Jono's Review of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025)

WHAT'S IT ABOUT? 

A young Viking bucks tradition and defies his father by refusing to become a dragon-killer, befriending and flying one instead.

IS IT ANY GOOD?

Universtal and Dreamworks largely avoid the pitfalls of Disney's live action remakes here. How? By hiring the same writer-director (Dean DeBlois) and the same composer (John Powell) of the animated trilogy and then getting the hell out of their way.

Make no mistake, this is a movie that only exists by corporate mandate because the suits wanted to make money. But they were smart enough to approach DeBlois, who only agreed to sign after he was granted full creative control. The bean-counters wisely stayed out of the kitchen and let the man cook.

This film's greatest strength is what seemed, in the trailers, to be its greatest weakness: there's almost nothing new or different here. I griped about it for months leading to the film's release. You can't improve on perfection, so why try?

The movie is not, as some feared, a shot-for-shot remake. The camera is put in a lot of different places and does plenty of things it doesn't do in the animated version. But the film is, very nearly, a word-for-word remake, something that made me roll my eyes for the first 10-15 minutes until I realized something...

I was having a great time.

See, that first animated film has an immaculate screenplay. DeBlois knows this and barely changes a thing here, which is a major reason the film works. It adds scenes and lines of dialogue, but it doesn't take any away (that I could tell). It's the same reason you can change the cast of a Broadway show and if the script is good, it'll still work. A powerful story is a powerful story. 

If you've ever seen a beloved play more than once, you know what I'm talking about. Various performers will deliver lines differently and find new perspectives on their characters, tweaks in the orchestrations and staging may reveal new shades to the tone, but if it's done well, it's still going to inspire you, thrill you, make you laugh, and make you cry.

This analogy is the key to having a blast with this new movie. For example (stay with me on this), LES MISERABLES is my favorite musical. It's based on a fantastic book. Both the lyrics and the music of the play are sublime, almost regardless of who is performing them.

In my opinion, the original Broadway cast from 1987 delivers it best, but I've still gone to see "Les Mis" in many cities. If it's done well then I don't find myself missing my favorite version but rather enjoying the version in front of me.

Similarly, the biggest compliment I can give this new HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is that I almost never found myself wishing I were watching the animated one instead, even though that one IS better. This is a four-star remake of a five-star classic.

The loss of a star comes from how the new cast, with one exception, doesn't nail the comedic delivery as well as the previous one did. 

Mason Thomas as Hiccup is on-par with Jay Baruchel dramatically; his connection with Toothless is beautiful, his heartache and loneliness are equally palpable. He's just not as funny given the same jokes. 

Ditto the quintet of dragon-fighting teenagers who, to be fair, are all good but operating at about 70% of the charm of their animated counterparts. 

Nico Parker as Astrid suffers the most. She's very convincing in the emotional moments, but falls a bit flat compared to America Ferrera for the character's fiery intensity and blistering wit. This is odd, because Parker delivered these traits very well as Pedro Pascall's ill-fated daughter in the memorable pilot episode of THE LAST OF US. 

Thank heavens, then, for the inspired casting of Nick Frost (HOT FUZZ), who is quite funny as Gobber. He's true to the nature and personality of the character but wisely makes it his own instead of impersonating Craig Ferguson. He has delightful chemistry with every cast member, bringing out the best in anyone he shares the screen with.

Equally inspired was bringing back Gerard Butler as Stoic. I've long thought that Stoic was Butler's best role, and he proves it once again here. I don't know that I've ever seen such a perfect translation of an animated character to live action. 

Butler's not phoning it in: he clearly loves this character and looks happy to be back. Instead of changing things up from the animated version, he reliably just brings the goods. He knows exactly what he's doing, the same way Topol defined the character of Tevye in both the stage and screen versions of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. Hey, if it ain't broke...

This HTTYD remake is on-par with the animated version emotionally, delivering the pathos and character drama with great skill and sincerity. The scenes that made you cry in the original will still make you cry here. 

The one area that it may actually improve upon the original is in its sense of danger. While the dragons and some of the environments here are still CGI, their style is less cartoony overall in order to match the live-action human actors. This change, as well as the staging of the action, make the flying, dragon-taming, and combat scenes even more thrilling.

Speaking of animation style, Toothless here feels like the same character and is a 90% style-match, though he's slightly less playful/silly and more animal-like here. It's a good tweak given the tone of this version.

Visually, the film is gorgeously-shot and lit. The production design, sets, and wardrobe spare no expense. The sound design is rich and robust. This was a fantastic IMAX experience for me.

Composer John Powell finds that sweet spot of honoring his iconic scores for this series while switching things up and keeping it fresh. His score here is a bit like seeing your favorite band play live (assuming your favorite band is GREAT live): the melody is close enough to the studio version that you're still humming along, but they're going to try some new orchestrations, use the instruments differently, throw in some new lyrics, and show off a bit. In other words, this is another John Powell HTTYD score you're going to want to buy.

All told, does this film need to exist? It doesn't, not when the original is practically perfect. But I'm not mad about it. I even look forward to seeing it again. Why should you go see this when you've technically got a better version at home? The same reason we go see our favorite plays over and over: we love the stories and new productions help us to enjoy them in a new light. 

For the studio, this is a blatant cash-grab. But for the creators this is a labor of love and, if you're like me, you'll feel that love again too. No one is more surprised about it than I am. 

WHY IS IT RATED PG?

Plenty of dragon-and-fire related peril, though we don't see any on-screen deaths or gore. Very mild language and innuendo. This is made to be family-friendly. 

HOW CAN IT HELP?

Hiccup's story is potent and healing for those who feel like they don't fit in. Stoic and the villagers don't value Hiccup at first; he believes that he's deficient, but it's their narrow views that are actually the issue. He's strong, smart, and brave in ways they've not considered, and his compassion makes him great. 

Similarly, you may be surrounded by people who don't value what you bring to the table, but that's because of their limitations and biases, not due to a lack of worth on your part. Be you, do your thing, give love, and you'll either change hearts, find your people, or both.

Are you hyped for the new film? Why or why not? If you've seen it, what did you think?