How To Train Your Dragon (2025)

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery in more ways than one with How To Train Your Dragon.

Not content with just wading into Disney’s waters of remaking animated classics for a quick buck, DreamWorks basically hits copy and paste on the original with this live action version.

The result? A match for the original and maybe better than all of Disney’s attempts so far.

That shouldn’t track but it absolutely does. Helped no end by the fact that the original film is so charming and winning and contains one of cinema’s greatest animal sidekick characters.

It would have been interesting to see what differences could have been wrought with this but I guess you can’t really complain with them going beat-for-beat.

It scores them a few less points from a critical perspective but will play well with fans and will absolutely attract new audiences.

Bringing back original Director Dean DeBlois and also utilising Gerard Butler again as Stoick (he voiced the part previously) is another great move to create cohesion between the two.

The human versions of the characters all work brilliantly but, best of all, they haven’t really changed Toothless at all.

Brilliantly animated and just plain adorable, this is a ‘boy and beast’ tale that is great for all the family.

There isn’t much more to say really. The first attack sequence is arguably too dark – not in a tonal way but just poorly lit and the sound mix was slightly off in the screening I went to (more likely the fault of the cinema than the film) but if you liked the original you’ll love this.

It can’t score points for originality but, like Lilo & Stitch before it, the original story was so good, and the translation to live action so seamless, that this is a winner for DreamWorks and food for thought for Disney.

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