Review – How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

The time is ripe to be a fan of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. An IP that has already achieved massive success, the colourful, dragon-filled Isle of Berk has recently been adapted into an entire world at Universal’s new Epic Universe theme park in Florida, taking its place among other popular media juggernauts such as Harry Potter and Mario. Social media has been brimming with footage of top-of-the-line animatronics, fantastic performances by the roaming actors, and otherwise just showcasing the love for these dragon-themed narratives. Having personally visited Epic Universe myself just last month, it was easy to see that enthusiasm for this franchise is at an all-time high—it’s simply a wonderful world to explore.

With a strong trilogy of animated films, several pieces of spin-off media, and now a theme park under its belt, is it really much of a surprise that Universal wishes to keep this franchise going? But considering Disney’s flailing success with its live action remakes, is this a wise direction for the How to Train Your Dragon franchise to follow?

Content Guide

Violence/Scary Images: As the title suggests, this film features many different species of dragons. There are numerous scenes where humans battle dragons with melee weapons (axes, spears, etc), having to dodge flames, fumes, slashes, chomps, and other projectiles. The designs of the dragons aren’t too scary, but they’re not completely cartoonish either. Characters fall from a height. There is one dragon in particular that is monstrous in stature/appearance which may terrify younger audience members (roughly under eight years of age). The human characters are Vikings, and will roughhouse and hit each other. There are several moments where a character nears death.

Language/Crude Humor: There are some fairly innocuous quips about hygiene and general teasing amongst teenagers. One mention of sending a creature back to H*ll.

Drug/Alcohol References: None.

Sexual Content: There is a crush between a teenage boy and girl. There is a joke about a breastplate.

Spiritual Content: None.

Other Negative Content: One character has a secret and tries to hide it, which results in lying and dishonesty. For the majority of the film’s runtime, most characters wish to kill living creatures (dragons).

Positive Content: The story encourages viewers to not compromise on your moral values, to stay true to yourself, and that your uniqueness might be a benefit to society. It cherishes kindness, forgiveness, and the drive to find peaceful solutions.

Review

Starting off as a book series by Cressida Cowell in 2003, this fictional world filled with Vikings, dragons, and all sorts of whimsy in-between, has quickly developed into one of the rare mega-franchises in the world. Books, animated films, animated series, stage shows and now a theme park, “How to Train Your Dragon” has grown so big and so quickly that it’s hard to see how it can possibly slow down in a society where consumer interest rises and wanes like the seasons. As much as it’s nice to see art being created for the sake of art, it’s a luxury this franchise can ironically no longer afford—so much money has now been invested that How to Train Your Dragon content needs to keep being generated. Let’s not kid ourselves—there is a dollar value and a number of business-driven decisions behind projects like these. In this sense, the leap to live action seems to be the next logical step, given the animated route has already explored several options.

So, whenever it comes to remakes, it is a little unfair to criticise them over the fact that part of their creation is linked in with being a cash grab. It’s just the nature of the beast. Of course they want to keep the franchise going, staying prominent in the public eye, and hopefully kicking off interest in a new generation. It taps into the question of what we truly expect from a remake; some directors have a strong vision and change things up, which can lead to great art at the risk of upsetting the established fanbase, whereas keeping close to the source material can be a safer option, though it risks becoming a pointless, hollow exercise, where the end result cannot justify its own existence.

2025’s How to Train Your Dragon beautifully manages to navigate this hazardous spectrum. It doesn’t veer wildly off into a new direction, but it doesn’t stay tied to the hip of its predecessor. ‘Homage’ is probably its best description. Unlike many other reboots or remakes, 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon isn’t a case where another director has taken over the property, keen to make their own stamp on the title. In a rare opportunity, Dean DeBlois—the writer and director of the animated films—got to revisit his own creation, which has sparked an interesting result. One can assume that since he intimately knew the reasons behind all the creative decisions of the original film, he understood what worked and what didn’t, and therefore has now homed in with making the best choices for the live adaptation.

Essentially, DeBlois stepped away from the strengths of animation, and instead focussed on the elements that are typically superior in live action. As some audiences may have noticed with Disney’s foray into this space, animation tends to be more kinetic—quick to pop with its comedy and character interactions, which only feels like a poor imitation when it’s translated into real life. While 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon still contains many goofy characters and comedic moments, the film wisely steps away from allowing a direct comparison. It’s not shot-for-shot. DeBlois knows what moments are iconic and ensures this remake still hits those beats, but he also knows when it’s pointless to try and recreate scenes that will only work in animation.

Instead, DeBlois amps up the film’s more dramatic storytelling elements. The ferocity of the dragons are more prominent in this version; it’s easy to see the threat they present and why there’s such a hatred towards these creatures. The stakes feel higher when we see real humans try and dodge flames or other toxic substances. The senses are heightened as there’s a greater understanding of the ripping of the wind when the dragons take flight, and the latent danger that’s inherent when it comes to riding or taming such a beast. If there’s one thing that really stands out in the live action compared to its animated counterpart, then it is the sheer size of some of these dragons—the final battle in this adaptation has much more of an overwhelming sense of hopelessness and futility given the literal gargantuan proportions of the reptilian opponent. Of course, it also helps that the CGI is top notch.

Along with playing to the strengths of what live action can provide, the charm of the original is still alive and well due to the transfer of some of the franchise’s iconic elements. The marvellous soundtrack of the animated films makes a welcome reappearance, as without it, things wouldn’t be the same. Gerard Butler has also reprised his role as Stoick, because, well, why not? These similarities to the source material really assist the live adaptation in keeping the same tone that many people loved in the first place.

Yet the real heroes of this project are those working in the production design and costume department. It tends to be a weakness of Disney’s live action films, where the general setting hasn’t translated well from animation to the real world. The costumes have a habit of looking too fresh, not lived-in, like they’ve come straight out of the packaging, where everyone is wearing their clothes for the first time. Then they stand on sets featuring no grime, giving more of a high school musical vibe instead of portraying a place that could possibly exist in the real world. Yet while 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon maintains the same visual look of the animation, complete with the vast array of colours and more fantastical costume flourishes, everything still looks plausible and realistic—it doesn’t scream false in the viewer’s mind.

If there’s any deviation, then it’s with the backstory of Berk and some of its citizens. It’s subtle and not wildly egregious, but there’s more of a sense that Berk is an eclectic gathering of a hodgepodge of souls from various backgrounds, all just trying to make things work. In this way, it justifies one of the production’s most controversial decisions, and that is the casting of Nico Parker as Astrid. For those unaware of the uproar, many fans questioned the casting of a person of colour (POC) in a world filled with Vikings, given the demographic usually calls for those displaying fairer features. Yet considering the fantasy aspects of this film’s narrative, the lack of a concrete time period or real-life location, and the fact that Nico Parker is not the only POC in the cast, it ends up being a rather forgivable creative decision.

That said, Nico Parker isn’t outstanding in the role of Astrid. To be fair, Astrid is a rather difficult character to portray. The franchise is filled with goofy, humorous, and charmingly awkward characters, where effectively Astrid is the ‘straight man’ to every other comedic role. So, it’s difficult to discover a way to make such a character stand out when their very narrative function is to be the most ‘normal’ one in the cast. Parker does a decent job in portraying Astrid’s stakes and determination, but there’s nothing iconic in her performance either, compared to the rest of the cast that either nail their portrayal of their animated counterpart, or are just having fun with the role. Sadly, she is the weakest element of the film (although the movie is still of a high standard), which is a shame for the actress given that the controversy surrounding her involvement will no doubt follow her into subsequent sequels.

In the end, 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon delivers exactly what it set out to achieve. It’s a solid, live action adaptation. If you liked the animated film, then there’s no real reason why you won’t also like this one, as it’s the same wonderful story told again, but in a different format. It maintains the heart and soul of what made the original so popular in the first place, and thanks to some wise direction, it displays the strengths of live filmmaking while avoiding the common pitfalls of this ever-prevalent subgenre. It’s loyal and respectful of the original, but it’s also different enough to justify its own existence outside of just being an excuse to keep this franchise front and centre in the public’s consciousness. You may loathe the concept of creating a live action adaptation for a fairly young but beloved franchise, but given the loving care this film has received, you do have to ask yourself—what more do you want?