How to Train Your Dragon (2025)    Universal/Fantasy-Action-Adventure    RT: 125 minutes    Rated PG (sequences of intense action and peril)    Director: Dean DeBlois    Screenplay: Dean DeBlois    Music: John Powell    Cinematography: Bill Pope    Release date: June 13, 2025 (US)    Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Murray McArthur, Peter Serafinowicz, Naomi Wirthner, Ruth Codd, Andrea Ware.

Rating: ** ½

 It would be perfectly pointless if I was to tell the powers-that-be in Hollywood to knock it off with the live-action remakes of beloved animated classics. As long as they keep making money, as is the case with Lilo & Stitch ($350M and counting), the studios will keep churning them out.

 I say studios, but it’s really just Disney that’s been recycling their classics. Until now, that is. DreamWorks throws their hat in the ring with How to Train Your Dragon, a live-action redo of their 2010 smash hit about a boy and his dragon. Directed by Dean DeBlois, one half of the team that brought you the original, it’s not too bad as far as these remakes go. It’s not bad at all, in fact. It’s just unnecessary. It’s not all that different from the original in terms of narrative. It’s almost a shot-for-shot remake with a few small tweaks here and there- e.g. Astrid gets a little more backstory. Also, it lacks the heart and soul that truly defined the original. It simply goes through the motions in the switch to live action.

 Should I really take the time to explain the plot? If you’ve seen the original and I know most people have, you already know what How to Train Your Dragon is about. In a nutshell, an awkward Viking teen named Hiccup (Thames, The Black Phone) wants to kill dragons like his dad, village chieftan Stoick (Butler reprising his role from the OG). The problem is he hasn’t the aptitude for it. He’s seen as weak and weird and always in the way. When he actually captures a dragon, he can’t bring himself to kill it. Instead, he adopts it as a pet.

 The dragon Hiccup captures in a dreaded Night Fury, the most dangerous of all dragons. He names him Toothless and gains his trust after he fixes his broken tail thus enabling him to fly again. In return, Toothless shows him how to tame dragons which makes him the star of his dragon-fighting class. The only one not impressed is Astrid (Parker, Dumbo), a plucky girl with serious skills and a strong fighting spirit. She’s also Hiccup’s crush.

 I don’t think I need to go on. You know where the story goes. You know how it ends. Like I said, it’s essentially the same movie as the OG. The question then is this: does How to Train Your Dragon work better as a live-action film? It does NOT. It’s a decent enough movie, it’s well made and all that, but it doesn’t soar as high as the animated version. That one made you feel like you were riding alongside Hiccup on his dragon. With this one, you’re just watching from the ground. The flight sequences are expertly done and even the CGI dragons look good, but it feels more like a simulation than a movie. At times, it’s like watching a bunch of geeky adults acting out the animated original.

 I wouldn’t call this new How to Train Your Dragon a misfire, but it does get one thing grievously wrong. Jay Baruchel, through only his voice, perfectly depicted a teen boy plagued by awkwardness and self-doubt, one who conceals them with humor. I didn’t get that same sense from Thames. His take on Hiccup is rather weak. Butler does a decent job bringing his character from the OG to life. The makeup artists get the look of Stoick right. The only true stand-out in the teen cast is Parker playing Astrid even though her hair isn’t blonde. She gives a lively performance as a tough girl angry over what she perceives as preferential treatment towards Hiccup because he’s the chieftain’s son. Yep, gender politics finds its way into this version as does concerns over humans taking over a world that once belonged to dragons. Uh huh, I knew they’d find a way to bring wokeness into it. Oh well.

 I know it sounds like I didn’t like the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon. That’s not the case at all. It’s entertaining enough. It has plenty of action and cool-looking dragons. The storyline is still engaging. I just can’t get past the fact that it’s really little more than a cash-grab. The devious minds at DreamWorks know that children and their parents will show up. So will fans of the three movies and TV series. A lot of them will opt to see it in 3D. They will likely make a lot of money off of this. More power to them. Me, I still prefer the animated telling of the tale. That, to me, is true magic.