How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

[Mike Blakesley]

This live-action remake was the only screening at CinemaCon this year, which to me was kind of ridiculous. What they did show was mostly standard trailers --- almost none of the extended footage like we used to get in the past. Even the Rocky Mountain NATO convention last year had three full screenings.

Anyway, Universal put up a confusing slide ahead of this screening. They said the movie was not approved for reviews yet, but that social media posts were welcomed. So I guess, in other words, please, critics, don't trash this movie until after the regular folks have had a shot at it. I would say Film-Tech counts as social media, so I'm jumping in with a few not-very-detailed thoughts.

It was decent. It seemed to take a LONG time to get going, but once the kid meets the dragon and makes friends with it, things pop pretty well. There are some very scary scenes, which were made scarier by the burn-your-ears-right-off-the-side-of-your-head sound levels at CinemaCon, an annual annoyance which muddles about half of the dialog -- at least in the crappy seats that us poor non-chain theater folk are confined to. For the peril scenes, it may deserve a PG-13 rating. It'll freak out some kids for sure.

The special effects (dragon flight scenes) were spectacular, but I thought the various fights, battles, skirmishes and such went on too long. They could have trimmed 15 minutes of exposition off of the first third of the movie, edited down a few battles, and had a real winner. As is, it's a good family film but not a classic, in my book at least. But I think it will do pretty well.

2.5 out of 5 stars for me.

[David Ferguson]

First I should say that I'm a huge fan of the original 2010 movie (and by huge I mean mega-huge, I could - and have been known to - talk about this film all day). It's the movie that got me into cinema and film collecting, and I've organised/helped with quite a few screenings of the original, so I am coming at this from the point of view of loving the original, and being highly skeptical that a reboot is needed.

I've not seen it yet (nearly considered coming over to CinemaCon, but the ticket prices are not meant for individuals so couldn't justify it), but the trailer(s) I have seen show a shot-for-shot remake, with the same dialogue, same acting, and even same small facial expression movements. They are possibly just going for the nostalgia-trap at the moment, hooking people in with "Oh, I remember this!", but so far, I've not seen anything different.

For the peril scenes, it may deserve a PG-13 rating. It'll freak out some kids for sure.

The original was PG, but maybe having real people in it will have to up it to PG.

They could have trimmed 15 minutes of exposition off of the first third of the movie, edited down a few battles, and had a real winner.

The irony is that they have added 18 minutes to the runtime compared to the 2010 original... so it sounds like they may have tried to pad it out a bit, but it hasn't added much, and may have caused it to drag at times. I've always thought the plot and runtime of the original was pretty tight - (nearly) all the scenes are needed, all the dialog is necessary for the story.

However I think it will do well, but probably not as well as some of the recent Disney live actions. It's only been 15 years since the original - which is a good chunk of time, but if you were a kid when you watched it, you're not quite at the age where you have your own kids that are old enough for you can take along to this reboot yet.

Have you watched the original 2010 movie, Mike? If you give it a rewatch, with the Live Action fresh in your mind, I'd be interested to know your thoughts on how they compare.

[Mike Blakesley]

I haven't watched the original. I think when we played it, we were too busy for me to ever sit and watch it. That happens with a lot of popular movies.

That's interesting that this new one may be a shot-for-shot remake. I had not heard that before, but I guess it's possible.

One thing I always thought was kind of funny is the way Hiccup makes friends with Toothless at first. He holds out his hand and looks away, Toothless takes a sniff, and they're buddies. That wouldn't happen with most wild animals. Dogs, maybe. A deer (or anything smaller) would never let you get that close without running away, and a bear would be more likely to bite your hand off, or worse.

[David Ferguson]

I am very biased, but I'd recommend giving the 2010 original a watch - it's a classic... (If I was on the same continent you could borrow my print of it).

What you describe is also exactly how it happens in the original. I guess in an animated film, you can more easily believe that sort of thing, but it probably stands out more in live action. But you are right that this shouldn't be taken as a instructional manual of how to deal with wild animals!