With the amount of live-action Disney remakes that are out there, it seems the library of DreamWorks Animation is now going through a similar treatment, at least when it comes to the studio’s most acclaimed franchise. Whereas the original Shrek remains great, despite having diminishing sequels, the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy that was released during the last decade remains a beloved fantasy series that were a cut above the many children’s animated movies. It has been fifteen years since we were introduced to the animated world of Vikings and dragons, and are we ready for a revisit?
If you haven’t seen the 2010 original, don’t worry as the live-action remake tells the exact same story, which takes place on the rugged Isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations. As Hiccup (Mason Thames), the inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) tries to prove himself that he is worthy of killing a dragon, he ends up developing an unlikely bond with a feared Night Fury dragon that he names Toothless.
Considering it originated from the children’s books by Cressida Cowell, the 2010 original directed by Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois shared a lot of similarities with James Cameron’s Avatar. Both films that not only embraced the spectacle of flight through 3D technology, but they also focus on a war between humans and a fantastic race with a human protagonist somewhat switching sides. What sets the How to Train Your Dragon series apart from Cameron’s sci-fi is its central friendship between a human that is as much an outcast as the dragon that he befriends, which feels like an extension of the themes explored in Sanders and DeBlois’s Disney entry Lilo & Stitch.
In the case of this live-action adaptation that is solely written and directed by DeBlois, it is not far off from the original script that he co-wrote with Sanders and Will Davies. While there is some additional stuff that expands on the Viking mythology and more scenes and dialogue to show more character development, you can pretty much view this as a shot-for-shot remake with the narrative doing pretty much the same beats. It would be easy to slam How to Train Your Dragon for being a slavishly faithful version of what came before, as well as comparing it to the current wave of Disney remakes, but the moment Hiccup and Toothless starts bonding whilst composer John Powell recreates what is arguably his most iconic score, you remember what you love about this story in the first place.
Although there is an extra 27 minutes compared to the original’s running time, DeBlois’ film doesn’t fall into the pitfalls of Disney remakes, such as overly expensive CGI to make it look like the cartoon, or the cynical attempt to be more progressive, especially towards princesses who are now girlbosses that scream out power ballads. As much as there is more motivation for Astrid training to be a dragon slayer, the remake never robs away from what an awesome character she has always been, and Nico Parker’s standout performance reminds you of that. In fact, everyone is spot-on in their respected roles, whether Mason Thames who captures the loveable awkwardness of Hiccup, or Gerard Butler who returns to dominate as Stoick after originally voicing the character in the animated trilogy.
Given his credentials as a director in animation and retelling the same story from over a decade ago, DeBlois makes a smooth transition into live-action blockbuster filmmaking. There may be many CGI dragons that recapture the aesthetic of those original cartoon designs, they are nicely balanced with the practical sets and locations, all of which stunningly shot by Bill Pope, a master cinematographer who knows how to shoot action movies. The action is big and explosive, especially during the thrilling climax, but How to Train Your Dragon’s most wondrous sequences are about the joy of flight, where characters get to experience as many emotions as much as what the audience is experiencing.
