Disney’s plethora of live-action remakes has made it so that we all kinda look at them sideways. They’ve had two of them already this year alone, and we’re only at the halfway point. We all question whether or not they actually need to happen, because so many of them change so little from the source material that they probably didn’t. The sad fact is Disney has soured our attitude towards these films and perhaps we need to have our attitude adjusted a little bit. That’s where Dreamworks’ How to Train Your Dragon comes in.
A live-action take on Dreamworks Animation’s 2010 classic, and adapted from Cressida Cowell’s beloved novel, How to Train Your Dragon should NOT be as good as it is. Once again directed by franchise creator Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the original with Chris Sanders (y’know, that Lilo & Stitch guy), the film is essentially a shot-for-remake remake with all of the key scenes and characters exactly how you remember them. Based on that alone, this movie should be tossed aside as a pointless waste of time and money. Who needs this version if it’s exactly the same as what we already loved? Ummmm…::sheepishly holds up hand:: I needed it. Hey, I’m as surprised as you are. But damned if all of the soaring highs and emotional interactions didn’t hit me exactly as they once did. That’s a credit not only to DeBlois, who understands the power of this story to transcend mediums, but to the phenomenal cast who had the difficult job of embodying characters we already have a distinct impression of.
The story is exactly the same. The fictional island of Berk is where Hiccup (played by The Black Phone‘s Mason Thames), a skinny, awkward Viking, longs to be a warrior like his father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his earlier role), the chieftan and the most badass dragon-killer around. Berk is a place that is overrun by dragon attacks, and the film kicks off with a doozy. The dragons, big and small, some more dangerous than others, are trying to snatch their sheep, which Berk needs to survive the winter. Dragon attacks are frequent, and the Vikings, comprised of many different warrior tribes, are hoping to find their nest and destroy it. As for Hiccup…he’s kind of an embarrassment, prone to causing more problems than solving them, so he stays inside acting as apprentice to the town blacksmith, Gobber the Belch (Nick Frost).
Hiccup isn’t content with letting others fight without him, and when one of his inventions actually works in taking down a dragon, he finds that it’s the most deadly dragon of all, the Night Fury. But rather than being able to kill the beast, Hiccup and the dragon, which he names Toothless, become friends. And that is not going to go over well back home, especially with Hiccup being thrust into the trials to see if he’s got the mettle to be a true warrior of Berk.
Admittedly, it took me a while to fall in love with How to Train Your Dragon all over again. And I think it’s because the opening sequence, so exhilarating with its dragons, fires, and Hiccup’s clumsy antics, looks like its covered in dense fog when done in live-action. I don’t know if that was to hide some visuals that may not have looked so hot or what, but it does not leave the best first impression. Fortunately, it doesn’t stay that way. Once Hiccup sets off on his own to find Toothless, and the color palette brightens up considerably so that we can see the lush forests and rolling hills, it’s an astonishingly different movie.
The friendship between Hiccup and Toothless, born enemies who stand against their respective tribes, is key to How to Train Your Dragon. But it’s not the only relationship that matters. Fundamentally, this is a father/son story, with Hiccup trying to prove himself and Stoick too stuck in his warrior ways to listen. It’s about a son wanting the love and respect of his father, regardless of the path he’s chosen. Both of these relationships are beautiful, easily understandable, and well-told. They stand the test of time and it doesn’t matter whether it’s on the page, in animation, or in live-action. DeBlois, who also adapted the script solo this time, wisely doesn’t deviate from what works.
That said, sticking to the formula still had me worried that How to Train Your Dragon wouldn’t have the same power to awe me as the original had. I needn’t have worried. Soaring through the sky with Hiccup and Toothless is just as jaw-dropping as ever, feeling like I was in the clouds right next to them. There’s even more of a feeling of danger this time around, the roller coaster drops and loops causing my stomach to clench up. It’s amazing stuff that benefits from being seen on the biggest screen possible. Even Toothless looks exactly as you remember him.
The film wouldn’t be so good without the cast, however. As I said, everyone has a tough task with big shoes to fill. Thames is so good that he almost makes you forget that Hiccup was voiced so distinctly by Jay Baruchel. He’s particularly strong opposite Butler, the only actor to play the character he previously voiced. I’m not one of those who slams Butler for his over-the-top action flicks. He’s a solid actor when given the right material, and he’s never been so subtle, funny, and at times heartbreaking. It’s critical that we not look at Stoick as a bad father, just as a father struggling to communicate with his son. Given the uproar over her casting, Nico Parker was a revelation as Astrid, Hiccup’s love interest and the toughest of all the recruits. Parker, the daughter of Thandiwe Newton and filmmaker Ol Parker, has been making waves with her roles on The Last of Us and Suncoast, but it’s her performance here that’ll catch the most eyeballs and lead her to bigger things.
How to Train Your Dragon changes our expectations for live-action remakes. It doesn’t cut outside the lines much at all, and yet it still manages to have the same emotional impact as it did before. Disney’s The Lion King couldn’t do that. Ultimately, we are just as in love with Hiccup, Toothless, Stoick, Astrid and the rest of the Vikings of Berk as ever, and will want to revisit them again and again.
