How to Train Your CGI Dragon
If it's good enough for Disney, I guess. From a filmmaking feat answering the question of can we make a live-action remake (featuring a hell of a lot of CGI) of an animated movie, the existence of the new How to Train Your Dragon makes sense. Outside of that, I'm not really sure what we're doing here. Much like the vast majority of Disney's remakes, DreamWorks' first attempt delivers a fine, if less slightly less magical, version of the original.
That's not to say the new How to Train Your Dragon is a bad film, far from it. It's still a fun coming of age story shown through a world of Vikings and dragons. The CGI, especially where Toothless is concerned, is first-rate. He looks, and acts, like in the original film (except for missing the moments of his disdain for the antics of humans). As for Berk, the wide CGI shots are more impressive than when we get a closer look. Before the movie, a commercial was shown for a new How to Train Your Dragon theme park. Much of the film, especially the scenes taking place in the arena, feel like they were shot in that theme park.
The story doesn't deviate from How to Train Your Dragon in any meaningful ways. It may not be a shot-for-shot remake, but it's not far off. We still get the awkward version of Hiccup (Mason Thames) shooting down and then, against the philosophy of the dragon-killing Vikings who raised him, befriending a dragon. The movie does a fairly good job of casting live-action versions of all the supporting characters with Nico Parker as Astrid being the real standout. The cartoonish versions of the other "kids" doesn't work quite as well as the original, and the actions of Hiccup's disappointed father Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) feel even more questionable. Are we sure he was ever a good chief (because I don't believe we see any evidence of that in this film)?
Given the huge amount of CGI used in the film I'm not sure that the new How to Train Your Dragon even qualifies as live-action. That said, it still delivers a fun time of the movies. And for fans of the franchise which started 15 years ago, it's likely to spark some nostalgic joy - especially tapping into Hiccup flying with Toothless across Berk's barren landscape. Does it need to exist? Not really? But, if you enjoyed the original, will you still enjoy this one? Sure.
Watch the trailer- Title: How to Train Your Dragon (2025)
- IMDb: link
