HP Technology Powers DreamWorks Animation's New Film "How To Train Your Dragon." (Graphic: Business Wire)

The power of HP (NYSE: HPQ) technology and the creative strength of DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) fuse once again as the studio’s bar-raising achievement in 3-D animation, “ How to Train Your Dragon,” hits theaters today.

Audiences will experience thousands of fire-breathing flying dragons and hundreds of armored Vikings along with crashing waves and lush forests – all in spectacular 3-D. The film’s technological breakthroughs are due in part to the unprecedented power of the HP technology that helped bring to life the characters and story of “How to Train Your Dragon.” This includes HP Z800 Workstations, HP ProLiant blade servers, HP Halo Telepresence Solutions, HP DreamColor displays, storage solutions and HP Designjet printers.

“How to Train Your Dragon” is an adventure comedy set in a mythical world of Vikings and wild dragons that is based loosely on the book by Cressida Cowell. The film tells the story of Hiccup, a Viking teenager who doesn’t exactly fit in with his tribe’s long-standing tradition of heroic dragon slayers. Hiccup’s world is turned upside down when he encounters a dragon that challenges him and his fellow Vikings to see the world from an entirely different point of view.

For ultimate performance, production artists at DreamWorks Animation used powerful HP Z800 Workstations to design everything on the film from characters to lighting. According to DreamWorks Animation, the HP Z800 proved to be significantly faster than its predecessor – providing speeds up to 50 percent faster.

“At DreamWorks Animation, technology and creativity go hand in hand and a large part of my job is to ensure that our filmmakers can dream without boundaries,” said Ed Leonard, chief technology officer, DreamWorks Animation. “With the help of HP’s amazing technological breakthroughs, our artists are able to bring our worlds and characters to life on screen in sequences that are just as detailed and visually rich as they can possibly imagine.”