It may not add to or change the original, but that's perfectly fine because the live-action How To Train Your Dragon flies high with heart, humor, and pure fantastical dragon-centered action.
How To Train Your Dragon Review
Apparently it's the summer of Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders' classics being reimagined into live-action. When these two projects were announced I remained cautiously optimistic. After all, these films are not only favorites but perfect. No need to mess with perfection (looking at your 2019 Lion King). First came Lilo & Stitch. DeBlois didn't work on it but Sanders did come back to reprise his role as Stitch. It hit all the right notes for me and renewed my faith in live-action adaptations. Now it was Dreamworks' turn, breaking into this Disney-led market with How To Train Your Dragon, helmed by DeBlois and armed with its own adorable creature.
How To Train Your Dragon soars, capturing the heart, humor, and fun of the original 2010 animated film. While it isn't exactly a shot-for-shot remake it is definitely beat-for-beat. Iconic scenes have been meticulously recreated and the story remains the same which is honestly great because as I mentioned, when something is perfect there is no need to mess with it. The additional 27 minutes of runtime is essentially just minor additions and expansions of key scenes. DeBlois' knows this story better than anyone and all those tweaks were in service of the transition to live-action. The result is a beautiful film that is both an homage to what we know and love as well as a massive summer blockbuster that will get your heart-racing. Oh and it will 100% remind you that you too wish you could ride on a dragon (if you ever forgot that was one of your dreams).
The story is familiar for anyone who has seen the original but to recap: Hiccup (Mason Thames), the son of Viking chieftain Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his role from the animated films). isn't like all the other residents of Berk. He isn't super strong, fast, or particularly good at fighting. While everyone else is busy training to slay the dragons who terrorize Berk, Hiccup comes up with inventions to help him one day earn the respect of his father. One night, he manages to use one of those creations to shoot down the mythical Night Fury dragon. But instead of slaying it, he and Toothless become friends. Together they will try to change the minds of humans and dragons alike in order to live together in harmony.
The handful of changes DeBlois made to the story are welcome. The island of Berk is still very isolated but is populated by the toughest Viking warriors of all. This means the community is made up of people from all over the world, each with their own expertise and style of fighting. Their goal is all the same though- to find and kill all the dragons that have plagued them for generations. Also Hiccup's friends are able to be more fleshed out, giving them more personality, motivations, and growth potential. Other than these and the extension certain moments, DeBlois is thankfully operating from “if it ain't broke, don't fix it” all the way down to John Powell's score which is only subtly tweaked at certain points. Even the line deliveries sound almost like a tone-for-tone match, at least in the beginning. Once Thames settles in though, he moves away from sounding like a Jay Baruchel impersonator to making Hiccup his own.
Thames and Nico Parker are the perfect Hiccup and Astrid. Parker is a fierce warrior who has a soft spot for her friends. Thames nails the physical comedy (that scene involving the fish is both hilarious and disgusting), the earnestness, and the youthful wonder of Hiccup as he learns more about his unlikely pet. Nick Frost is brilliant as always, this time as the dragon-fighting trainer Gobber the Belch. Each of the recruits are so close to their animated counterparts it's hard to remember these aren't the same actors. Butler, reprising his role, commands the screen just as his character Stoick does as the leader of these elite Viking warriors. He can be larger than life one moment, chewing scenery in another, or a father watching his son with both pride and sadness in his eyes. No matter what was asked of him Butler nailed it and I'm so happy he agreed to come back for this.
Performances, story, and score aside we all know this wouldn't work without amazing visuals. We've seen dragons come to life in Game of Thrones and The Hobbit series. But in this case they don't need a few dragons, they need a whole colony of them to come alive with all the colors, scales, and special powers they possess. And wow, does this movie deliver. Toothless and all the other dragons look amazing, with the Night Fury retaining his more cartoon-ish like qualities which is a must for all his expressions (like Stitch, he is made for this “live-action” setting). For the original, DeBlois wanted the animated sequences to feel as real as possible. Now in this version, those dreams literally take flight with cinematographer Bill Pope and the wonders of VFX. Seeing it in IMAX really made it seem like you were flying on a dragon as Toothless and Hiccup soared over Berk. (It also made this Disney kid wish that Toothless and friends could take over Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom.)
Verdict
How to Train Your Dragon is simply amazing. It unlocks those sweet nostalgic feelings for longtime fans and is bound to bring a new generation into the fold. At its heart, this story has always been one about understanding and celebrating our differences. That together, we are stronger, able to uplift our communities and make a positive impact on our world. That message remains at the forefront of this reimagining. Everything from the score to the visuals, performances and the dragons themselves accomplish the task of transporting us into the world of Hiccup and Toothless. I am thrilled How to Train Your Dragon 2 has already been announced. After watching this one, I just know it's going to be great. Oh and I still really wish I could have a pet dragon.
How to Train Your Dragon flies into theaters June 13. It is rated PG for sequences of intense action, and peril with a runtime of 125 minutes.
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