How to Train Your Dragon Review
How To Train Your Dragon in “Real 3D” is just as brilliant as its original – but is that a massive problem?
The debate about remakes, in whatever shape or form, is nothing new in Hollywood. Heck, such things have been part of film’s DNA ever since its early days when the silent became talky and the monochrome became kaleidoscopic. But in modern times, there’s always negativity surrounding reboots, particularly when it comes to the latest fad of translating animation into live action. Many of Disney’s endeavours in this arena – including the most recent, Lilo & Stitch – haven’t gone down a storm despite financial success, which is why they will keep on coming.
This is doubly so when those who want to make said remake decide to change almost nothing from one version to another, even if that original was a soaring success. But surely with so many amazing storytellers desperately vying to get their films noticed, surely the focus needs to shift to originality rather than rigid familiarity? You’d hope so. Yet now it’s the turn of another much-loved animation, How To Train Your Dragon, to get that shiny-new 3D makeover. But one word summed up so many of the reactions to its first trailer. Why? Why take this perfectly wonderful film and translate it to live-action for it to look ostensibly the same?
First brought to the screen by filmmakers Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders (who, ironically, co-helmed the original Lilo & Stitch), the How To Train Your Dragon franchise was a phenomenon and garnered fans worldwide, pretty much all of whom had the same thought as to why they would only ruin it all by doing a live-action retelling. Well, unlike some of those other offerings, this one does, on many levels, warrant the adaptation, and like the dragons that surround Berk, it soars on their wings, it soars on their wings and shines like the scorching suns that surround them.
Plus, who doesn’t love Toothless, Hiccup (Mason Thames), Astrid (Nico Parker) and the gang? DeBlois’s continued love for the series is evident, and the filmmaker is so precise in transferring the story from animation to the living that it’s impossible not to be swept up in its majesty and joy. But – BUT – this was the case back in 2010, and the argument still stands. If you’re not just making a reboot, but a new version of your own film, surely you need something fresh and unique to make it worthwhile? It’s a splendid film, and it’s a feat of both beauty and cinematic wonder, but so was the original and its glorious sequels did the job just as well.
This writer sits here writing this torn by his head and his heart. His heart sat and watched in awe of the new film, enveloped in the visuals, characters and its story of friendship, outsiders, courage and staying true to one’s self. His head was telling him that this is everything that’s wrong with where cinema is and where it is going. Indeed, when he started writing this, his heart ruled, but now, 400-odd words deep, his head is taking over – and scoring it is even more of a challenge.
Perhaps this review says more about going to the movies in 2025 than it does about the film itself. For sure, there is a wonderful experience to be had for millions from How To Train Your Dragon 2.0, and many will look on in awe, especially in IMAX, as Toothless and Hiccup do their flights of fancy “for real”. There’s no denying its brilliance and spectacle, and that part of the equation is a four-star experience. But the empty feeling after reflection will leave a bitter taste in your mouth that will linger for days, even weeks, after the credits roll. As will the question, “isn’t it time for a change?”
★★★
In UK cinemas from June 9th / Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Harry Trevaldwyn, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Ruth Codd, Gabriel Howell / Dir: Dean DeBlois/ Universal Pictures / PG
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