Steph’s Cheers and Jeers/Stephy The Spoonie Witch received a complimentary movie code in return for our honest review.
When How to Train Your Dragon first premiered back in 2010, I was 18 years old and was instantly hooked. Growing up, I’d always been fascinated by tales of dragons, and Toothless quickly became my favorite. I watched the animated film countless times. So, when I heard about the 2025 live-action remake, I was beyond excited, especially because I could watch it with my son, as we’ve enjoyed the original movie together many times.
Plot:
How to Train Your Dragon is the story of a young Viking named Hiccup who defies his tribe’s age-old traditions by befriending a dragon. What follows is a powerful tale of friendship, courage, and challenging everything you thought you knew.
Comparing 2025’s Live-Action to the 2010 Animated Classic
The 2025 live-action adaptation closely follows the original 2010 animated version. The storyline, characters, and scenes are very similar, and even as someone who has seen the animated film several times, I found it challenging to identify differences between the two. However, I did notice that the live-action film has a darker and more intense aesthetic, which I expect when depicting a place like Berk.
One of my favorite parts was the portrayal of Meatlug the Gronckle. Even though growing up, I loved Toothless, I have grown to love Meatlug, and I feel the depiction was great. I also felt that the portrayal of Toothless was incredibly accurate, capturing both his intelligence and playful, cat-like personality.
The Cast and Creative Team
One of my biggest reliefs about this remake was knowing that Dean DeBlois, who is the original writer and director behind the beloved animated trilogy, returned to write, direct, and produce the live-action film. Watching a behind-the-scenes featurette on social media on the costume design made me appreciate the incredible attention to detail the team put into bringing this world to life.
Cast includes
- Mason Thames (The Black Phone) as Hiccup.
- Nico Parker (Dumbo, The Last of Us) as Astrid.
- Gerard Butler (300, Olympus Has Fallen) is returning as Stoick the Vast.
- Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) as Fishlegs.
- Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) as Gobber the Belch.
- Bronwyn James (Harlots, Wicked) as Ruffnut.
- Gabriel Howell (Bodies) as Snotlout.
- Harry Trevaldwyn (The Bubble, Ten Percent) as Tuffnut.
Final Thoughts:
I genuinely enjoyed the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. Yes, there has been some criticism, especially around Nico Parker’s portrayal of Astrid and the CGI effects. But honestly, I found the movie to be a wonderful, even if it doesn’t quite capture the exact charm and nostalgia of the original animated version. I was actually shocked by the negative backlash this movie received, with some people calling it terrible and giving it 1 star ratings.
How to Train Your Dragon (2025) currently holds a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes, a 7.9/10 on IMDb, and a 7/10 on ING, and is available for rent or purchase on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Vudu.
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