How to Train Your Dragon Review

A young Viking boy questions the outdated beliefs of his people and befriends an injured dragon. Cressida Cowell's fantasy adventure book series about Hiccup and his dragon Toothless, who save the island of Berk from predators, is as fantastically fun as it is a deeply layered story about identity, coming-of-age, and unlikely friendships.

Since 2010, the books have been adapted into wildly successful animated films, directed by Dean DeBlois, with Gerard Butler voicing Stoick, Hiccup's father and the gruff chieftain of Berk, who is embarrassed by his son's timid nature and scrawny frame.

Even with the technical limitations of the time, the animated films were paragons of storytelling and pacing. Just try not to choke up during the scene when Toothless lets Hiccup touch him for the first time. Or well up with joy when Hiccup and his girl-crush Astrid ride Toothless into the auroral night sky. The first film is as perfect an animated movie as any ever made. And over the course of the trilogy, Toothless, the loyal, playful, lightning-fast dragon, won our hearts many times over.

So why a live-action remake? In other words, why tinker with something already close to perfect? The reasons aren't complicated: a chance to introduce a new generation of young audiences to the franchise; an opportunity for DeBlois, returning as director, to flex his filmmaking muscle - working with young actors, corralling massive sets, and experimenting with CGI puppetry and whatnot; and a convenient vehicle to promote Universal's Epic Universe theme park rides based on this IP. Or maybe it's as simple as DreamWorks Animation wanting to jump on the easy-money bandwagon. Live-action remakes are all the rage right now. A trend likely to reach fever pitch after last month's blockbuster success of the live-action Lilo & Stitch ($800 million at the box office).

Without begrudging Hollywood executives their retirement money though, what's frustrating about this sad trend is the creative stagnation it has come to represent. In How to..., for instance, DeBlois engages in a kind of cinematic déjà vu, recreating his animated film almost frame for frame. The result bears an uncanny resemblance to the original, as though a capable AI tool had painted Mason Thames's face onto Hiccup and that of Nico Parker onto Astrid, and real-world-ified the Isle of Berk in one big swoop.

With live performers, the whimsy and humour of Cowell's characters are somewhat subdued - particularly in the leads, Mason and Nico, who, although they look the part, bring a note of seriousness that undercuts the charm.

If there's one area where the live-action version clearly delivers, it's the dragons - the hippo-like Gronckles, the horned Nadders and the two-headed Zipplebacks, all brought to life in their full, wonderfully weird glory.

Another satisfying upgrade is Gerard Butler finally getting to play the character he once voiced. Beneath the fur coats and Stoick's great mane of a beard, Butler captures the chieftain's grizzled persona without losing the character's emotional depth or the twinkle in his eye.

Hiccup's mentor, the stump-legged Gobber, played by British comedy actor Nick Frost, is the perfect foil. So are Hiccup's gang of frenemies, who get more airtime to banter and squabble over who will be crowned Top Dragon Slayer. Harry Trevaldwyn and Bronwyn James, as the bickering twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut, make a great comedic duo.

John Powell returns as composer and outdoes himself in the film's apex moment: Hiccup's first roller-coaster ride on Toothless - his fumbling, a near fall to his death, and then a triumphant return to the harness as they glide over the cliffs of Berk.

Not many filmmakers get to revisit past work or get handed a big fat check to improve upon it (also not many want to). But DeBlois may have realized there wasn't much to polish in this already sparkling gem, and turned his attention to the filmmaking craft itself. For him and his crew, the experience of remaking How To Train Your Dragon may have felt creatively fresh. For longtime fans, though, the remake is, to a fault, just that: a remake. And the best it can hope for is to match the emotional impact of the animated original. This film, redeemably, at least comes pretty close.