YMMV / How to Train Your Dragon: Homecoming

• Abandon Shipping: Even fans who previously liked the Light Fury and her relationship with Toothless were put off by her actions in the short. A common criticism is that she comes across as emotionally abusive towards Toothless and that her behavior is an obstacle to a possible reproachment between humans and dragons in the future.
• Accidental Aesop: Since the dragons left, the progress that Berk's residents made in understanding them is shown to have been largely lost on future generations. The children are superstitious and fearful of dragons until they themselves get to actually see one in person, and the unhappiness even extents to the dragons' side with Toothless' own offspring being desperate to leave the Hidden World. Many fans saw this premise as unintentionally confirming a common complaint about the separation in the final film, retroactively showing the franchise's ending in an even worse light.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: The Light Fury's behavior throughout the short. She's less than impressed with Toothless showing the Night Lights his drawing of Hiccup and very unhappy when he suggests visiting, to the point where he has to sidle up to her apologetically. She's also the one to hustle the family out of New Berk, just as Toothless is connecting with Zephyr. Already a divisive character, opinions are mixed as to whether she's being jealous and manipulative or just afraid for the Night Lights.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Dart, the blue-eyed Night Light, whose curiosity towards humans, resourcefulness, and being the only character who shows any discontent with the situation between dragons and humans as it stands quickly endeared her to the fandom. Depictions of her growing up and leading the dragons back into the world above are very common.
• Fanon: Since Valka's nowhere to be seen in this special and never mentioned, a popular fan theory holds that she went off to be with Cloudjumper.
• Ho Yay: Gobber's descriptions and recollections of Stoick gives off this vibe for some.
• Salvaged Story: To alleviate the complaints that Toothless forgetting Hiccup entirely would cement the destruction of the progress for coexistence between humans and dragons, this short establishes that Toothless still remembers Hiccup even after a decade and teaches his kids about his life with humans.
• Tear Jerker: Hiccup's unbridled joy at seeing Toothless again at the end, believing his dragon has come back specifically to visit him. In fact, Toothless has not...and he never even looks back.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • With Zephyr and Nuffink initially fearing dragons, Valka could have provided her grandchildren with her own insight to change their minds, having lived among and tamed dragons even longer than Hiccup did. Instead, Valka is not seen or mentioned at all.
  • The other dragons are not shown at all in the Hidden World. We never see how they are coping with the separation from humans, and Toothless never thinks to enlist their help when looking for his children.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Many were disappointed that the special doesn't address a major issue of controversy regarding the events from the third movie, namely why dragons and humans have to be separated the way they are now. It's simply maintained that it's how things have to be and everyone is better off for it, without any attempt being made to explain why. If anything, the special unintentionally reinforces that the dragons leaving was a bad idea that leaves both them and humans unhappy.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • The Light Fury gets the worst of it for her possessive behaviour towards Toothless, but the short doesn't show Toothless at his best either. Upon finding himself in New Berk and discovering that Hiccup not only misses him dearly, but has put on a pageant in his honor, Toothless's response is of course to...leave immediately, going out of his way to avoid interacting with Hiccup face-to-face. He's happy to eat the special meal Hiccup left for him, however.
  • Gobber's actions are presented as him still grieving over Stoick's death and wanting to honour his friend's legacy, but many viewers found him completely overhauling the pageant to make the story entirely about Stoick, casually robbing Hiccup of his own proud achievements, to be uncharacteristically hypocritical and insensitive of him. To make matters worse, Gobber never has a moment where he learns the error of his ways, and Hiccup even congratulates him on the show's success.