#VicksFlicks Special Edition: How To Train Your Dragon (2025)
The magic of the OG animated film can’t be replicated, but I guess we can’t fault DreamWorks and writer/director Dean DeBlois for trying.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025) - 3.5 out of 5 stars
DreamWorks’ first (though certainly not its last) live-action remake has difficulty justifying its own existence. Going from the five-star animated film to this just feels pointless if you’re not adding anything new. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Maybe you get a few new fans out of it, but once they see the original - they will undoubtedly share in my sentiments. Nevertheless, if you’re going to go down this path of producing these live action-remakes of your own animated classics, DreamWorks has at least succeeded where others continue to fail. Dean DeBlois, writer/director of the HTTYD animated trilogy, returns to bring his remarkable vision to life, avoiding the lazy, lackluster route that we all have had to suffer through. It’s sincere, has a sizable amount of care and heart, and flies with its soul intact. Disney should take note.
The cast, featuring Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Nico Parker, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, and Harry Trevaldwyn, are great - fitting into their characters wonderfully. No surprise there from Butler since he’s had plenty of practice. As Hiccup, Mason Thames is terrific, subtly making the role his own as he takes the reins of this remake and the sequels that will surely follow. Of course, he has a little help from Toothless. He looks phenomenal with no signs of his personality and adorability being lost in the conversion. Production design is fantastic and the visual effects are sensational with the flying sequences being breathtaking. John Powell’s score is just as incredible as it is in the animated OG.
The magic of the animated film can’t be replicated, but I guess we can’t fault DreamWorks and DeBlois for trying. And considering this is essentially a shot-by-shot remake - it makes sense they pull off some of that precise magic audiences felt back in 2010. This doesn’t soar, yet it does manage to pleasantly surprise by understanding what made the animated films so successful (over a billion dollars!) and never veering away from that. It’s also perhaps further proof of why this is unnecessary. Either way, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s entertaining and still a spectacle. When Toothless flies, it is a sight to see whether it’s animated or live-action.