Dean DeBlois returns to Berk to bring his 2010 animated classic, “How To Train Your Dragon,” into live action — a decade too early. Relive the story of Hiccup (Mason Thames) and Toothless as they rebel against the status quo to prove to a world of stubborn Vikings that humans and dragons can become friends. Because this is a shot-for-shot recreation of the original, “How to Train Your Dragon” (2025) is still a high-flying roller coaster ride filled with amusing characters, amazing world building and palpable emotional beats. That all said, even though the heart of the 2010 film allows this one to shine, outside of some great visuals, the 2025 translation struggles because of how and when “How to Train Your Dragon” was adapted.
When taken on its own merit, the look of the film is an incredible feat in adaptation. Every adorned doorway, oversized axe and kooky Viking helmet is plucked straight out the animated renderings. While the dragons still maintain their cartoonish nature, they never feel out of place. In fact, the live action medium actually elevates the verisimilitude of these creatures because they interact with actual actors. When a dragon attacks Berk, they feel more beastly and dangerous because real lives are on the line. Conversely, Hiccup and Toothless’ “boy and his dog” dynamic is more charming than ever since a real boy is informing the direction of the scene. Additionally, Hiccup riding Toothless is taken to new heights for much the same reason — average movie goers can more easily see themselves in a live action film as opposed to an animated one. While this attention to detail brings to life an impressive one-to-one recreation, it can oftentimes be a detriment.
Since the world so closely replicates a work of animation, it more often than not comes off as cartoonish. In the original film, the exaggerated nature of the Vikings made for a stylized and unique depiction of real world Scandinavian culture. Characters and weapons can be unrealistically massive because animation doesn’t need to be realistic. People can dress in bulky, non-functional armor because it does not have to function as they were never intended to be used in a real battle. However, when the medium changes but the designs don’t, it can make the entire film look goofy.
When adapting anything into any other medium, certain adjustments must be made in order to make it fit within its new context. While the kooky helmets are fun, they make no sense as a protective garment in the real world context the film put itself in. There are many scenes where people — big and small — hold axes, and it always looks off. They are all impractically sized with oblong handles and oversized blades. Axes are a Viking’s main offensive weapon, but in “How to Train Your Dragon” (2025), they just look like a child’s plaything. For this live action adaptation to ignore this key detail in translation, it not only fails to take creative advantage of its new environment by redesigning a familiar landscape, but also makes it impossible to take this world and those who inhabit it seriously since it looks so much like a cartoon.
Even though the 2010 films’ themes are timeless, an adaptation only 15 years after the fact fails to be timely in regards to its original intended audience. For a quick point of reference, look at Disney’s live action adaptations of their ’90s films. Touted as the “Disney Renaissance,” movies such as “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Aladdin” defined the lives of Gen Xers because they grew up on these films. So, when these animated works get translated into live action over 25 years later, people who were teenagers in the ’90s could take their children in the 2010s to experience the same pivotal movies they saw in theaters growing up. This generational gap allows for these kinds of adaptations to work. Needless to say, “How to Train Your Dragon” does not have that.
People in Generation Z would have been around 10 years old when the original film came out and were still watching “How to Train Your Dragon” films in theaters as recently as 2019 with the release of “The Hidden World.” Having grown up alongside Hiccup, the franchise’s original audience has now grown past the character. Gen Zers are not fighting to break the status quo, define their relationship with their parents or discover who they are in the same way that a preteen or teenager would, as they have most likely already completed that journey. Furthermore, because this generation is only recently in their 20s, they more than likely do not have families of their own that would allow them to take new meaning from this adaptation. Since those former 10 year olds are now just watching Hiccup relearn the same lessons he helped teach them not too long ago, “How to Train Your Dragon” (2025) has nothing new to offer the fans who made it a franchise worth adapting in the first place.
Despite the heart of the animated film still making the 2025 adaptation an emotionally thrilling and entertaining journey — as goofy as it may look — it is unfortunately a journey that original fans of the series already took 15 years ago.
4/5
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Featured Image via Universal Pictures
