How to Train Your Dragon
★ ★ ★ ½
How to Train Your Dragon is a live action remake of the 2010 animated film based on the popular series of books by Cressida Cowell. The original spawned two sequels, several short animated films and television spinoffs. Given that there are untold animated classic films being made into live action, I wasn’t expecting much more than a marginal attempt to retell the story with live actors and CGI dragons. It’s nice to be wrong sometimes.
Hiccup (Mason Thames) is a teen viking on the island of Berk. His father is Chief Stoic (Gerard Butler) and the leader of The Vikings of Berk. They’ve been battling dragons for a very long time. When dragons attack Berk, they wreak havoc and steal livestock. Hiccup wants to be a viking warrior like his father but proves to be more of a liability due to his inability to fight.
But Hiccup has something going for him—he makes clever, innovative contraptions. During the attack, he’s able to reach one of his inventions that shoots bolas. Hiccup hits a night fury, one of the most revered and dangerous dragons known to the vikings. After the battle, Hiccup finds where the night fury crash landed. He intends to kill it with his knife but something holds him back.
Mason Thames as Hiccup with Toothless
© 2025 Universal Pictures / Marc Platt Productions
As their encounters continue, Hiccup and the night fury begin to build trust. Hiccup will even make a mechanical tail to fix the damage he had done so the night fury can fly again. As they bond, Hiccup names the dragon Toothless because of his retractable teeth.
Meanwhile, Stoic leads the able bodied men to sea to search out the dragon’s nest. If they can find it, perhaps they can end the dragon threat for good. Hiccup gets his chance to train as a dragon slayer but becomes conflicted as his bond with Toothless grows. He now sees the dragons differently and starts to realize there might be other ways to stop a dragon threat than violence.
He trains with fellow teens deemed ready to become dragon slayers: Snotlout (Gabriel Howell), twins Ruffnut (Bronwyn James) and Tuffnut (Harry Trevaldwyn), Fishlegs (Julian Dennison) and the girl he’s been cruising on, Astrid (Nico Parker). None of his peers expect much from Hiccup—except for him to flunk out.
Gerard Butler as Stoick
© 2025 Universal Pictures / Marc Platt Productions
The secret dragon-human friendship builds a natural, layered conflict. Hiccup must keep Toothless a secret while he trains. During training, Hiccup realizes he no longer wants to hurt the dragons, which makes training to be a dragon slayer challenging. Hiccup desperately wants to impress his father and find his place amongst his fellow vikings.
While largely a shot-for-shot remake, the live-action format brings a surprising amount of emotional weight to familiar scenes—particularly in the extended opening, which sets a slightly more grounded tone.
We don’t necessarily need this remake, because the original stands well enough on its own. But we’re given a more intricate development of the bond between Hiccup and Toothless, which serves the story well. The acting brings more emotional gravitas among the characters, which makes this feel like a slightly deeper film than the animated counterpart. This is in stark contrast to other attempts, such as Snow White and The Lion King where the remake lost sight of what made the original so beloved.
The scene that sets the tone, and ultimately the fate of the village, is the first flight with Hiccup and Toothless. He’s built a saddle and a rudder for his broken tail. Toothless can’t fly without Hiccup controlling the rudder, and it’s here they learn to truly rely upon one another. They both stumble at first but figure it out as they go. Their bond becomes unbreakable.
Mason Thames as Hiccup and Nico Parker as Astrid
© 2025 Universal Pictures / Marc Platt Productions
Hiccup is all but an outcast among his people without his new dragon friend. Toothless learns that not all humans are dangerous and Hiccup learns that there are other ways to deescalate a dragon threat than with violence.
This film is ultimately about a boy and his dragon and how their friendship can change the hearts of a village and end a war. But its marrow goes deeper. It’s about a young man trying to find his place in the world and earn the respect of his father.
The acting takes a little getting used to as it starts out clunky, as if the actors were voicing the characters for animation rather than portraying them in live action. At times they appeared eerily artificial as if they were hyper-realistic CGI. I’m not sure if that’s because of the cinematography or the digital sets. It was a little off-putting at first. By contrast, the dragons were done in such a way they felt like they belonged on the set. But the film finds its footing—and chemistry—by the second act.
There’s a lot to like in this remake. In what feels like a sea of endless animated-to-live-action conversions, How to Train Your Dragon is a welcome standout that adds depth and spirit without losing sight of what made the original so popular. This film takes off into a thrilling journey, broken tail and all.
Rated: PG for sequences of intense action, and peril.
Running Time: 2h 5m
Directed by: Dean DeBlois
Written by: Dean DeBlois
Starring: Mason Thomas, Gerard Butler, Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd
Kids & Family, Fantasy, Adventure, Action, Comedy
