How to Train Your Dragon elevates a heartfelt story to epic proportions. Toothless and Hiccup’s relationship is incredibly lifelike, and Mason Thames delivers an endearing performance.
The film is a live-action remake of the animated classic first released in 2010. Unique to other live-action remakes, it is directed by the same writer/director who made the animated film. Dean DeBlois choice to return to direct the live-action version casts aside any doubts audiences may have that he does not support the remake. On the contrary, DeBlois has been passionate in speaking about how the remake can bring the same story to new audiences in a new format.
Indeed, the film captures the kindness, empathy, and purity of the story perfectly. DeBlois immerses you totally in the world of Berk. The lush green forests, vast mountaintops, and burning fires inside the viking’s homes invites you into a distinctly magical world.
The dragon-riding sequences are the standout of the film. Toothless, and all the other dragons are designed to feel equally lifelike as they do mystical. Toothless looks and feels like he could be your real-life pet, but equally has the weight and tangibility of a dragon that could pick you up and fly you across mountaintops. The sound design of Toothless’ voice and movements, paired with the magical score totally wrap you up in the immersion of the flying sequences.
A feature of live-action filmmaking that animation can’t quite provide as well is the photorealistic elements that make the film more tangibly. The flying sequences deliver on that promise perfectly. Audiences actually feel like they are flying with Toothless and Hiccup in the air. Toothless and Hiccup’s first flight together is easily the best part of the film, and totally sweeps you along with the gust of the wind in IMAX.
The story, as the original goes, is a brilliantly told allegory for kindness and empathy. As the island of Berk moves from rejecting Hiccup’s unorthodox methods to embracing them and transforming the entire village, audiences learn the valuable lesson of changing your perspective. Hiccup’s character arc is crafted with care and gives you a character to root for. The backlash he faces as an underdog invests audiences in the journey of his fight to prove himself.
Mason Thames delivers an endearing performance that balances Hiccup’s more quirky characteristics with the confidence and he gains by the end of the film. Another highlight of the live-action version is seeing each actor’s approach to portraying the character. Where in an animated film the body-language, gestures and facial expressions of the character is left up to animators, here it is displayed by the actor’s performance, and Thames alongside Nico Parker do a fantastic job. Nick Frost is another standout who consistently provides greta laughs.
How to Train Your Dragon is one of the most enchanting and exhilarating experiences you’ll have at the cinema this year. It’s a story well worth telling in this format for the way it elevates the action, set-pieces, and lifelike emotion.
How to Train Your Dragon releases in Australian cinemas on June 12th, 2025.
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