I Watched the How to Train Your Dragon Live-Action Remake — And I Here's What I Think

The second I heard they were making a live-action How to Train Your Dragon, I lost it — in the best way. I grew up with this trilogy. I had Test Drive on repeat like it was my national anthem.

So the idea of seeing it reimagined, with real actors, real landscapes, and dragons that felt just a little more alive? I was ALL IN.

As soon as bookings opened, I didn’t even hesitate. I grabbed my phone, pulled up the app, and booked 3D tickets for the very first showing at SM Sta. Rosa. No questions asked. June 11, 2025 — locked in.

I went with my little sister, popcorn in one hand, irrational excitement in the other. And as soon as the movie started and the music swelled, I felt it — the lump in my throat, the rush of nostalgia, the feeling of coming home.

Growing up with Toothless, it was a full-circle moment — sharing a piece of my childhood with someone younger, while seeing it reimagined through adult eyes and a much bigger screen.

And honestly? The 3D made the flying scenes hit so much harder.

Do We Even Need a Live-Action Version?

No one was demanding a live-action How to Train Your Dragon. The 2010 original was already a masterpiece: breathtaking visuals, a story that still punches me in the heart, and that John Powell score that lives rent-free in my head (Test Drive supremacy). It didn’t need fixing.

But the moment DreamWorks announced a live-action version? I was all in. Instantly. I was refreshing X (formerly Twitter) for casting updates and counting down the days like it was a concert.

I wanted this. I wanted to see Berk on a real cliffside. I wanted Toothless soaring across an actual sky. I wanted to feel it all again — just bigger, louder, closer.

And when I finally sat in that dark cinema, 3D glasses on, and the first notes of the score kicked in? I knew. This was nostalgic, a faithful, cinematic retelling that honors what made the original so special without trying to outdo it.

So no, maybe we didn’t need it. But my inner child? He’s screaming, crying, thriving — and incredibly grateful it happened.

The Story

If you’ve seen the animated version, you already know how this goes.

Hiccup is the awkward, underestimated son of a Viking chief. Their village is constantly at war with dragons, and Hiccup — in an attempt to prove himself — ends up injuring the rarest one of all, a Night Fury. But instead of killing it, he sets it free.

That moment of empathy sets the whole story in motion.

What makes the live-action version surprising is that it doesn’t try to overcomplicate or modernize the narrative. There’s no forced twist. No unnecessary subplot.

It’s almost identical to the original — same beats, same emotional punches, just spaced out with a few extended moments. And I liked that. It didn’t mess with what wasn’t broken.

Yes, it’s longer, by about 27 minutes. But that added time gives space to breathe. Scenes with Astrid have more nuance. The flight sequences feel more immersive. The emotional scenes (especially the ones with Stoick and Hiccup) hit deeper when they’re delivered by real people.

The weight of the world they’re in — the cold, the war, the tension — feels heavier. More grounded.

And even though I already knew every turn of the plot, I almost teared up. That’s how you know it works.

The Visuals

I’m not gonna lie — I had my doubts about the visuals. Dragons in real life? But this movie actually pulled it off.

Filmed across real cliffs and coasts in Northern Ireland, Berk has never felt more alive. Thanks to cinematographer Bill Pope (The Matrix), the textures of the world — the stone, the fog, the firelight in the forge — feel raw and tactile.

The village isn’t a cartoon anymore. It’s something you could hike into, with the wind biting your skin and the sea roaring below.

And then there’s Toothless.

They didn’t ruin him. They didn’t try to “dragon him up” with hyperreal textures and scary lizard features. Instead, they kept the spirit of the original — the eyes, the playfulness, the dog-cat-bat energy.

He’s slightly more detailed but just as lovable. I wanted to hug the screen.

The flight scenes? Glorious. Especially in 3D. If you ever dreamed of flying with a dragon when you were a kid (and let’s be honest, who didn’t?), this is as close as it gets.

There’s something about seeing real skies, real cliffs, and then Toothless slicing through the clouds that makes your stomach drop in the best way.

The Cast

Okay, casting live-action versions of animated characters that people literally grew up with? That’s pressure. Like, no one wants their childhood fave turned into a stiff cosplayer. But somehow, this cast pulled it off — some of them even elevated their characters.

Mason Thames as Hiccup

He’s younger than Jay Baruchel was, and his version of Hiccup feels… softer. Less sarcastic, more physically awkward in a way that makes him instantly relatable. He’s trying to exist in a world that demands he be something he’s not.

His comedic timing is golden (yes, the fish scene lives up to the hype), but he also nails those vulnerable, wide-eyed “am I doing the right thing?” moments that define Hiccup’s heart.

Nico Parker as Astrid

Astrid has always been more than just “the love interest,” but this time she gets a little more emotional texture. Nico Parker absolutely owns this role — sharp, confident, and quietly thoughtful.

She gives Astrid an edge without making her a stereotype. She’s not just strong; she’s layered. If she’s not headlining a major franchise in three years, I’ll be shocked.

Gerard Butler as Stoick

Look — the man is Stoick. He voiced him, he knows him, and now he gets to bring that gruff tenderness to the screen with his whole body.

In this version, Stoick feels even more mythic — towering, booming, full of Viking thunder, but also deeply human. His quieter scenes with Hiccup hit hard, especially when you see how much he’s struggling to love a son who doesn’t fit the mold. It’s emotionally loaded, and Butler brings the weight.

Nick Frost as Gobber

Ferguson’s Gobber was iconic, and Frost doesn’t quite match that, but he doesn’t ruin it either. He holds his own quirky, comedic relief with a warm undertone but doesn’t steal scenes. And that’s okay. He fits the tone without being distracting.

The Score

John Powell returning is honestly the best decision they made — and probably the reason some of us cried before the plot even started.

The first note under the DreamWorks logo? Instant time travel. Suddenly you’re 10 again, watching Toothless fly for the first time. The music feels like flight. It swells and drops like emotion in motion.

Some new arrangements breathe extra energy into certain moments (the first training scene, the final flight), but thankfully, the iconic melodies remain untouched. It’s proof that you don’t need to reinvent something that was already perfect — just let it shine louder.

So… Is It Just Fan Service?

Honestly? Yeah — but in the best possible way.

This isn’t a cash-grab rehash (cough Disney). Director Dean DeBlois — who wrote and directed the original trilogy — clearly didn’t come back just for the paycheck.

This remake feels like a love letter. A thank-you to the fans. A “let’s see what this world looks like with dirt under its nails and real weather in the sky.”

The scenes that were recreated almost shot-for-shot? They’re reverent. The few tweaks and flourishes (like more screen time for Astrid, or expanded background training scenes) feel natural, not forced. Nothing screams “look at me, I’m different!”

This film is about honoring fans while bringing new ones in.

Realism vs. Animation

Here’s where opinions split and I get it.

Animation gave How to Train Your Dragon its mythic energy. There’s something sweeping and poetic about the original, every frame flowed like a storybook painting. In contrast, this live-action version feels weightier.

More grounded. But that doesn’t make it worse, just different.

What We Lose:

• Some of the fluid magic of animation
• The visual expressiveness of 2D-style faces
• The seamlessness that only full animation can give

What We Gain:

• A tangible, lived-in Berk — you can almost feel the rain on the huts and the cold wind through the valleys
• Real human performances with raw emotion (those eyes? the awkwardness? it hits different in live-action)
• New textures (armor clanks, fire flickers, leather creaks). It feels real.

And yes, you’ll notice when something is CGI. There are moments where the dragons feel slightly off. But weirdly, it doesn’t break the spell. You’re so emotionally locked in by then that it barely matters.

My Take as a 20-Year-Old Who Grew Up with Toothless

I was 5 when the original How to Train Your Dragon came out. I remember the first time Hiccup reached his hand out to Toothless — the pause, the breath, the trembling trust and how it rewired something in my kid-brain forever. That moment lives in my emotional DNA.

So yeah, when they announced a live-action remake, I was bracing for heartbreak or worse, boredom.

But then I saw it. And it wasn’t trying to replace anything.

It’s not a better version. It’s not even trying to be. It’s a different flavor of something already perfect. Think of it like growing up and re-reading a childhood favorite, same story, but you see it through a new lens now.

With a little more weight. A little more depth. A little more ache.

Watching it made me remember the wonder I felt the first time. But it also layered in something new: a kind of grown-up awe for the craft, the emotion, and yes, the risk of even trying to tell this story again.

And honestly?

Yeah. I was emotional. Again. Because the core is still there, that same heartbeat of unlikely friendship, self-discovery, and daring to be different. And for people like me, who basically grew up alongside Toothless, that’s enough.

Final Verdict: Should You Watch It?

Yes. 1000x yes. Especially if:

• 🐉 You grew up flying with Hiccup and Toothless
• 💔 You’re not afraid to cry over fictional creatures again
• 🎬 You want proof that live-action remakes can have soul

Is it a perfect movie? No. Is it unnecessary? Maybe.

But is it worth it? Absolutely.

My Rating:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (4.5/5)

It’s faithful. It’s cinematic. It’s emotionally intact.

No, it doesn’t top the original — but it earns its place beside it.

Like Toothless and Hiccup: different, but together, still magic.

SPECIAL MENTION: That Test Drive Scene (Yes, I Lost It)

I’ve been obsessed with the song Test Drive since I was a kid — it’s one of those scores that just makes you feel like you’re flying even if you’re sitting in traffic. So watching that scene unfold in 3D, inside the cinema?

I was completely locked in. The way Toothless dipped through clouds, glided over icy water, and soared past cliffs, all synced perfectly with the rising crescendo of Powell’s score, I swear I forgot to breathe.

My inner child was screaming. My grown self was emotional. It was the kind of moment that makes you remember why movies like this mattered so much growing up — and why they still do.

P.S. To the guy behind me in the theater who muttered,

“Ugh, this is just the same movie again.”

That’s the point.

Some things don’t need to be reinvented.

They just need to be reloved.

Now let me cry in peace.