'How to Train Your Dragon' Review: One adventure changes two worlds

After years of watching Disney get rich off of soulless live action remakes, Dreamworks throws their hat in the ring... and somehow produces a soaring companion to the animated original

I’ve gone on and on about my distaste for Disney’s series of live action remakes of their animated classics. At their foundation, the concept is unabashedly lazy. Whether it’s the sheer disinterest in doing anything self-analytical to improve upon the original property or the corporate handwringing that influences those changes, misfire after misfire has only made me more and more cynical with every release. The worst offender, by a country mile, is Jon Favreau’s The Lion King (2019), whose emotionless documentary style “live-action” approach only further dug the studio a deeper hole with how soullessly every solitary aspect was translated. The only problem is that Disney would go on to fill that hole with $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office for that film alone, proving that just because a movie is inferior doesn’t mean it isn’t profitable.

However, the hype may be dying off for Disney. Earlier this year, Marc Webb’s Snow White (2025) resulted in a box office bomb for the studio. With Snow White’s stylistic choices, uncanny valley CGI dwarves, and largely publicized political differences between stars Rachel Zegler (pro-Palestine) and Gal Gadot (pro-Israel), the production was plagued with controversy, resulting in a $205 million worldwide box office against its $240-270 million budget. If there was any doubt that this was solely a genre problem, however, longtime competitor Dreamworks decided to try their hand at converting an animated favorite, Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois’ How to Train Your Dragon (2010), into live action.

There were stark differences between how Disney did their live action remakes and how Dreamworks was doing their first. The film just so happens to coincide with the opening of Universal Studios’ new theme park, Universal Epic Universe, and as my friend Rob pointed out to me, they’re likely banking on the film being a massive hit since their investment is two-fold. Not only that, but with co-director DeBlois taking full responsibility for the direction of How to Train Your Dragon (2025), emphasis was placed on the importance of being faithful to the source material. Now that the film is out, I completely understand if the concept alone turns people off and plays into the same weaknesses as Disney’s live action remakes. Admittedly, this film is almost a one-to-one translation of the original and the simple notion of hitting cut-and-paste in a different format is a fair criticism that echoes the same sentiments. However, with the concept of live action remakes still being tinkered with, at the very least, I’d rather see a film honor what made its counterpart special rather than bastardize it entirely. Call it naive or wishful thinking, but if the film entertains, it entertains… and I was entertained.

To get an understanding of why How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is the live action remake that works the best you need to analyze its individual parts. First and foremost, the look of the original film is translated beautifully into live action, with the production design, sets, and costumes given the attention to detail necessary to capture the gorgeous village of Berk. The same can be said for the filmmaking itself, with cinematographer Bill Pope shooting the hell out of the lush landscapes of Belfast, Ireland, pieced together seamlessly by Wyatt Smith. For a film so stringent on playing it safe with its narrative, all aspects of adapting the source material into a new format are done with fervent attention and care.

The film also benefits from a cast of characters who evoke the emotional prowess and smart-aleck sensibilities of the original film, none better than Mason Thames, portraying anxious lead Hiccup. For a lead who’s on-screen a solid 90% of the runtime, balancing hiding a lesser-known breed of dragon from his village while simultaneously building a bond, Thames is able to elicit the inner turmoil while making the character his own. Similarly, the supporting performances are all strong and well-cast. Nick Frost brings a delightful, tough-love motivation to Gobber the Belch and Nico Parker’s interpretation of Astrid helps break through the film’s comedic highs to bring Hiccup down to Earth. Obviously though, the standout is Gerard Butler as Hiccup’s father Stoick the Vast in a casting decision carried over from the 2010 original. Butler’s presence and commitment to the role command attention on-screen in a performance that extends past the actor’s vocal performance. Even though there are some who stumble in their performance, such as the indignant, try-hard comic relief of Hiccup’s dragon school chums, they’re at least failing in comparison to the original, which was already weak.

Again, a lot of the compliments I’m slathering on are largely owed to the source material because DeBlois isn’t taking any large narrative risks here. At the very least, the output of How to Train Your Dragon (2025) helped to clarify my stance on a contentious trend in modern moviemaking, and for that I’m thankful. If live-action remakes are to continue full steam ahead like it looks that they are, I’d rather the film approach the project with respect for its origins than trample all over it to pander to the lowest common denominator. The way I look at How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is like a video game remaster, such as 2018’s Spyro Reignited Trilogy. They’re the same games that came out in 1999-2001 (same script, collectibles, tasks, etc), but given a fresh coat of paint to be enjoyed for a new generation. The original games, like How to Train Your Dragon (2010) are still there for people to play whenever they like, but the new film helps bridge the gap for new audiences to enjoy. The stark differences and choices between Lilo & Stitch (2002) and Lilo & Stitch (2025) were enough to aptly see there was a superior version. Given how much I enjoy How to Train Your Dragon’s (2010) artistry and storytelling, I enjoyed its live action counterpart just as much. It might not be necessary in concept, but seeing the film prove it can hold its own outside of the shadow of the original makes me believe that both can exist in harmony.

B

Feature image credit to Dreamworks via Empire