‘How to Train Your Dragon' is the best live-action adaptation ever, but some parents may hate it
Now this is how you make a live-action adaptation of a beloved animated classic.
While Disney's live-action remakes of films from its animated library have been a mixed bag, DreamWorks' reimagining of its 2010 'How to Train Your Dragon' is the first that actually might be better than the original.
Directed by Dean DeBlois, the filmmaker behind not only all three 'Dragon' animated films but also the original ' Lilo & Stitch ' (2002), the new version excels because it makes its teenage protagonist deeper and more mature — and its monsters extra frightening.
In fact, this 'How to Train Your Dragon,' while rated PG feels like PG-13 and might be too scary for some children, even those who love the original animated feature. These CGI dragons are truly terrifying. But with 'Jurassic World Rebirth' arriving in theaters soon, that's the cinematic world we live in.
The story remains mostly unchanged. Hiccup (Mason Thames, star of ' The Black Phone '), the sensitive, peace-loving son of the fierce Viking king Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same character in the animated films), struggles to find his place in Berk, the seaside mountain village that is under constant threat from dragon attacks.
Stoick, disappointed in Hiccup, hopes to toughen the kid up by enrolling him in dragon-fighting school. Among his classmates is his school crush Astrid (Nico Parker) and the jocular Fishlegs (Julian Dennison, seen earlier this year in ' Y2K ' and the star of 2016's ' Hunt for the Wilderpeople ').
Hiccup's desire to kill dragons takes a serious hit when he meets Toothless, a small dragon caught in a trap in a wooded area. Instead of killing the dragon, Hiccup frees him, then makes daily visits to understand the creature.
The movie doesn't succeed unless the dragons are good, and the team behind this 'How to Train Your Dragon' hit the mark. The CGI work and DeBlois' swooping, dizzying camera work — this is the director's first live-action film — during the battles are top notch.
While the story is predictable even to those who haven't seen the original, the strength of this remake is its thematic plea for cultural understanding and the art of diplomacy. For generations, it's been dragons against humans, but why are dragons attacking? The Viking king is right to strengthen his village's defenses, and to train his subjects in the art of war. But is war the only solution or is there another way?
As Hiccup, the 17-year-old Mason is sensitive and appealing, a young boy who goes from dazed and confused to meeting the moment — and teaching dad a thing or two. Butler brings some touching moments to the proud king's gradual understanding of his son.
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