How To Train Your Dragon began as a children’s/tween book, written by British author Cressida Cowell, before being adapted into an animated film by three-time Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe winner Dean DeBlois in 2010. As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.
This How To Train Your Dragon adaptation blew the original out of Berk’s waters, providing streamlined storytelling with awesome cinematography and CGI/VFX work to back it up. Every shot of Toothless and Hiccup (Mason Thames) flying was breathtaking to watch. It felt like the audience was in on the ride when it used first-person POVs. There were some moments where it is clear Thames had to have a CGI double, like when Hiccup lost control of the reins, but not enough to take me out of the scene.
The CGI/VFX work to bring Toothless to life is insane because DreamWorks Animation nailed almost every one of Toothless’ mannerisms and faces from the animated film. Whether it was capturing Toothless’ growling ferociousness or snapshotting his cute dog-like poses, this How To Train Your Dragon iteration sparked core memories for me.
The only gripe I had with Toothless in this live-action form was that I wish there were more Toothless scenes with him being cuter. One of the funny moments in the animated movie was him randomly chasing a butterfly or bird, or Toothless rolling around like a dog. With about twenty minutes of additional runtime compared to the original film, there could have been more of these quick Toothless moments that make him adorable and charming.
Still, I enjoyed watching a fully fleshed-out story from this reimagined live-action version of How To Train Your Dragon. The extra lore-building and why the Vikings live on Berk was a nice touch, going as far as explaining why there was a competitive aspect to dragon fighting. Those who have seen the original animated movie will also notice the opening for this 2025 adaptation is a bit different, but in the best way possible.
“Whether it was capturing Toothless’ growling ferociousness or snapshotting his cute dog-like poses, this How To Train Your Dragon iteration sparked core memories for me.”
Also, this recreation/reimagining took additional time to provide more emotional beats for its three or four main characters. Hiccup and his father Stoick the Vast (Gerald Butler) shared more screentime together this time around, allowing audiences to see how much Stoick struggled juggling being a supportive single father versus being the village chieftain.
Coming off of the recent 2025 Lilo & Stitch live-action adaptation, we also see more into Nani’s struggles being a single guardian/parent to Lilo. So far, How To Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch executed these real relationships from their animated counterparts, and brought out the raw realities in the most meaningful ways.
Thames and Butler wielded great dialogue together, recreating moments that felt so raw between a father and son. Butler’s comedic timing worked seamlessly with this live-action How To Train Your Dragon depiction, especially whenever he talked about Hiccup. On the flip side, Butler kept his special sauce by bringing Stoick’s voice out of the animated ink and onto the real-life screen. Butler’s boisterous, commanding vocals still hit me on the same notes as he did fifteen years ago in the animated movie.
Delving deeper into How To Train Your Dragon, Astrid Hofferson (Nico Parker) came off just as badass as her animated character—if not more heroic. Parker carried a lot of physicality with the weapons she was using, perfectly nailing Astrid’s toughness and weapon mastery skills.
One of the most interesting changes to Astrid’s dialogue was how she focused a lot on how she came from nothing, whereas Hiccup only made it into Dragon training through nepotism. Subtle changes like this one added a more grounded feel to the movie while still maintaining the great escapist world we love.
Nick Frost had big shoes to fill playing Berk’s handy blacksmith, Gobber the Belch, but brought out a fitting performance for one of How To Train Your Dragon’s most beloved characters. There were some moments I noticed they cut out a couple of interactions between Hiccup and Gobber, but overall, their mentor/mentee relationship still came through.
“The blending of real and CGI in this How To Train Your Dragon portrayal was almost flawless.”
If the CGI characters and real-life actors all looked good, the details in the setting and environments should also be given the same care. How To Train Your Dragon executed the scenery so well; Belfast, Ireland’s landscapes in this film were jaw-dropping. The set was supposedly where parts of Game of Thrones were shot, which made it seem familiar.
The practical-built sets were also a feast for the eyes, and most likely made it easier for the actors to envision where they are in the world. One of the key moments that made me believe they built a lot of practical versions of Toothless was when Astrid was thrown off Toothless, and the momentum forced Parker to come to a running stop. The blending of real and CGI in this How To Train Your Dragon portrayal was almost flawless.
Composer John Powell also returned from working on the original 2010 How To Train Your Dragon film to work on this live-action adaptation, amplifying the sounds we recognize. The Viking bagpipes and sounds kickstarted more core memories, even using the same score at the same parts from the original movie.
2025’s How To Train Your Dragon recounts the same story as its 2010 animated predecessor, but expands some of the lore and emotional beats. Having the original director DeBlois attached as the director for this film was a major boost, even being able to bring back Butler to play the same character. I cannot wait to see what DeBlois and DreamWorks bring to the live-action of the second installment. It has only been fifteen years since the first movie came out, but this could easily be the best live-action adaptation of 2025—potentially the best of all time.
