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Cressida Cowell

Cressida Cowell

Writer · Born April 15, 1966 (60) · London, England, UK

Cressida Cowell (born 15 April 1966) is an English children's author, popularly known for the novel series, How to Train Your Dragon, which has subsequently become an award-winning franchise as adapted for the screen by DreamWorks Animation. As of 2015, the series has sold more than seven million copies around the world. Description above from the Wikipedia article Cressida Cowell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
April 15, 1966 (60)
From
London, England, UK
Works as
Writer
Titles
15 on MovieCove · 21 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 63 days to Oct 26Up 22% in 30 days

What are Cressida Cowell's films like?

Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Bonds
57%
Society
27%
Self
10%
Ideas
6%
Friendship6 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds6 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity5 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 6 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Light: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their light movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 5 · Serious 1 · Dark 0

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 0 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 1

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 3 · Intense 0

Steady: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their steady movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 4 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0

Some laughs: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their some laughs movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 0 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 2

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 1

Casual: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their casual movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 5 · Engaged 1 · Full focus 0

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 6 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Joyful
8
Warm
6
Thrilling
4
Hopeful
2
Contemplative
3
Other
1

How their films linger

Feel-good6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet2

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Cressida Cowell's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 11 of their 15 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (5).

Subscription and free streaming for Cressida Cowell's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

21 credits, 15 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Career shape

A full career of 18 titles, 17 of them dated from 2010 to 2025.

Biggest box office

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)

$540M worldwide

Highest rated

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Dragons: Race to the Edge (2015)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Writing18 of 18: 18 only writing, 0 with another role · typical Midcredits score84th

By decade

2010s12 · crew2020s5 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

How do Cressida Cowell's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 92nd percentile, the median of all 11; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 90th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Approval · how many liked their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Reach · how many have seen their films

92ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 6

Midcredits score across 15 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up9
  • 50th to 74th1
  • 25th to 49th3
  • Below 25th2

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 15 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Divisive2
  • Cult Classic3
  • Crowd Pleaser3

Most divisive · writer

Dragons: The Nine Realms (2021)

95th percentile spread · 42% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · writer

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Midcredits 99th · 92% liked

Reviewers score the dialogue 58/100 and the plot and story 46/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Cressida Cowell's work okay for kids?

Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.

Their medianMedian of all films
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 36 · moderateMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 14 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity4 titlesmedian 7 · minimalMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs3 titlesmedian 9 · minimalMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense3 titlesmedian 37 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.

Who does Cressida Cowell work with?

People who share at least 2 of Cressida Cowell's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; America Ferrera shares the most, 8.

Directors

Writers

Actors

  • America Ferrera8 titles    See all 8 shared titles with America Ferrera
  • Christopher Mintz-Plasse8 titles    See all 8 shared titles with Christopher Mintz-Plasse
  • Jay Baruchel8 titles    See all 8 shared titles with Jay Baruchel
  • Craig Ferguson5 titles    See all 5 shared titles with Craig Ferguson

Composers, cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles