Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon

Welcome back to the blog readers. As you know, animation is not really my forte, which is a sentiment you heard me echo in my review for the live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch (2025) a few weeks ago. If there is one thing I know for a fact, it is that the How to Train Your Dragon (2010-19) films are loved and celebrated by a lot of people. Would this live-action adaptation be worthy of the love and success the original animated film got? Stick around to find out.

How to Train Your Dragon was written and directed by Dean DeBlois, based on the animated film How to Train Your Dragon (2010) by DeBlois and Chris Sanders, which itself is based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Cressida Cowell. The film stars Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Peter Serafinowicz, Nick Frost, and Gerard Butler. In the film, a young Viking makes a friend out of a dragon, who are the sworn enemies of his tribe, and the two must navigate the war their tribes wage against each other.

As the only film that was screened early at CinemaCon in April, there must have been a real big buzz coming out regarding this film. People who went said they loved it, and I was definitely intrigued from the minute I saw footage. But knowing this film was geared more for a younger audience made made me a bit nervous because of how simple those types of films can be. But I can confidently say this film is the biggest surprise of the year for me so far. I loved this film. Mason Thames and Gerard Butler shine in their roles, the effects are incredible, and the themes are relevant for people of any age.

I want to start by talking about the performance of Mason Thames as our main Viking Hiccup. I really started to take notice of Thames when he starred alongside Ethan Hawke in The Black Phone (2022) and its upcoming sequel Black Phone 2 (2025). Being a 17-year old kid, there obviously is not going to be a whole big sample size in terms of roles, but he found a role that he could really sink his teeth into. As the pint-sized Viking who tends to mess everything up, Thames brings a bravado to this role that I did not see from him in The Black Phone. He has a charisma about him that not many actors have, especially ones that are around his age. I really hope we get some more of these things out of him in the sequel set for release in 2027, because his heart, charisma, and overall great acting are going to keep him around in this business for a long time.

And now I have to talk about someone else I have a love/hate relationship with, and that person is Gerard Butler. You guys already know what I think of Jason Statham and how I think he is not a good actor at all, but I feel somewhat similar with Gerard Butler. However, unlike Statham, Butler's performance as Mike Banning in the Has Fallen (2013-19) films hold a special place in my heart. But Butler really gets to shine in this role as Stoick the Vast. I obviously knew he voiced the character in the animated film, but seeing him actually take on and embody this character really puts it into perspective. Butler becomes this character with all the charisma that he has, and I think this is one of his best roles to date.

The next thing I want to talk about in regards to this film has to be the effects. Yeah, I know that this discussion is one that will rage on for ages, but the effects industry has been under a lot of heavy fire due to the long hours and poor working conditions. So giving them credit where credit is due is definitely one of our civic duties as film pundits and critics. And the effects in this film are breathtaking. You really believe that there are hundreds of dragons flying over the skies of this mystical Viking island that can breathe fire and gas and all sorts of things. This will be a bit of a hot take but I strongly believe that this is a film that could get some love at the Oscars for Best Visual Effects. Sadly, it is coming out in a year that has an Avatar (2009-31) film coming out in Fire and Ash (2025) so it won't win.

Now I need to talk about the underlying themes and the message of the film. Since the people involved in the animated film returned, I can imagine the same messaging present in that one is present here. Hiccup and Toothless represent the outsiders, people who are treated different by society as a whole and therefore not a whole lot of stock is put in them and their potential. But through their bond, the filmmakers are able to tell a time-old story that just because someone is different does not mean they don't have something to share with the world. Even though you may be different, you are still special in your own way. And as an outsider myself, I definitely found myself resonating with this message.

The final thing I want to talk about has to do with the pacing of the film. And this might surprise you, but this is the one criticism I have with this film. I do think the film takes a bit of time to pick up the pace, but it fires on all cylinders when it does. I do not agree that the first bit of the film is terrible, but I do feel that it is slow and long-winding. When the "iconic" scene of Hiccup putting his hand out to Toothless for him to show his trust, that is the scene where business starts picking up for me. All the emotion is there, all the heart is there, and don't even get me started on the first flight scene.

In conclusion, How to Train Your Dragon surprised the hell out of me with great performances, heart, effects, and messaging. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.