How to Train Your Dragon Review: Unnecessary but not bad

Over the past decade, Walt Disney Studios has taken a lot of flat to go back to the well and re-examine or overturn over a dozen of their classic animated movies in Live-Action (Or photo -realistic computer -generated images in the case “The Lion King”) – and there is a good reason for it. With the exception of “ashpott”, “The Little Mermaid” and “Cruella”, most of Disney’s modernizations have not come close to measuring up to their predecessors, with the live-action element that removes much of the personality and imagination of the beloved animated stories. The rework often skeits too close to the original without much innovation, or the improved and updated elements, which often include new original songs, does not add much to the magic that preceded it.

That’s why many (including yours really) have been leery of the live-action-remake by Dreamworks animations “How to Train Your Dragon” (In spite of their solid cash office)Without a doubt their most beloved franchise outside “shrek” (although “httyd” has aged much better and has superior sequels). While the marketing material has packed a punch, thanks to the composer John Powell returns to give the triumphant point, not much if the film has looked like anything more than a sliding-shot remake with little or no indication of any significant changes or improvements made on the original. Of course, there is not much to improve, as the original film is still a wonderfully animated adventure.

Therefore, I am pleased to report to “How to Train Your Dragon” recording is no worse than the original movie. But at the same time, I am also sorry to say that director Dean Debloi’s Live-Action Reformation of his own animated film (the first time such a scenario has arisen) remains so loyal to the original that there are few redeeming properties that make this movie feel necessary when the original is still so fantastic.

If you have seen the original “How to Train Your Dragon”, you already know the story. If you do not, the movie follows, again written by Dean Deblois, (this time without the animated film’s co -author William Davies, although the almost identical script in principle makes him a co -authors again) a teenage bay called Hiccup (Mason Thames of “The Black Phone”) which is a bit of a village. While all his colleagues Vikings are tough warriors ready to fight with the dragons who often plague them, steal their cattle and burn their homes, hiccup is troublesome, slim and more inclined to use its ingenuity in front of danger. It does not fit well with the village manager, Stoick the big (Gerard Butler, who represents his previous voice role in Live-Action), who also happens to be Hiccup’s father.

But Hiccup’s life is about to change in a big way when a mechanical weapon he invented ends up catching a nightfury, one of the most difficult and deadliest dragons known for Viking-Kind. But no one believes in his success, and when Hiccup realizes that he cannot lead himself to kill Pitch Black Fire-Breather, he begins to understand the true nature of the dragons. They are not evil creatures that are relentlessly attacking the election, and they are completely misunderstood by the Viking people.

Unfortunately, Hiccup can’t let anyone know about his secret new Drakakal, so he learns to ride and fly the dragon as he will call Toothless (because he originally showed up without his extendable teeth), not to mention peaceful and tricky ways to dampen the dragons without fighting them in the dragon to train to a part of the bays to be partially parted in, which is partly partly parted in, which is partly partly partly in, which is partly partly parties, which is partly.

His village crusher and colleague trainee Astrid (Nico Parker from “The Last of Us”) is not so happy with his success, since one day she hopes to be the new chief and does not understand how he is suddenly so good at drone training, but their comrades Snotlout (Gabriel Howell), Fishgs (Julian), skills. Things become more complicated when Astrid learns Hiccup’s secret, and they discover that there is an even more frightening threat waiting in Dragons Nest, which Stoick promises to destroy his home once and for all.

Guess what? It is exactly how it also plays in the remake. Sure, it can be expected when you tell the same story, but the script lifts every memorable moment and every fun line down to the exact wording and sometimes even the same cadence as Jay Baruchel’s delightful misdedy hiccup from the original animated film. Unfortunately, this is where another problem comes into play.

Mason Thames is undeniably charming and snapping in his hold of Hiccup, but he inherits both the positive and the negative of a similar renovated performance: Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Marvel Cinematic Universe. Don’t misunderstand me, Holland gives an excellent performance like Spidey in the MCU, but he is almost too handsome and charismatic to be as geeky and troublesome as Peter Parker should be. Thames has the same question, almost as if Holland’s Peter Parker got the same hairstyle as Jim Halpert on “The Office.” While he has lots of charm and really gives an affordable performance, there is something with him that just doesn’t feel like Hick.

On the other hand, Gerard Butler shines in his renewed role as Stoick (something we knew from the beginning). Butler plays the role bigger and more intense, but not as exaggerated for comedy. In fact, if there is one thing that “How to train your dragon” recording succeeds in the same respect, it adds more raw feelings to the procedure. While animation has the ability to pull on you and play with the audience’s feelings, there is something with live-action that still hits a little harder, even in a fantasy kingdom. Seeing a human face shows fear, anger, sadness or some feeling often connects on a deeper level because we feel it more like another real man. Seeing the pain and disappointment that fills the eyes of both Thames and Butler when their story plays out actually exceeds the original’s feelings.

Matching their emotional strength is Nico Parker like Astrid. She has a courage and conviction in her performance, and you can often simply see it in her big, expressive eyes. But these eyes also have a softness behind her, and when her guard finally comes down to embrace Hiccup, you see that she has a mild side to compensate for her cruelty.

It also helps that composer John Powell has returned to give the points for Remake. Yes, the familiar theme from the original is back, but the point feels much bigger and more grand, perhaps to match the film, another area where Dean Deblois has improved the original “how to train your dragon” a little. Since we are dealing with human characters, the adventure must feel greater than life, so there are moments that feel much more grounded, exciting and scary in live -Action. Especially, when Dragons attack the Vikings in the pursuit of their nest in the middle of the film, an action sequence shows us what happens to Warriors rather than leaving it to our imagination. It has been taken to a whole new level in the film’s finale, where the monstrous, Kaiju-sized dragon feels much more scary and massive than his animated counterpart.

Together with that, the flying sequences increase in “How to train your dragon” recording both literally and figuratively (Therefore they won some people in the trailer). Too often, scenes like this can feel false, but the visual effects in the film give flight to the back to dragons to life with the same excitement and magic as when Harry Potter went on the back of Buckbeak in “The prisoner in Azkaban.” But there is an element in “how to train your dragon” that the visual effects cannot really overcome.

Although toothless as a character is still undeniably adorable, the photo -realistic version of him still borrows too much from his animated counterpart. It is a kind of double -edged sword and perhaps an impossible job to deduct. If you make him look more realistic, his expression and behavior may feel odd, Resembles the characters in the “The Lion King” recording. But if you stay closer to the original animated character design, it doesn’t feel like he’s harmonious in a real world. While the structure of toothless skin and his various animal functions has been brought to life with impeccable detail, the animated character design still sees strange in live action, especially when the rest of the dragons have been adjusted to look significantly less signed in their appearance. It is perhaps the biggest obstacle that the movie never overcomes. That and the continued mistake of making a live-action remake without the lively colors that made its predecessor so visually appealing.

“How to train your dragon” recording, by default, simply entertains because it tells almost the same story that turned out to be successful as early as 2010. Unfortunately, with the exception of some stylistic changes and the emotional human element, it does not feel like it is enough to motivate the story in a way that almost feels like a carbon copy of the original. It does not raise the original film to new heights, but rather adjusts the effectiveness of some elements, mainly breaks evenly but in the end falls back because it is too familiar territory.

Sure, maybe those who avoid animated movies may be more likely to check out this, or children who have not yet experienced the animated version the story for the first time, but the animated film was already more than good enough on their own, and it did not have to be renovated with what is essentially an expensive photo filter.

Admittedly, “How to train your dragon” is not terrible like some of the Disney workers out there, and it is better than almost all of them, but it is not essential enough to justify its existence. We have “how to train your dragon” at home. It is the film equivalent to turn tacos into nachos, and although nachos may be delicious, they are not as well heated.

/Movie rating: 6 out of 10

“How to Train Your Dragon” opens in theaters on June 13, 2025.