REVIEW: An Initially Blind Review of Live Action How to Train Your Dragon

I have never watched How to Train Your Dragon—an act of sacrilege until advertisements of its live action remake started bombarding my feed, and the shots I were seeing looked good. Interesting, at least.

To the theatre I went, with no expectations on plot or animation—just the hope to find a good remake.

I did, in fact, find a good movie. A great movie, even.

PART ONE: It’s a Good Movie

How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is a compelling story about teenagers, dragons, and morals. The movie’s CGI is believable, and its dragons are both adorable (Toothless) and terrifying (the final boss of the movie). The movie focuses well on its two main plots: the taming and befriending of dragons as the protagonist HIccup finds his identity in his village, and the vikings’ search for the dragons’ nest. It threads between these two plots by weaving in Hiccup’s involvement in each as he befriends Toothless and passes training in his uniquely pacifist style while his village chief father pursues the dragons’ nest, an affair that Hiccup stumbles his way into (like he does with everything, it seems). The movie both converges and resolves these plots with a satisfying, climactic fight that proves the strength of its main characters and redeems others—such as Hiccup’s father, who learns to accept him and his new way of life with dragons.

While the movie may thrive on nostalgia and is a feels-good watch before a heavily nuanced commentary on society, it still holds its own as a piece of storytelling in the fantasy genre. In fact, its fantastical worldbuilding is impressive, conveying the whimsical nature of the Isle of Berk impeccably by bringing the island to life with vivid colours, believable landscapes, and detailed set design.

On the other hand, though the movie is certainly aesthetic and heartwarming, it is also rather fast-paced and incredibly straightforward with its messages. Some of its characters only feel like common caricatures to make the movie humorous, though they redeem themselves somewhat in the final fight against the largest dragon in the dragons’ nest. The movie also overuses cheesy phrases under varying context to very clearly convey development in the movie: for example, both phrases “You just gestured to all of me” and Astrid’s “That was for [Hiccup’s flaw here]… and that was for everything else” transition from negative to positive connotation. Hiccup is accepted into society—where “all of him” is good—and starts a relationship with Astrid, fellow viking warrior and love interest, where the second half of her sentence grows from angry to fond. However, this repetition doesn’t pass off as annoying. Just cheesy. Incredibly cheesy.

As someone who has not watched the original, animated How to Train Your Dragon, I would recommend this movie to those new to the fandom and in search of a feels-good movie, and kids. With its relatable storyline for children and teens, its artistic shots and even more artistic soundtracks, I believe it’s the perfect movie for those who want nostalgia and an engaging, heartwarming story. I am most impressed by the way it brought its most iconic characters—its dragons—to life, and its ability to convey a story in a compelling way—a struggle for most remakes.

PART TWO: It’s a Good Remake

Up until the end of the school year, I ended my review as it was: a blind review. However, while procrastinating the publication of this review, my school decided to cram half of its student body into the auditorium for the last day of the school year. To keep us entertained, they started playing movies, the first of which was none other than the original How to Train Your Dragon (2010). After watching the movie for free (thank you, school, you did one thing right), I have some more thoughts to add.

How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is not just a good movie on its own, but a good remake. It certainly has its flaws, but it remained faithful to its source material; many of the shots and scenes are one-to-one, including the alternating style of shots, Hiccup’s dragon training scenes, and all of the cheesy, overused phrases.

But the movie isn’t just faithful—it takes a further step in fleshing out parts of the story, such as the vikings’ quest for the dragons’ nest. I was surprised to watch the original and find little to no scenes explaining the adult vikings’ struggle for the nest, which explained the motives of the chief as a primary antagonist. It made him a good villain—literally—in the live action.

Additionally, actor Mason Thames impressed me with his portrayal of Hiccup in the live-action. He embodied Hiccup in clumsiness, witty comebacks, and overall misfit nature with a stubborn moral compass and a penchant for both pacifism and dragons. He doesn’t have the same manner of speaking as the animated Hiccup, but he has his own version of the Jack Sparrow run.

On the other hand, my only gripe with the live action How to Train Your Dragon is that it did not take further steps in providing nuance to the rest of the story’s characters and plot; people are more than just stereotypes, and I would have liked to see more about the side characters’ lives and backstories so that I would care about them more.

Additionally, the plot would have felt less brisk if there had been more scenes that let it breathe: for example, a scene I really liked in the original was one where Hiccup, while hanging out with Toothless, tamed a tiny dragon called the “Terrible Terror” by vikings. It showed Hiccup’s affinity for dragons in general, and how he wasn’t just trying new strategies for the first time in dragon training, but taking the time to make sure they worked before applying them. He wasn’t succeeding through strokes of luck that all dragons shared varying behaviours; he had taken the time to confirm the similarities.

Final Takeaway

Overall, my initial viewing of How to Train Your Dragon (2025) exposed me to a straightforward but heartwarming, whimsical yet believable story about vikings and dragons. It’s an entertaining movie and a solid remake, taking what made the original How to Train Your Dragon iconic and building upon that foundation. It used its medium as a live-action well, breathing life into its worldbuilding, though it could have taken more time to truly flesh out all of its characters as well. For those who want a taste of nostalgia, sprinkles of comfort, and a dash of reinvention to a classic movie, How to Train Your Dragon (2025) is a solid recommendation.

Any opinions expressed are of their respective writers and not The Zombie Fridge Journal.