How to Train Your Dragon

A dazzling but overly faithful remake that mirrors the original more than it reimagines it

Remakes present tough choices for filmmakers: do you remain faithful to the original to please fans, or dare to deviate and put your own spin on things? These decisions can be easier when remaking older films, which offer more room for modernization. With the current wave of animated remakes sweeping through Disney, DreamWorks has jumped aboard. But as a younger studio, it has only a few decades of work to draw from. As a result, their first remake, How to Train Your Dragon (2025), is written and directed by Dean DeBlois—the same person behind the original 2010 film.

How to Train Your Dragon once again takes us to Berk, a fictional Scandinavian island where Vikings coexist in constant conflict with dragons. They are led by the formidable chief Stoick (Gerard Butler), whose son Hiccup (Mason Thames) is more cerebral and awkward than aggressive and warlike. An outcast among his peers, Hiccup unexpectedly shoots down a mysterious dragon breed, the Night Fury. Hoping to prove himself a mighty dragon slayer, he instead finds himself empathizing with the wounded creature, eventually befriending it and naming it Toothless. Their bond deepens, though it remains under constant threat of discovery by their respective, warring communities.

DeBlois reportedly leapt to adapt this live-action version out of fear someone else might get to it first. The result is a remake that’s faithful—to a fault. The original How to Train Your Dragon was already a near-perfect film, and DeBlois wisely chooses not to reinvent the wheel. But this fidelity runs deep, producing a near beat-for-beat recreation of the animated classic. As we’ve seen with The Lion King (2019), such replication doesn’t always work in live-action: hyperrealistic animals lacked the expressiveness of their animated counterparts. The same risk loomed for Berk, a world that’s chaotic and alive with personality. Thankfully, DeBlois and his team dodge this pitfall with stunning production design, practical effects, on-location shoots, and richly rendered CGI dragons. He understands exactly when to lean into stylization and when to ground things in realism. The film’s visual execution is among its greatest triumphs.

The cast also rises to the occasion, reviving the energy of the original characters. Butler reprises Stoick, grunting and growling his way through the film with trademark gusto. Thames, who stood out in The Black Phone (2021), proves he’s an actor to watch. Taking on the role voiced by Jay Baruchel—whose performance blended dorkiness with charm—Thames more than holds his own. Rather than constantly reminding you of Baruchel, he inhabits Hiccup so comfortably that you accept him as the same character from the start.

Astrid, Hiccup’s romantic interest, is played by Nico Parker, who made an impression in her brief but memorable role in The Last of Us (2023–). She steps into the tough, no-nonsense character America Ferrera voiced in the original. While Parker holds her own as a co-lead, her version of Astrid feels less dynamic and charismatic. This isn’t entirely her fault—there’s a noticeable lack of chemistry between her and Thames, and her character is given less screen presence. Compared to the strong portrayals around her, Astrid ends up feeling like an afterthought.

Too often, remakes feel like lazy products—familiar stories rehashed with weaker echoes of their originals. By comparison, How to Train Your Dragon feels like a genuine remake. It’s a direct duplication, not a dilution. That’s both gratifying and frustrating. On one hand, it’s a chance to experience a great story again with new visual flair. On the other, it raises the inevitable question: why remake something if you’re not offering anything new? The answer, of course, is money. And frankly, given the number of uninspired, unwatchable remakes coming out of Disney, this might be as good as it gets. But that still doesn’t justify the lack of creative necessity.

Ultimately, How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is just as satisfying and entertaining as the original. Its themes—acceptance, compassion, the fight against prejudice, animal rights, and disability empowerment—still resonate. DeBlois and his technical team deliver a stunning translation to live-action, and most of the cast does the original justice. Watching any of the flight scenes with John Powell’s score will always give me goosebumps. But the film’s greatest strength is also its limitation: in copying the original so precisely, it inherits its greatness, but earns little of its own. Even if it’s been made by the same artist, it’s still just a tracing.

7.4/10