They dodged the eels' attacks just in time, but accidentally dropped the egg in the process.
Dragons: The Nine Realms[]
Season 6[]
In "Dragons Everywhere!", while trying to figure out how to control the dragons, the club discovered from the book and was revealed that dragons still have a phobia of eels and use toy snakes to trick dragon into thinking they're eels to keep wild dragons out of ICARIS.
Season 7[]
In "In the Cards", when two Typhoomerangs escape the Hidden World they mistake the fake rubber snakes for eels and try eating them, when the riders find one of them Tom explains that the book of dragons stated that Typhoomerangs aren't afraid of eels.
In "Rise of Jörmungandr", the club discovers that another reason most dragons fear eels is because of the Jörmungandr, a huge apex predator dragon that resembles a giant eel which was so dangerous, Tom's Viking ancestors had to lock it away in the deepest area of the Dark Realm.
Games[]
School of Dragons[]
In this game, the player can go fishing for various fish, one of which is the "striped" eel. Feeding an eel to a dragon will decrease its happiness. However, Typhoomerangs and Death Songs can eat them and gain some energy from them. The Slithersong can also eat them, with no ill effects.
School of Dragons also contains various mini-games, one of which is "Eel Roast". In this game, the player uses their active dragon to shoot variously colored eels for points. Rewards are dragon XP, player XP, and coins.
In the expansion, "Call of the Death Song", the location of the Ship Graveyard is introduced to the game, along with its Giant Screaming Eels. Eventually, the player leads a Death Song that is terrorizing Berk to the Ship Graveyard to feast on the eels and take up residence.
Eels also appear in some of the player quests, such as "For My Son, Hiccup" in which the player helps Valka make some ink for Hiccup. Heather, as the School's alchemist, requests the player to find blue flowers and fermented eels to make the ink. It is uncertain what recipe and if it is true to life, requires fermented eel to make ink.
Snotlout wields a yellow striped eel at a Tundra Zipplewraith, using it as a repellent weapon to drive it away from menacing another Zipplewraith named Greenie, in the Thawfest 2022 quest "Something Else".
Dragons: Titan Uprising[]
Eels, specifically electric eels, are mentioned in the description of the Skrill subspecies, the Shadow Skrill.
| “ | But there is one trick to winning over these deeply apprehensive creatures — Shadow Skrills are some of the only dragons who actually like to eat electric eels! | ” |
| — Dragons: Titan Uprising |
Other Mentions[]
"The Eel Plague"[]
"The Eel Plague" is a mini-comic in the special magazine "Ultimate Dragon Trainer's Guide". The Dragon Riders are out on maneuvers on Dragon's Edge when Hiccup drops the Dragon Eye in eel-infested waters. The gang finds a Typhoomerang to eat the eels and retrieve the Dragon Eye.
Look And Find: How to Train Your Dragon[]
This children's activity book contains eight scenes for the reader to find hidden objects. In the third scene, there are various food items around the house at the Haddock home, including eels.
Trivia[]
- The giant screaming eels are most likely based off of the shrieking eels from the fantasy movie The Princess Bride.
External links[]
| Eel (Franchise) uses Creative Commons Licensed content from the Dreamworks School of Dragons Wiki page Eel Roast. The list of authors can be found on the page revision history (view authors). | 
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Eel (Franchise) is also available in other languages. Do visit these pages if you prefer reading content from the respective languages: • Русский • Polski |
