How to Train Your Dragon – again: Mark Kermode’s fantasy film review (video).
There are few things more inevitable these days than death, taxes, and Hollywood remaking perfectly good animated films in live action. And lo, the prophecy is fulfilled again, this time with How to Train Your Dragon (2025) — a big, bold, and surprisingly faithful reimagining of the 2010 DreamWorks animation classic. But, film reviewer Mark Kermode is here for it, at any rate. That original film, lest we forget, was itself already based on Cressida Cowell’s book series, so we are now operating at least two levels deep in the adaptation lasagne. One more remake and this thing’s qualifying for reincarnation status in some religions.
The new version flaps its leathery CGI wings under the direction of Dean DeBlois, who also wrote and directed the original animated trilogy and, frankly, seems to have been dared by the studio to do it again but in Belfast. And to his credit, he more or less pulls it off. Think less “grimdark reboot” and more “shot-for-shot, but this time you can see the pores.”
Our hero, Hiccup (played with gawky charm by Mason Thames), is once again the gangly Viking teen who would rather be an inventor than an axe-wielding dragon-slayer. Nico Parker steps up as Astrid, bringing slightly more modern grit to the dragon-fighting school sweetheart, while Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick the Vast — now in the flesh and with an even vaster beard. One imagines he walked straight from the 300 set and added some extra fur.
There’s Nick Frost as Gobber the Belch (naturally), Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, and a crowd of other youths stomping around in furs and frustration, all trying to prove something to their parents, their peers, and a massive flying death-lizard or two. As for Toothless — the Night Fury dragon and the series’ real star — he remains a semi-invisible, big-eyed blend of cat, bat and mildly judgmental Labrador, now rendered in glossy, photorealistic pixels courtesy of Framestore.
If you’re worried about soulless CG overload, fear not — this isn’t The Lion King 2019 all over again. Here at SFcrowsnest, we admire commitment, and the production team really went to town with the gimbals, puppets, and practical sets. Apparently, they even used puppeteers to help the actors perform with dragons that weren’t really there. This is either wizardry or someone’s elaborate excuse to wear black lycra and wave sticks around on a green screen.
The score by returning composer John Powell adds grandeur and heart to the proceedings, and the sweeping landscapes of Northern Ireland double admirably for the rugged Isle of Berk — although we suspect some poor intern had to digitally scrub out a few sheep and St. Patrick’s crosses.
Critics have been fairly kind, though not falling off their saddles with joy. Rotten Tomatoes has certified it 78% fresh, which means at least 22% of reviewers were probably grumpy dragon purists still angry that Hiccup doesn’t grow a beard until the second sequel.
All in all, this is a remake that doesn’t reinvent the (dragon) wheel, but flies high enough to be worth the ticket price — especially in IMAX, where you can practically count the scales on Toothless’ snout. It’s heartfelt, well-acted, and faithful to the original, which is both its strength and its limitation. Some might say it’s the cinematic equivalent of getting a very nice birthday card you already received in 2010 — but now it’s printed on better paper.
Still, if you’re going to remake a beloved animated film, doing it with the original creative team, a competent cast, and a full barrel of Viking spirit isn’t the worst way to go. And with a sequel already lined up for 2027, clearly the dragon’s not back in the cage just yet.
May the fish be plentiful and your helmets horned.
— SFcrowsnest magazine, where we never train our dragons — they train us.
