I gotta be honest here, when I first heard about this whole live action How to Train Your Dragon remake happening I was like "meh another cash grab situation" because the truth is that live action movies are not the best, Netflix have been having some success with One Piece and Avatar but movies? not really. After watching Disney absolutely butcher most of their classic animated movies with these soulless live action versions I wasn't exactly too eager to watch this but then my wife watch it and said it was great, so I had some spare time and decided to jump in. DreamWorks actually pulled it off and I'm kinda shocked about how good this turned out to be, this isn't just some random director coming in and trying to put their own spin on something that was already perfect, Dean DeBlois who co directed the original animated version came back to do this one, which makes all the difference in the world. You can feel that this guy actually cares about the source material, he's not trying to reinvent the wheel or add some weird modern twist that nobody asked for, Disney should take a page out of this. Instead he took what worked perfectly in 2010 and basically gave us a live action version that feels like watching the animated movie through a different lens but still keeps all the heart that made us fall in love with Hiccup and Toothless in the first place. The whole thing runs about thirty minutes longer than the original but it doesn't feel bloated or stretched out like most of these remakes do, it just feels like we are getting more time to hang out in this world that we already loved.
Rottentomatoes Rating
As any other live action the cast is key, they didnt work with ultra known names, this is where things could've gone really wrong but somehow they managed to nail pretty much every single casting choice. Mason Thames as Hiccup is absolutely perfect and I was worried about this one because Jay Baruchel's voice was so iconic in the animated version but Thames brings his own energy to the role without trying to do some weird impersonation, you cant use the same voices because they it might give the impression of a cartoonish human so got to be cautious with faces and voices that at least have some similarities, in fact they manage to do it on this movie. The kid actually looks like he could be Hiccup, he got that skinny, awkward vibe but also has this determination that makes you root for him from the very first scene. Gerard Butler coming back as Stoick is probably the best decision they made, because this dude IS Stoick and seeing him physically become the character instead of just voicing him adds so much more weight to those father son moments. Nico Parker as Astrid was another casting choice that really worked out in favor of the movie, she got this fierce energy that makes her believable as someone who could actually kick ass in dragon training, but she also has these softer moments that make the romantic subplot feel natural instead of forced, things really flow. Nick Frost stepping in as Gobber was a smart move too as he brings this different energy than Craig Ferguson did in the animated version but it still feels right for the character, its like somehow some of the characters on the live action have small contrast to the animated version but still work out, after all on the live action you are also looking for that human character side. The supporting cast of teenage dragon trainers all worked pretty well too, they managed to give each of them their own personality without making them feel like cartoon characters trying to exist in a live action world.
The CGI and production value in this movie are absolutely incredible and this is coming from someone who usually complains about CGI in these big budget movies. Toothless looks amazing, even though he doesn't look that massive as someone would expect from a dragon, he got all that cat like charm that made him so loveable in the animated version but now he feels like a real creature that could actually exist in this world, still looks animated and very fictional and not like a dragon from other productions but making him look fierce and menace was never the plan as they were trying to replicate the animated version. The flying scenes are probably the best part of the whole movie, there is something about seeing these sequences in live action that just hits different, especially that test flight scene where Hiccup and Toothless are learning to trust each other, plus the music on every one of this scenes. The island of Berk feels like a real place too, they filmed a lot of this in Ireland and you can tell because of the awesome looking landscapes and give the whole thing this epic vibes that works perfectly for the story. The dragon designs are all dead straight the same as to the animated versions but they also try to gave it this realistic texture that makes them feel more dangerous and powerful as a dragon is suppose to be, which actually adds to the emotional impact when these characters are learning to overcome their fear. Going back to those musical themes, they really kick in ad add to the fantasy side of the movie, especially during the emotional beats between Hiccup and his father making The action sequences feel bigger and more intense than the animated version but they never feel overwhelming or like they are trying too hard to be a blockbuster.
Its not easy to stay faithful to the original content once its out for some reason, I still haven't figure out why most of the time since the entire formula is there in front of you, wonder if its because of rating or audience preference, this remake does manage to stay within the lines and still justifying its existence, mostly like a very good upgrade to the content, as most of this live action versions feel pointless. This one actually understands what made the animated version so special and finds ways to enhance those moments instead of changing them just to be different of sell something totally different to the original vision. The father son relationship between Hiccup and Stoick has even more emotional punch here because you are seeing real human actors bring these characters to life, those moments where Stoick is struggling to connect with his son hit harder when you can see the pain in Gerard Butler. The friendship between Hiccup and Toothless is just as magical as it was in the animated version, maybe even more so because seeing a real person interact with this dragon makes the bond feel more life and real. The pacing is really good too, they added some extra scenes that give the supporting characters more development without slowing down the main story plus the humor works really well as it did to the animated version, it's not trying to be a comedy but there are good laughs that come from the characters being themselves rather than forced jokes expecting the audience to laugh, its the characters just having fun. As the whole movie is very emotion I also think that the darker moments hit harder too, when things get scary or emotional, the live action format really helps sell those moments.
The bottom line in my opinion this is some of the best life actions I have seen considering I have no attachment at all to the animated version, this is probably the best live action remake of an animated movie that I've ever seen and I have been through a lot of terrible ones over the years, that Avatar movie in 2010 or the many Dragon Ball and Saint Seiya life action movies, dont get me started on those because I dont know WHEN someone is going to make things right for those last two. Dean DeBlois and his team understood that the key to making this work wasn't to reinvent everything but to take what was already perfect and find a way to make it work in live action without losing any of the heart or magic. The cast is great, the effects are amazing, the story still works perfectly without drastic changes just because its humans now and it actually feels like it was made by people who love the original animated version instead of executives who just wanted to make a quick buck. My only real complaint is why a live action because the animated version didn't need to be remade but since it does exist, I'm glad they did it right, the original movie is not as legendary as say Aang story imo, so why make it a live action just exactly as to the original movie and not make a sequel??. Still this is how you do a live action remake, Disney should take notes instead of continuing to pump out soulless versions of their classics that nobody asked for, Snow White (2025). If you loved the original How to Train Your Dragon, you are gonna love this one too since it's basically the same experience but with real actors and better effects, which is exactly what it should be. I'd give this thing an 8 out of 10, it's not perfect but it is damn close to being the perfect remake and that is ay more than I ever expected as I first watch the live action and then the animated version lol.
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