Gobber how to train your dragon

Gobber the Belch

Gobber the belch

Background information

Feature films

Short films

Television programs

Video games

Voice

Character information

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Gobber the Belch (also known as Gobber) is one of the characters that appeared in How to Train Your Dragon. He’s a veteran warrior of Hairy Hooligans tribe and a long-time friend of Stoick the Vast. Gobber is voiced by Scottish actor and stand-up comedian Craig Ferguson and by Chris Edgerly in the TV show.

Contents

In the books

Gobber the Belch is a six-and-a-half foot tall maniac who is tasked with training Hairy Hooligan teens in various skills needed to become a Viking: catching and training dragons, pirating skills, sword-fighting, and rudery (trading insults). He is incapable of speaking in any tone of voice other than a bellow.

Role in Film

In the course of Berk’s long wars with the dragons, Gobber lost his left hand and right leg in battle with the creatures (the picture is reversed). He has managed to replace his missing limbs with a variety of metal prostheses of his own design and creation. His arm can be interchanged with other items such as a hammer or axe if needed (similar to Alvin the Treacherous in the books).

Since he is no longer able to take an active part in the war, Gobber is left responsible for the village’s smithy and armory, keeping the other Vikings supplied with weapons and also with supervising the village’s youngsters in Dragon Training.

Hiccup, the son of Chief Stoick, was tasked to assist Gobber in the armory ever since he was a small boy. Even though Gobber taught him a fair amount of skills which he would later put to good use, Hiccup’s clumsiness eventually made him into the despair of Gobber, his father and the whole village. Seeing Hiccup’s desire to become a true Viking, Gobber was the one who convinced Stoick to admit the boy to Dragon Training.

After a typically clumsy start, Gobber was amazed when Hiccup became the new class’s most proficient trainee, being able to incapacitate the beasts without the need for weapons. His skill grew so much, he even outclassed the fierce Astrid and earned the right to kill a dragon.

When Stoick ordered the entire village to embark to the island where the Dragons’ Nest was located, Gobber went along with them although with some signs of nerves when asking what the plan for the attack was. The Vikings inadvertently released the Red Death from the Nest’s depths and it soon set fire to their ships. Trapped on the island, Stoick ordered his people to flee to the other side of the island while he distracted the dragon by baiting it. As his oldest friend, Gobber volunteered to do the same. Together, they bought enough time for the Vikings to retreat. Gobber shared equal amazement when Hiccup and the other Vikings arrived on dragonback and take down the Red Death.

Later, when Hiccup had been wounded defeating the dragon, Gobber crafted a metal prosthetic to replace his left leg, cleverly adapting the foot to fit into the stirrup of Hiccup’s custom-made dragon saddle. When Hiccup regained consciousness, Gobber welcomed him home by presenting him with a brand-new prosthetic tailfin for Toothless that would allow them to fly again.

Legend Of The Boneknapper Dragon

After the events of How To Train Your Dragon, Gobber’s house was set alight one night. With some help from the now peaceful dragons, the house was saved but Gobber was convinced that a dragon had caused the fire. Mentioning his old tale of the Boneknapper, he set out to try and take down the beast once and for all to prove to the rest of the village that it was real, with his pet sheep Phil in tow. Hiccup, fearing for Gobber’s safety, decided to tag along, and convinced his friends to come too.

Using a rowing boat to reach a distant island, Gobber told stories of his previous encounters with the mythical dragon, including stealing a treasure box from frozen Vikings, being saved by Hammerhead Whales and Yaks and failing to trap the Boneknapper himself in a forest. The sheer odd nature of his stories soon tell the Viking teens why the village do not believe his claims of the Boneknapper being a real dragon.

Now stranded themselves after their ship sinks, Gobber convinces the Viking youngsters to help him catch the Boneknapper, using Fishlegs as bait. Unbeknownst to them, the Boneknapper appears behind them and begins to attack. In the confusion, the young dragon riders group are trapped beneath a gigantic ribcage. Luckily, Hiccup notices what the Boneknapper wants. The treasure Gobber took from the frozen Viking was a small belt buckle made of a tiny bone fragment. As the Boneknapper is always attempting to find the perfect bones for it’s armour, Hiccup notices the belt buckle fits the outline of a missing fragment from it’s neckplate. With some persuasion, Gobber agrees to give the bone back and the dragon becomes docile and friendly.

The Boneknapper flies the group back home, joined by others of it’s species, as Gobber laughs that Stoick will have to believe his claims now.

Gobber’s Hands

Gobber’s prostheses include:

In Legend of the Boneknapper Dragon, additional prostheses are shown in Gobber’s flashbacks, including:

Gobber the Belch

Gobber The Belch is a veteran warrior of the Hairy Hooligans Tribe and a long-time friend and adviser of Stoick the Vast.

Gobber the Belch

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Description

Gobber the Belch is a Viking known around Berk for his boisterous bellow and his absolute bravery. Having lost both his left hand and right leg in battle, Gobber displays remarkable courage when it comes to taking on dragons. However, with the loss of his limbs, he was eventually pulled further away from the battle field and into the village’s armory and smithy. There, he found a new role within the village, and through his skills as a blacksmith, was even able to custom design weapon attachments for his missing hand. Gobber’s talents are later made useful when he must make Hiccup’s prosthetic leg.

Outside of the smithy, Gobber also takes charge of the students in Dragon Training. He uses his extensive experiences in battle to teach the young Vikings all sorts of tips and tricks about dragons. With his guidance, the students learn how to locate a dragon’s blind spot, how to calculate the number of fire balls dragons can shoot before they run out, and how to think like a dragon to stay alert. Besides Hiccup and Fishlegs, Gobber is the Viking with the most knowledge of dragons.

Gobber helps Stoick the Vast with the issues he faces with his son, Hiccup. Although Hiccup’s desire is to be like the other Vikings, he is held back due to his lack of dragon fighting skills. As a result, Gobber persuades Stoick the Vast that Hiccup should be placed into training. Once in Dragon School, Gobber teaches Hiccup how to fight dragons, albeit reluctantly. Up until this point, Hiccup has been Gobber’s blacksmith apprentice, and did not take the training as well as one might hope for the son of the village chief. However, Hiccup eventually surprises Gobber with his dragon-taming abilities, so much so that Hiccup becomes Gobber’s most prized student.

Despite his handicap, Gobber also volunteers to go with Stoick the Vast to the Dragon Nest. Gobber is loyal almost to a fault; he is willing to do anything for his clan and for Stoick, even if it means risking his life. Gobber’s loyalty is best recalled when he distracts the Red Death without any plan on how to stop the gigantic dragon.

Gobber the Belch

Gobber the Belch is a Viking known for his boisterous bellow and his unwavering bravery. During his glory days as a warrior, Gobber displayed remarkable courage in the fight against Berk’s dragon invaders, losing both his left leg and most of his right arm in battle. With the loss of his limbs, he had to retire from the battlefield and take on a position as the village blacksmith, where his skills in weapon making and forging were unparalleled. He was known for designing a weaponized hand for himself and for making Hiccup’s prosthetic leg.

Outside of the smithy, Gobber trains young Vikings to defend themselves and Berk from dragons. Using his extensive experiences in battle, his students learn how to locate a dragon’s blind spot, how to calculate the number of fire balls a dragon can shoot before it runs out, and how to think like a dragon. Until Hiccup met Toothless, Gobber was Berk’s resident dragon expert.

Gobber is a loyal companion and is willing to do anything for his village, even if it means risking his own life. Whether it’s giving advice or storming into battle, Gobber is not only a fearless Viking, but a devoted friend. You can find him in Berk or around the School of Dragons, so stop by and say hello!

How To Train Your Dragon Characters list

Profile

Voice actor : Craig Ferguson

Main type : Official character

Used in a fan creation? : Used in a fan creation

Permission to use : Public

Character details : Medium details

Main color : Light red

Description

Gobber is the town’s blacksmith. He is in charge of creating weapons for the Vikings to use when facing off against dragons, and isn’t afraid to go against dragons himself. He lost his hand and leg to the dragons years ago. And one more thing: Hiccup is his incompetent apprentice.

Gobber seems to understand Hiccup pretty well, and isn’t at all embarrassed by him being unable to fight dragons. In fact, he seems to see Hiccup’s weakness as a gift, perhaps one that could come in handy.

He is in charge of training young Vikings to fight dragons, and is very surprised at Hiccup’s progression. When it is revealed that Hiccup has a dragon named Toothless, Gobber doesn’t seem to be too surprised.

He fights alongside Stoick in the final battle of the film, risking his own life to save the rest of the Vikings. He also makes a prosthetic leg for Hiccup after the latter loses his in the battle.

How to Train Your Dragon 2

In the How to Train Your Dragon films, Craig Ferguson voices Gobber the Belch, Hiccup’s Viking mentor and a comic sidekick whose early belligerent encounters with dragons cost him an arm and a leg. Stomping around on his peg-leg and wielding a variety of interchangeable tools as arm prostheses, Gobber is more useful in the armory forging weapons than he is in the fight. But he’s brave and loyal and enjoys a place of distinction and respect in the community of Berk. So why hasn’t he married?

In the new sequel, which reunites Hiccup’s parents, Gobber lets slip that settling down with a good woman was never in the cards for him. As Hiccup’s father Stoick (Gerard Butler) has his first little quarrel with Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett), Gobber mutters, “This is why I never married. This and one other reason.”

When Dragon 2 premiered at Cannes last month, audiences raised an eyebrow at the remark. Had battling dragons cost Gobber an appendage even more important than his arm and leg? Or… is Gobber gay?

It’s the latter. Ferguson ad-libbed the second part of the line, and director Dean DeBlois chose to keep it in. “The nice thing that Craig brought to it is, it’s such a hand-off line that I think for the older members of the audience, it’ll take them a moment to realize, like, ‘Did he just say what I think he said?’” says DeBlois. “And then you’re moving on. [The movie] treats it like normalcy, and that’s what I really like about it. Because I’m a gay man, and I don’t draw attention to myself for that reason. It’s just a fact of who I am, and the way the world is, and it’s nice to treat it as just a passing notion that isn’t something that people have to get so up in arms about. I think it makes people chuckle, and in every test screening we’ve had, it’s always gone over really well. I know there are probably a few people whose feathers it will ruffle, but you can’t worry too much about that. Particularly in 2014. It’s so prevalent out there, in TV shows and movies. It’s the norm, as it should be. I’m proud of it. It contributes to the daring and progressive quality of the storytelling of this [planned] trilogy.”

Gobber isn’t the first gay character in a mainstream animated movie; Mitch (Casey Affleck) was a gay dumb jock in 2012’s ParaNorman. Some social conservatives had a problem with Mitch, but thus far, there’s been an encouraging lack of feather-ruffling about the Gobber revelation in Dragons 2, which is being distributed by Fox.

So now that Gobber is officially out, might he get a fulfilling relationship in the third film? “I haven’t really mapped out all the details going forward,” says DeBlois. “I’m not quite sure. I think people get a little nervous about the idea that it’s suddenly going to become really graphic and a tangent. It’s never going to be that.”