‘How To Train Your Dragon’ review: DreamWorks’ live-action remake harnesses the magic of the animated original

Dir: Dean DeBois. UK/US. 2025. 125mins

Fifteen years after the release of Dreamworks animation How To Train Your Dragon, and the studio is hoping to recapture the magic – and the same healthy box office – with this lavish live-action remake. Returning director Dean DeBlois (who helmed the animation alongside Chris Sanders, as well as its sequel) has retained the energetic spirit of the original, and he’s helped by some fantastic CGI and a game cast, both of which lean into the fantastical charm of this tale of a hapless young Viking who discovers he is something of a dragon whisperer.

The blending of CGI and live action is genuinely seamless

The animated version, which was based on Cressida Cowell’s popular books, took $495m at the global box office, was nominated for an Oscar and spawned two successful sequels, 2014’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 ($621m), and 2019’s How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World ($540m). There’s also TV show DreamWorks Dragons, video games and a host of merchandising, which will ensure a built-in audience for this reboot. Rolling out globally from June 9, with berths at Annecy, Sydney and Tribeca along the way, this should be a strong performer with family audiences, even with the competition posed by Disney’s Elio, which releases globally from June 19. Dreamworks certainly have confidence in their strategy; a sequel is due for release in 2027.

On the isolated, geographically non-specific isle of Berk (the film shot on location in Northern Ireland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands), a community of Vikings live under threat of attack from the various dragons who nest in the vicinity. The danger is ever-present, as shown by a bombastic opening sequence in which homes, shops and livestock are destroyed by the winged monsters – although, this being a family film, there is a light-touch to the carnage, the focus being on the spectacle rather than the collateral damage.

As is made clear by gruff, authoritative leader Stoick (Gerard Butler, reprising the role from the animation), all energies must be put into finding the dragons’ nest and wiping them out. To that end, a group of young Vikings are trained each year to become dragon slayers. The most recent cohort includes gently-spoken brainbox Fishlegs (Hunt For The Wilderpeople’s Julian Dennison); Astrid (Nico Parker), a strong, accomplished warrior who has a promising future ahead of her; and Stoick’s son Hiccup (Mason Thames, previously seen in 2021 horror Black Phone), who does not seem to have any natural ability for combat. The fact that this is an unending source of shame for his father is one of the film’s more poignant narrative threads.

You don’t need to have seen the original to know where this is going, and when Hiccup discovers a wounded dragon – one of the feared, mysterious Night Furys, no less – he is compelled to nurse it back to health. This act of kindness leads to a friendship between Hiccup and the dragon, who he names Toothless, which in turn leads to Hiccup’s renewed understanding of these creatures and their motivations. Eventually enlisting Astrid’s help, Hiccup must convince the community, and his pig-headed father, that things need to change.

DeBlois’ screenplay hits familiar narrative beats: the underdog coming good; the passing of the mantle between generations; the tension between tradition and new ideas. But, unlike some of Disney’s recent rote live-action remakes, the film effectively breathes new life into this old story. That’s largely thanks to a strong ensemble cast – particularly Thames, who showcases both a sympathetic vulnerability and an endearing quiet strength as the sensitive Hiccup. And while Butler doesn’t have a great deal of movement within his deliberately blunt-edged role, Nick Frost brings welcome moments of levity and deadpan humour as Gobber, Stoick’s right-hand man (who, ironically, has lost more than one limb to the dragons). As Astrid, Parker is both appealingly feisty and winningly level-headed; a necessary skill in this melting pot of machismo.

Indeed, one could argue that there has been a missed opportunity to bring some gender balance to this male-dominated story. Astrid is one of only three female characters – one of whom never speaks – and ultimately puts her own talents and ambitions aside to support Hiccup in his endeavours. Yet that, of course, is not the purpose of this reboot. It is all about the dragons, about blurring the line between fantasy and reality to create a memorable big-screen experience, and in this respect it catches fire. The blending of CGI and live action is genuinely seamless, captured by cinematographer Bill Pope in both wide-shot and close-up and resulting in thrilling, immersive action sequences bolstered by returning composer John Powell’s new, fittingly-soaring score. (Imax screenings should be popular.)

Toothless, the franchise’s marketable poster boy, is particularly impressive; identical to his animated counterpart, he is rendered as a compelling cross between a doe-eyed, playful creature and a being of unimaginable power. The obvious parallels between Hiccup and Toothless may be simply drawn, but the strength of the bond between them ensures this remake really takes flight.