Nigel Ip

I’m a big fan of the How To Train Your Dragon animated film trilogy. I’m an even greater fan of the awesome soundtracks that John Powell has exquisitely composed for them; it ranks highly among my productivity playlists. So when the live action trailer appeared, I was ecstatic.

Loosely based on Cressida Cowell’s children’s books and taking place on the fictional Isle of Berk – filmed in Northern Ireland – the film sees Hiccup (Mason Thames) reckoning with his Viking village’s deep hatred of dragonkin, led by his father Chief Stoick the Vast (reprised by Gerard Butler). Following an encounter with an injured Night Fury dragon, whom he names Toothless, Hiccup embarks on a journey to understand them and change the opinion of his village.

Directed by Dean DeBlois, the live action version is basically a shot-for-shot remake of the first original film with a few extended sequences, dialogue changes, and extra characters. Snotlout’s father Spitelout (Peter Serafinowicz) adds more to the plot this time instead of being a silent extra, offering a parallel to Stoick and Hiccup’s awkward father-son relationship. However, in doing so, Snotlout’s character (Gabriel Howell) is much less brash and overconfident than his animated counterpart, bordering on attention-seeking and whiny.

The village elder Gothi (Naomi Wirthner) is also made out to be more mysterious than she appears in the animation, although this amounts to nothing in the end.

Powell’s resounding soundtrack continues to drive the story and atmosphere, allowing the audience to truly relive climactic moments like Hiccup’s first encounter with Toothless and the now-extended test drive sequence. The VFX for the dragons is well balanced, retaining much of the charming look of the animations without forcing a hyper-realistic approach to match ‘reality’. Additionally, by keeping the original proportions and oversized eyes of Toothless, his expressive character is preserved.

The casting, however, is hit-and-miss. While there is little to complain about Thames and Butler’s portrayal of their characters, the others occasionally miss the mark. Astrid (Nico Parker) and Fishlegs (Julian Dennison) felt like Zendaya’s MJ and Jacob Batalon’s Ned Leeds to Tom Holland’s Peter Parker; the former is ‘too cool for school’ and the latter is written as an outcast, stereotypical nerd for comedic effect. Fishlegs is actually a very likeable character in the animation. Astrid, on the other hand, receives some extra context for her aspirations as a Viking, a minor plot point that feels wasted as she reprises her role as Hiccup’s lover-to-be.

Meanwhile, the actors playing the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut (Bronwyn James and Harry Trevaldwyn) have no on-screen chemistry between them, making their quips and rivalry seen unnatural. In the animation, the pair feel very homogeneous and aware of each other’s sensitivities. Furthermore, the animated versions of Tuffnut and Snotlout represented two different projections of vain, narcissistic personalities; in the live action, this contrast felt lacking as a result of the actors’ sub-par ability to present those sides in a convincing, natural manner.

Finally, Nick Frost was an appropriate casting choice for Gobber. However, he would have suited the role better if he was just himself, instead of forcing a version of his on-screen personality. I believe Frost’s natural comedy is quite well matched with Gobber’s character if left to his own devices.

I had high hopes for this live action remake and it delivered (mostly). While the cast’s performance leaves more to be desired, the approach to live action as a format is fine-tuned exquisitely. I hope they can keep this up for the sequel.

How To Train Your Dragon is out in cinemas from 13 June 2025.