The MBTI Personality Types in How To Train Your Dragon

Once upon a time, someone requested the MBTI type of Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon, but with the request list backup, we didn’t get around to it until just recently. Of course, it seemed like a shame to watch all three movies and only produce one solitary article. However, the other characters don’t quite seem developed enough for their own individual articles, so we’re going to do this style of article to briefly hit them all.

Now, bear in mind, the information was somewhat limited in the movies, and we’re not really interested in checking out the TV series. So, with that being said, my intent is to casually share our rationale with you, which will ultimately result in our best guess for each significant character. I welcome questions and thoughts, but I’m not going to die on a hill over the MBTI personality types of any of the How To Train Your Dragon characters.

The MBTI Personality Types in How To Train Your Dragon

The primary, reoccurring cast for this series consists of Hiccup, his fellow students/friends, his father, his mother, and his teacher. Some of these characters are technically not type-able (in my opinion), so this goes a bit against my nature, but I’m still going to go ahead and explain what I see and give you a guess. Remember: It is a guess.

Anyhow, let’s dive right in since there are quite a few characters to cover.

Hiccup – INTP

We have an in-depth article of Hiccup’s MBTI type linked below, but here’s a brief overview. Hiccup presents as a fairly obvious perceiver, and more specifically, an Ne user. He leans heavily into his inventions to account for his physical weakness (rather than trying to get physically stronger). He also lives in a world of possibilities, which is most clearly demonstrated by his father’s frustration over the boy hunting for trolls during a fishing trip. While the Ne is clear, Hiccup seems more cautious than a dominant Ne user, being one to wait and think things through prior to action. However, he doesn’t do this to the extent a judger might. Overall, he appears to have an ‘analysis first’ approach. Evidence for the Ti/Fe axis can specifically be seen in his unemotional nature (Ti), his desire to belong (Fe), and the way he describes himself. He will frame things in the context of what he is not rather than what he is, which suggests Ti identity rather than Fi identity. This is shown in the second movie when he’s talking with Astrid about whether or not he will take over as chief.

Read more: How To Train Your Dragon: Hiccup (INTP)

Astrid – ESTJ

Most type Astrid as an ISTJ, and I respect this opinion. Ryan and I almost went with that ourselves. However, the big thing that stands out about her right from the beginning is that she is aggressive, very aggressive. Sure, we can attribute driven, harsh, and critical to Te in general, but she seems far more extra than I’d expect from an introverted sensing dominant. There is also that moment at the end where she hits Hiccup and then pulls him in for a kiss. That’s really bold. Naturally, I’m not saying an ISTJ can’t be bold, but Astrid’s growth seems to be the opposite of what I’d expect. I would expect an ISTJ to start quiet and then get bolder and more vocal as the movies progress. Astrid actually mellows out as the movies progress, which is more common for extraverts. Of course, to go along with Te dominance, we need to see inferior Fi. For Astrid, the over eagerness to prove herself in the first movie suggests inferior Fi. Hiccup also points out in the second movie that she has always known “exactly who” she is, which struck as low Fi in general, but not necessarily which placement.

As for her perceiving axis, Astrid tends to want a plan, and seems bothered when Hiccup acts impulsively. This points to high introverted perceiving (Si or Ni), which supports her being a judger. Good examples of Si specifically can be seen in the way she feels the weight of inheriting her parent’s war, and when she flatly lists off to Hiccup (in the first movie) everything he just lost. (Prompting the “Thank you for summing that up.”) Of course, she wasn’t trying to be mean; it was just her Si + Te making conversation.

Stoick – ESTJ

Stoick is your stereotypical, imbalanced ESTJ. He’s bossy, in charge, and demands complete obedience. He’s traditional, and struggles with the idea that Hiccup is different. Not only that, but he tries to tell Hiccup that he needs to walk and talk like them, which suggests high Si and low Ne. Stoick essentially asserts his will on Hiccup, in spite of what Hiccup actually wants. He struggles to connect with his son and constantly fails to listen to him. We considered ISTJ, but Stoick seems much too hasty to make decisions instead of gathering more information. For example, if he were a Si dominant, I would expect him to hear Hiccup out and then dismiss everything he said, rather than assuming he knows what Hiccup will say and/or refusing to listen at all.

Generally speaking, Stoick is very protective of his village and takes his role very seriously. In the second movie, he quickly assumes war is coming and instantly begins preparing. (This is another sign of Te > Si, because he wouldn’t take a few minutes to hear Hiccup out before taking action.) His inferior Fi shows in how embarrassed he gets by Hiccup’s lack of classic Viking abilities. He gets overly worried about his reputation due to his son’s actions, which results in him making extremely insensitive comments and public jokes at his son’s expense. One example of this is when he says he is able to show his face in public again now that Hiccup had earned the right to kill a dragon at their school’s ceremony.

Valka – ENFJ

I’m hesitant on this one. We considered ESFP and ENFP due to how easily she seems to detach herself from her home and family, starting a new life with the dragons. However, once we actually begin to see her casual interactions with her son and other villagers, she doesn’t really show any signs of Te, which shouldn’t be the case as an EXFP. For example, she is carefully critical of the raid in the third movie, which is in clear contrast to Astrid. Valka casually agrees with Astrid’s criticisms, rather than being critical herself. In addition, Snotlout is constantly saying dumb things to her, and she just plays along with him. She basically flatters him and makes him feel special. This struck a lot more like Fe. She never gets snarky or shuts him down. Another support for high Fe is in the speech she initially gives Hiccup when first meeting him, which includes the statement: “This gift we share, it bonds us.” Her group-oriented style of language there and the attempt to focus on their common ground seems to indicate Fe. Later, she also encourages Astrid to support Hiccup, reminding her that the two of them are stronger together.

As for her perceiving axis, that speech mentioned earlier struck me as more intuitive, but that’s just a passing thought. Her role of giving advice from the background seems somewhat Ni. In addition, I still feel inclined to put Se in her stack somewhere (as opposed to Si) due to her long stint with the dragons, because it’s like she outright discards the past. She never bothers to check in on her son, and completely immerses herself in that new life.

Ruffnut – ENTP

Ruffnut doesn’t get a lot of screen time, so she can’t really be typed with any degree of certainty. However, the first thing that’s fairly obvious about her is that she seems to be a thinker. She has harsh mannerisms and never appears empathetic in the least. The next glaringly obvious characteristic is that she’s impulsive, which suggests some kind of extraverted dominant. This is further supported by the fact that she lacks all sense of boundaries or personal space, which is made abundantly clear when she’s poking at the guy that she finds attractive in the second movie. She also makes a comment to Hiccup in the third movie, saying “I never look back, Hiccup.” This is in reference to the fact that the enemy had let her go. She never thought to question it; she just leapt into action and left. This all points to being an extraverted perceiving dominant (Ne or Se).

Ultimately, the reason we went with ENTP is because of the scene in the third movie, when she’s being held prisoner. Not only does she excel at endlessly rambling, but the jumps made within the dialogue struck specifically like Ne. I didn’t get any quotes from it, though, so you’ll have to check it out for yourself and see what you think.

Tuffnut – EXTP

Tuffnut is honestly even harder to type than his sister. He comes off very similar, which makes me want to give him a similar personality type. He’s impulsive, and doesn’t really think things through. In the third movie, he misses the fact that his sister got left behind, in spite of the fact that they share the same two-headed dragon. He’s similarly harsh, but there are indications of a working feeling function in him, which seems like tertiary Fe. In the third movie, he pulls Hiccup aside for “boy talk” and tries to give him advice and a pep talk. During which, he points out all of his flaws, insults him, tells him that he needs to be worthy of Astrid, and then offers to help. The whole thing struck me like high Ti and low Fe, since he keeps the focus on Hiccup, but basically nitpicks him the whole time rather than encouraging him. The “bro” approach that he takes also kind of struck me like a possible ESTP, but that’s a trope I’m leaning into, so pay it little mind. He could easily be an ENTP like his sister.

 

Snotlout – ESFP

Snotlout is another impulsive one. He does stupid, ill thought out things like forgetting to fireproof his butt for a raid, and as a result, gets burned. I quickly pegged him as Fi/Te for a couple of different reasons. In the first movie, when Gobber is telling them the story of how he lost his leg, Snotlout gets swept up in the tale and passionately proclaims that he will avenge Gobber’s “beautiful hand” and “beautiful leg.” He also spends a large amount of time trying to assert himself, prove his worth, and appear like a tough guy. In the third movie, we see him trying to demand respect (Te), and wishing he could erect a “tower of manliness in the shape of me.”

 

Gobber – XSTP

Honestly, I don’t have much to say about this character. He lacks social couth, but presents like a perceiver. He’s more laid back, certainly in comparison to Stoick, and tries to advise Stoick to let Hiccup enroll in the dragon training school, in spite of all Stoick’s worries. Furthermore, he basically tells him it’ll be fine, and that it can’t hurt. We also know that he follows the thought process of learning by doing, which he tells his students when they complain about his dangerous method of teaching. This all sounds specifically like an SP. Therefore, with that all being said, I tend to see him as an STP. I’m hesitant as to which though and don’t really want to state an opinion either way.

 

Fishlegs – ISFJ or INFP

Fishlegs presents as more sensitive and empathetic than the rest, suggesting that he is a feeler. He also has fairly obvious Si. He keeps reference cards on him to identify dragons with. Furthermore, he spouts statistics during training exercises. He also feels concerned about Gobber’s training methods, presumably due to them seeming to be unnecessarily dangerous. Some of this suggests that maybe his Si is dominant because he’s not really “going with the flow” very well. He’s also likely introverted, though (because he comes off pretty low-key otherwise), which could make him struggle to adapt more. A pretty solid Ne moment for him happens when Gobber is telling the tale of how he lost his hand and leg. Fishlegs makes a “what-if” speculation about Gobber’s lost hand killing the dragon from the inside. This could be higher Ne, but it’s also not out of the realm of possibility for a lower Ne user. Either way, that’s about all I have on this character.

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!