The 'How to Train Your Dragon' director said the remake and original are almost identical because that's what Universal wanted
You'd expect the new " How to Train Your Dragon" live action remake to share some similarities with the original 2010 animation — but some fans and critics are not happy that they're almost identical shot-for-shot.
Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the original and directed the live-action movie that is out Friday, told Business Insider that Universal Studios was clear from the beginning that it wanted the remake to tell the same story.
Universal Studios jumped on the trend after Disney made over $8 billion from live-action remakes of its animations, according to data from Box Office Mojo. "How to Train Your Dragon" is arguably an unsurprising choice as one of the most successful animated movie franchises by Universal's animation branch, DreamWorks. All three movies were nominated for Oscars, and grossed $1.6 billion in total.
DeBlois said Universal told him of the remake: "'We want that story but bring to it every embellishment you can. Let's go deeper into the mythology.
"Let's deepen the characters, let's make it feel a little more mature. Let's lean into the action and make it more visceral and immersive."
Universal didn't respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
DeBlois said he agreed to make what would be his first live-action movie because he didn't want someone else adapting his work.
"If you're going to do it, I want to do it because I know where the heart is, and I know these characters, I know this world," he recalled telling Universal.
Although he's not a fan of live action remakes of animated movies, DeBlois said, he wanted to "be in charge of this one so I can preserve its integrity and pay tribute to the fans."
He added: "The intention was always 'let's do another version of it, but not the version that would replace the animated movie.'"
Meanwhile, Disney has been criticized for making too many changes in their live-action remakes of " Snow White" and " Lilo & Stitch."
DeBlois acknowledged there was no way to make all fans happy, regardless of the extent of the changes.
"This version, I feel, keeps the best of what was there and adds to it in good and subtle, and significant ways," Deblois said.
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