As we step into a new month, we find ourselves greeted by another live-action adaptation, a trend that seems to be inescapable. However, amidst this wave of adaptations, How to Train Your Dragon stands out as a faithful and respectful rendition of the beloved animated film, a comforting reassurance for fans of the original.
If you’re unfamiliar with the animated feature of the same name (based on the books by Cressida Cowell), the film follows a young Viking named Hiccup. Living in the city of Berk, his father is the town’s leader, Stoick the Vast, and while life in Berk is great, they have one pretty major problem: dragons. They steal the sheep for sustenance, terrorize the villagers while they torch the town, and wreak general havoc. This is why it is Stoick’s mission to slay the dragons before they do more harm to Berk and its citizens. It is a rite of passage, but when Hiccup accidentally hits a Night Fury (the most elusive of dragons), he cannot go through with killing it. Instead, Hiccup befriends the dragon, whom he names Toothless. It becomes clear to Toothless that dragons are not at all what the other Vikings believe them to be, and he knows that he has to convince his fellow residents of Berk about their true nature.
Canadian filmmaker Dean DeBlois helms the live-action film, returning to the world of dragons and Vikings, having previously directed the three animated How to Train Your Dragon films. DeBlois, behind the camera for the live-action iteration, is likely why this movie works as well as it does. Who better to direct the movie in live-action than the director who brought the animated film to life in the first place? For the most part, the movie is a beat-for-beat copy of the first animated film, including specific shots and certain dialogue throughout. Although at times this made me wonder what the point of this was, and they could have re-released the animated version in theatres, the live-action version is probably all the better for it. DeBlois knows the strengths of the animated movie and used that to his advantage with this new version. The most significant difference in terms of the story is that the live-action version tones down the humour and adopts a more dramatic approach. This shift in tone could be a deliberate choice to appeal to a wider audience or to differentiate the live-action from the animated version. It works, for the most part, but a few more laughs here and there would have been welcome. That said, if you were going in expecting any changes or dramatic differences to the story, you might be disappointed.
In the animated version, the standouts were always the dragons, particularly Toothless. Sure, Vikings are cool and Hiccup is endearing, but up against the various species of dragons, the humans stood little chance. The same goes for the live-action. The animators did a phenomenal job bringing Toothless and his fellow dragons to life. Toothless has always had a unique appearance, and he remains just as he is in the animated version, thankfully. Despite being a dragon, a creature the citizens of Berk have grown to fear, the Night Fury is extremely cute. For the other dragons, they were given more life-like updates in comparison to their animated counterparts. Some looked better than others, but one thing I noticed across the board was their colours being toned down. The Deadly Nadder’s turquoise was more subtle and didn’t pop, despite one of its animal inspirations being a parrot, which are colourful. Unfortunately, the Zippleback also suffered from muted colours. Making things more “realistic” shouldn’t mean devoid of colour. The Monstrous Nightmare was also given a less crocodilian look in favour of a more stereotypical dragon look, which wasn’t terrible. Still, it reminded me of a red version of the dragon in The Pagemaster, rather than the dragon from the animated How to Train Your Dragon movies. Part of the allure of the dragons in the animated film was how different they all looked from one another, and also from dragons seen previously in other media. So, some of these redesigns were a bit of a miss for me.
Despite some of the redesign choices, the way the dragons moved and their various traits were masterfully brought to life by the visual effects team. The green spark-starting gas that the Zippleback breathes out while the other head ignites the flame was breathtaking, and the swiftness of the Night Fury darting along the star-dotted sky was truly impressive. There were numerous moments of sheer brilliance when it came to the dragons, especially during the opening scene where audiences first see them in Berk, the training sequences, and the third act’s climax. So, while it’s not all perfect, the visual effects team certainly delivered some awe-inspiring moments.
One of the film’s strengths lies in its casting. Mason Thames as Hiccup delivers a standout performance, effectively conveying every emotion he exudes on-screen, whether it’s his interactions with his father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), his arguments with Astrid (Nico Parker), or his befriending of Toothless. Thames, Parker, and Butler, who spend the majority of their time acting alongside each other, share some of the film’s most dramatic and poignant moments, and all three shine. Parker brings the fierceness and sarcasm of Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera in the animated movies) to life with ease, while Butler delivers some of his best acting work as Stoick. The rest of the cast is equally strong, particularly Julian Dennison as Fishlegs. Dennison’s portrayal of Fishlegs, with his endearing nature and his tendency to spout out various facts about the dragons they’re all facing, is a standout in the class of dragon-hunting trainees. The strong casting will engage audiences and bring the characters to life in a new way.
Dominic Watkins spearheaded the production design work, and the decision to work mainly on practical sets certainly helped the film as a whole. There’s just something to be said about shooting in real locations that brings the final product to life in a way that cannot be done solely with green screen. However, there were parts of the film that suffered from the many muted colours and the darkness of some scenes. The muted colours, while adding a sense of realism, may have detracted from the vibrancy and energy of the animated version. Similarly, the darkness of some scenes, while adding to the dramatic tension, may have made it difficult for viewers to appreciate the action fully. Other than the Night Fury, it shouldn’t have been difficult to see all of the dragons or the melee ensuing in specific scenes. As I said earlier, rooting the film in realism shouldn’t come at the expense of light and colour.
Perhaps it was my mistake in watching the first animated feature after seeing the live-action version, and before writing this review; it pains me to say that this film didn’t live up to my expectations. That doesn’t mean that it won’t live up to the expectations of others who loved the animated feature. I suppose I was hoping for more and was honestly expecting a few differences or additions to the story to make the live-action version seem more necessary or worthwhile. Instead, I left the theatre thinking that a re-release of the animated movies would have been nicer.
The live-action How to Train Your Dragon does have more going for it in comparison to other live-action remakes. While that may be enough for a lot of people, it wasn’t for me. Even though there were enjoyable elements, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed. I typically try my best to temper any high hopes ahead of seeing a movie, and ignore the hype that comes from first viewers’ reactions from events like CinemaCon (especially considering the rave reviews The Flash received after the same event a few years ago). Of course, this isn’t the film’s fault. Honestly, I think I just had extremely high expectations, regardless.
For the most part, I was at least entertained by the live-action iteration, even though I don’t think it was necessary (just like most live-action films these days). Truly, much like the animated movie, Toothless and some of the non-dragon characters are what make the film, and the live-action succeeds in this regard. Despite some shortcomings, I’m happy to say that Toothless was the highlight, as were some of the action and dragon flight sequences. While it doesn’t soar to the same heights as its animated counterpart, How to Train Your Dragon is still a solid live-action remake (and much better than many others released in the past few years). If anything, I am sure that it will create a new generation of fans for the series, who will hopefully also check out the animated How to Train Your Dragon offerings.
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