Product Info

Studio

Universal Pictures

Director

Dean DeBlois

Genre

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Jun 13, 2025

Film Length

2hr 5min

Purchase From

How to Train Your Dragon takes flight on the big screen once again, this time in a new live-action adaptation. The film soars in the right direction but encounters a few minor bumps along the way.

Return to the Sky

© 2024 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Dean DeBlois, who directed the original animated trilogy of How to Train Your Dragon, returns to direct the 2025 live-action film. This move by Universal Pictures is a smart decision to keep the success of the series going. The 2010 animated movie was based on the book by Cressida Cowell, and the live-action film closely follows the animated version.

After Disney’s numerous attempts to make their beloved films into live-action versions, many fans of How to Train Your Dragon are skeptical about this remake. However, there is no need to worry as the film stays true to the animated movie, almost like a copy and paste with different visual effects. Many of the iconic scenes and dialogues from the original movie are still present in the live-action version. Additionally, the soundtrack’s orchestrated and Celtic vibes are retained, thanks to John Powell returning to compose for the new film.

A New Coat of Paint

© 2024 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The story follows Hiccup, played by Mason Thames (The Black Phone, For All Mankind), who is the village chief’s son and more of an outcast due to his body size and quirks. His village, which is ravaged by dragons stealing their stock, uses a tool he invented to take down a Night Fury, one of the most dangerous dragons that no one has seen in person. Hiccup finds the injured dragon and instead of killing it to showcase he’s a mighty Viking to his father and villagers, he decides to let the dragon go and instead heals it back to normal. Given the name by Hiccup, Toothless warms up to Hiccup and creates a special bond between the two. This is just the start of their adventure together with the clash between Hiccup’s village and the dragons.

While it’s a fresh breath of air that fans will receive what they want, a remake that closely follows the original, it can also be a hindrance as fans are already aware of what each event is and about to occur, removing the surprise element. For new fans, it still carries the same fun ride as the animation. Some scenes carry more emotion and fun in the animation as the live-action tends to be a bit more serious.

© 2024 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

The visual designs of Toothless are spot on with additional textures to make the black dragon feel and look more real. The movement and facial expressions match the animation very closely. The other dragons also carry the additional textures and visual effects, but Toothless was paid more attention to due to his popularity and as one of the main characters in the film.

The lead actors portray their roles quite well. Mason playing as Hiccup portrays both dialogue and body language very well as the animated film, though as mentioned earlier, the live-action feels more serious and less energetic than the animation. Gerard Butler (Olympus Has Fallen, 300), originally the voice actor as Hiccup’s father, Stoick, now plays as Stoick and does a great job portraying in real life.

© 2024 Universal Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Nico Parker (Dumbo, The Last of Us) as Astrid does mostly a good job portraying Astrid’s fiery and confident attitude. However the other young Vikings such as Snotlout, Ruffnut, and Tuffnut are just there for some gags and additional noise. With the film having about an extra twenty minutes added compared to the 2010 version, it would have been great to see a little more out of this bunch such as some backstory to make it feel like they have more importance than just the climax showcasing their abilities. The live-action version does sprinkle in a few extra scenes to add some depth in other areas such as additional scenes of Spitelout’s father and the build-up to the battle against the dragons. A little more dialogue could have added more character depth.

The Final Flight

How to Train Your Dragon does a great job of staying true to the original story. It doesn’t offer any new surprises, but it’s a fun ride for both fans and newcomers. Expect Universal Pictures to release sequels in the near future.

An early screening in IMAX provided for How to Train Your Dragon for this review. The live-action film soars into theaters on June 13, 2025. Showtimes and tickets can be found on the film’s official website.