Director: Dean DeBlois
Writer: Dean DeBlois
Stars: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler
Synopsis: As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.
It’s interesting to see Dean DeBlois’ readaptation of Cressida Cowell’s How to Train Your Dragon, fifteen years after seeing the original animated masterpiece on the big screen. I may be the biggest hater of these cash-grab live-action remakes that Disney sadly popularized since 2010, but there’s something about How to Train Your Dragon that, for me, feels semi-earnest, so I couldn’t not give it its day in court.
DeBlois has never directed a feature film in live-action and has been making animated masterpieces ever since bringing Lilo & Stitch to the world with Chris Sanders, which makes this shift as intriguing as Brad Bird going from Ratatouille to Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Obviously, this remake doesn’t reach the heights as Bird’s transition to live-action, but it makes sense for DeBlois to have a desire in bringing this story back to life with new challenges and constraints, even if the plot, dialogue, and musical score from John Powell is the exact same as the original.
Literally – and I guarantee this will happen when the film eventually reaches homes – you can do a side-by-side comparison of the animated and live-action films, and nothing has changed. DeBlois doesn’t deepen any of the side characters further or flesh out aspects that might have been briefly touched upon in his animated movie. It’s the exact same product, but done through the prism of live-action. In a sense, the film severely lacks originality and inventiveness, especially if someone knows the animated entry by heart.
The biggest cynics may think this transposition is nothing more than a shameless piece of “content” designed to milk as much money as possible, as its release has been positioned with the opening of Universal’s Epic Universe, and they would be right to think so. However, what I found most fascinating was how DeBlois used the limitations he had at his disposal, which animation does not have, to essentially make the same movie, almost as if this entire thing is nothing more than an exercise for him to know if he indeed can direct something in live-action.
In that regard, he mostly succeeds. Mostly, because the entire back half of the movie does not hold weight (at all) compared to the staggering visuals of the animated film’s climax, and is instead a largely artificial, sludgy action setpiece where the costumes look like poor cosplay, and the green screens stick out like a sore thumb. There’s little to no excitement in seeing Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, reprising his role from the animated film) stand aimlessly in front of an entirely synthetic background as he gathers his troops to invade a Dragon’s Nest and kill all creatures who live there.
There’s also little excitement in seeing Hiccup (Mason Thames) and Toothless fight against the Red Death, even if cinematographer Bill Pope tries his hardest to give it some form of life, but to no avail. The emotional impact is also dampened because anyone who’s seen the original knows what will happen. DeBlois likely took his screenplay from the 2010 movie, did CTRL + C and CTRL + V on his computer, added “2025” to the new script, and delivered it to Universal. That’s how close it follows the original movie – no stone is left unturned in replicating it down to a tee, but with living actors as opposed to the staggering artistry of the animated film.
However, one thing that differentiates both movies is how DeBlois can employ large-format photography in key sequences to immerse the audience in Hiccup’s bond with Toothless in ways he couldn’t, even with the use of 3D in 2010. Utilizing the immense power of IMAX cameras (with the aid of 3D, creating an even more powerful effect than in 2D), DeBlois and Pope frequently expand the frame and plunge us straight into the world of Berk, creating jaw-dropping flight sequences that will genuinely make you jump out of your seat in pure adrenaline, as Powell’s score blares through the speakers and reminds you exactly of why the animated offering has stood the test of time.
These first-person shots are exacerbated by some of the most lifelike CGI you’ll see in a modern movie, especially regarding Toothless’ design. The Night Fury looks like a living, breathing entity next to Hiccup, even if it’s entirely created through the artifice of computer-generated animation. Thames is also very good as the protagonist, though he doesn’t possess the same range as Jay Baruchel, as illustrated during scenes of confrontation with his father. The dramatic intensity of those moments doesn’t hit the same, especially when Butler approaches Stoick with the exact same register as when he voiced him fifteen years ago.
Moreover, the alchemy Hiccup possesses with Astrid (Nico Parker) doesn’t work. The two aren’t on the same wavelength at all, and it’s highly evident when DeBlois attempts to pair them together in the romantic sense of the term. They only work when in the ring, competing against each other, as Hiccup has found ways to subdue the dragons as opposed to brutally killing them, which is what Stoick and Gobber (Nick Frost) are training them for, and the path Astrid is following.
These moments are wondrously directed and engaging enough for us to ultimately care about this reheated story (the IMAX aspect ratio shifts certainly helps involving us in the live-action world), with enough care for DeBlois in wanting to flex his filmmaking muscles a bit and show that he can transpose his story in a different language and environment. While it may not be a perfect shot-for-shot remake, it’s certainly an admirable one, notably thanks to DeBlois’ reverence for Cowell’s source material. He would never make something outright egregious, even if one can feel that he can sometimes get pressured by the limitations he’s working with.
The climax, in particular, is an absolute visual nightmare, and incomparable from what was showcased in the 2010 film. And yet, it’s miles ahead from the other live-action remake of a Dean DeBlois movie released last month, especially in how its filmmaker thinks about how his story should be told through a different medium. That alone made it somewhat compelling, even though I was watching the exact same movie as I did when I stepped foot in the world of Berk for the first time, fifteen years ago, and my appreciation of animation as a medium forever changed.
While feeling was not present while watching this readaptation, I still left the cinema moderately satisfied, knowing that it could’ve been worse. But in the hands of DeBlois, this source material will always be treated with the utmost respect, but I don’t think I’m ready to relive the emotional trauma of How to Train Your Dragon 2 in live-action just yet…
