How To Train Your Dragon

Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders must be having a good summer. After working together on animated classics like Lilo & Stitch and How To Train Your Dragon, the creative duo got to see both of these films be turned into live-action this year. 

However, adapting an already beloved film can be something of a double edged sword. Change too much from the original source material and fans will get upset. Don't change enough, and people will question why the remake is even being made in the first place. And both of these remakes do suffer from both of these issues. 

Lilo & Stitch fans were given a live-action adaptation that left out - and made changes to - a lot of material from the original film. Conversely, fans of How To Train Your Dragon were given a live-action adaptation that is exactly the same as its animated counterpart. So fans of these respective properties were upset for different reasons; and I totally understand both of them. 

All of the live-action adaptations feel infuriatingly insulting. Because it seems like the studios don't take their animated properties seriously. That they make these live-action adaptations in order to sell the audience something that "feels more real." But that completely undercuts the benefit that animation can provide these animated films with in the first place. Animation is lively, expressive, and over-exaggerated. It can do things that simply cannot be done in live-action. So all of these remakes seem like a cheap way for these studios to cash in on their existing IP. Which does feel like an extremely cynical way to approach filmmaking - let alone storytelling. 

So I fundamentally take issue with all of the live-action remakes that have been produced lately. But, while I would argue that the new Lilo & Stitch happens to be a bad film, I have to admit that the new How To Train Your Dragon is actually a pretty good film. 

After stumbling to find its footing at first, the movie does manage to take flight once it shows off some beautiful visual effects and some rather impressive action sequences. None of these elements are better than in the original animated feature, but that doesn't make them any less good on their own. 

So for those who don't know: How To Train Your Dragon tells the story of a young Viking boy named Hiccup. He lives on an island that is constantly being pillaged by dragons, which is why his people have spent generations hunting and killing the wild creatures. However, Hiccup causes some friction between him and his people when defies centuries of Viking tradition, and befriends a powerful dragon that he names Toothless.

It's a nice story. One that reminds us of how we shouldn't be ashamed of who we really are, of how we shouldn't be afraid of thinking outside the box - even when that train of thought goes against public opinion, and of how we should treat all living creatures with kindness and respect. 

Those are nice messages that can resonate with anyone; which is probably why Hiccup is such an engaging character. He grows from being an insecure boy who just wants to please his dad, to a fearless leader who showed his people how to change their ways. Who wouldn't be inspired by a story like that? Especially when the story involves a cute and cuddly dragon like Toothless? He’s downright adorable! 

So, much like its animated counterpart, the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless provides this live-action remake with a lot of heart and soul. And Mason Thames does a really excellent job of portraying Hiccup. I absolutely love Jay Baruchel's rendition of the character, but I can't deny that Thames did a really fantastic job of leading this film. 

I also liked Nico Parker's performance as Astrid, and I have no idea why people are hating on her portrayal. She’s a good actress. That being said, I was a bit underwhelmed by the rest of the cast. I like Gerard Butler and Nick Frost, but their characters just felt a little too silly and cartoonish to me. Which may sound like an odd complaint for a children's film, but I think that only speaks to the fact that this movie desperately wants to be animated!

Plus, while some of the costumes, sets, and production designs looked spectacular, some of them looked better suited for a play than a big Hollywood blockbuster film. Thankfully, all of the dragons do look outstanding. There’s not a single frame of a dragon that doesn’t look good. And that was pretty cool. The dragons may not have the same kind of lively personality as their animated counterparts, but I definitely do think that they take on a life of their own in this movie. 

So, while I do happen to like the original animated film a lot more, I can’t deny that this adaptation does act as a solid movie in its own right. It may be a bit derivative, but Dean DeBlois made a solid case for why he should direct more live-action films in the future. I personally would like to see him work on something non-dragon related - especially since he’s been working on this franchise ever since the original came out in 2010 - but if he decides to direct How To Train Your Dragon 2 and 3, I wouldn’t be upset. After all, filmmakers don’t normally get the chance to direct the adaptations of their own work. So I do respect the passion that DeBlois has for his franchise; I just wish he gave other filmmakers the chance to play in this sandbox too. New creative voices could allow this franchise to speak to a brand new generation of fans.

Which isn’t to say that the film isn’t already speaking to new fans; plenty of kids seemed to be enjoying it in the auditorium that I saw it in, after all. I would just like to see what someone else could bring to this franchise. Because, as it stands now, How To Train Your Dragon does nothing to elevate its source material. So I think it actually could have benefitted from making some small, subtle changes. We know that the main villain in the third film is a Night Fury hunter, for example, so I think the film missed an opportunity to tease that character here. He didn’t need to be introduced or anything, but his presence could have been acknowledged in some way. I don’t know. 

I just find the shot-for-shot remakes to be so unnecessary. I may not have liked the new Lilo & Stitch, but I did find some of the changes that it made to be rather interesting. Even though season two of The Last of Us made changes that I didn’t enjoy, I respect that it at least tried to do some different things. How To Train Your Dragon didn’t try to do anything differently. And I did find that to be a bit disappointing. 

But disappointing and bad are two totally different things. And while I may have my issues with it, How To Train Your Dragon is not a bad movie by any means. It’s actually a surprisingly good one. So, even though it may not be my personal cup of tea, How To Train Your Dragon would still get a mild recommendation from me.