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James Mottram

3/5 stars
Hollywood continues to cash in on popular animations by remaking them as live-action/CG hybrids. Lilo and Stitch, released just a few weeks ago, is the third highest-grossing movie of the year so far. Now it is the turn of How To Train Your Dragon.
The fantasy cartoon from DreamWorks based on the book by Cressida Cowell has already spawned two sequels. Now, just 15 years after its release, it gets a makeover, primarily to appeal to those too young to have seen the original.
Set on the island of Berk, where Vikings believe dragons are their mortal enemies, this latest iteration doesn’t deviate much from its predecessor.


A blacksmith’s apprentice, Hiccup (Mason Thames) is the weakling son of the isle’s chief (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same role in the 2010 film).
Desperate to please his father, he joins dragon training alongside love interest Astrid (Nico Parker), where they are tutored by the wily Gobber the Belch (Nick Frost) in an effort to become “top slayer”.

The real fun starts when Hiccup secretly befriends a young, black dragon. Naming this Night Fury “Toothless”, he learns how to pilot the powerful, winged creature, which leads to some stunning aerial scenes as he weaves around the cliffs of the rocky island.
With his father and others hunting for the dragons’ nest in the hope of killing the beasts off, Hiccup must somehow broker peace.
Back directing is Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the 2010 original with Chris Sanders and has since overseen the franchise. To his credit, DeBlois fully understands what makes this tick – especially the rendering of Toothless, who sways between cute and volatile.

The blend of computer-generated animation and live action is also as seamless as we’ve come to expect.
What does work well here is the vivacious cast. Thames has a charmingly cartoonish face and plays well against the gruff Butler, who brings a grizzled weariness to his role.
Hiccup’s fellow trainees are also highly watchable – especially Hunt for The Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, a boy who spits out rapid-fire dragon facts, and the distinctive-looking Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut.

With some scenes replicated shot for shot, there is every chance this will match the original’s US$494 million global box office takings.
However, it is let down by an indulgent running time – the film is needlessly 20 minutes longer than its predecessor. This leaves it feeling less sharp than the original DeBlois-Sanders production, especially in its bloated final third.
One can only hope that How to Train Your Dragon 2 is not in line for a remake, for the novelty will have really worn off.
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How to Train Your Dragon movie review: live-action remake no match for the 2010 original

Mason Thames (left) and Nico Parker in a still from How to Train Your Dragon. Photo; Handout

Mason Thames in a still from How to Train Your Dragon (category IIA), directed by Dean DeBlois and co-starring Gerard Butler and Nico Parker. Photo: Handout

Mason Thames as Hiccup with his Night Fury dragon, Toothless, in Universal Pictures’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon, written and directed by Dean DeBlois. Photo: Handout

Hiccup (Mason Thames) and Stoick (Gerard Butler) in Universal Pictures’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon. Photo: Handout

Mason Thames (left) and Nico Parker in a still from How to Train Your Dragon. Photo: Handout

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A vivacious cast lifts this live-action remake of DreamWorks fantasy cartoon about Vikings battling dragons, but the film is much too long


A vivacious cast lifts this live-action remake of DreamWorks fantasy cartoon about Vikings battling dragons, but the film is much too long.


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Review | How to Train Your Dragon movie review: live-action remake no match for the 2010 original

A vivacious cast lifts this live-action remake of DreamWorks fantasy cartoon about Vikings battling dragons, but the film is much too long