Latest news with #HTTYD
Pink Villa
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Pink Villa
How to Train Your Dragon Live Action vs Animation: 7 Biggest Changes in Remake Film Starring Mason Thames, Nico Parker
The 2025 How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake follows the core story of the 2010 animated original, but it includes big changes in tone, characters, and storytelling. While the plot remains familiar, Hiccup befriends a dragon and challenges his tribe's beliefs, the live-action version adds layers that set it apart from the original trilogy. More diversity in Berk One of the most visible changes in the How to Train Your Dragon live action film is the increased diversity among the Vikings of Berk. In the original animation, the village was entirely Caucasian. In the new version, Berk is home to people from various ethnic backgrounds. During a scene, Stoick says Berk is made up of the best dragon hunters from everywhere Viking explorers reached. This includes people from Europe, Asia, and Africa, offering a broader and more grounded world. Astrid gets a deeper backstory Astrid, played by Nico Parker, has a more developed character arc in the HTTYD remake 2025. Unlike the original film where her frustration with Hiccup felt vague, the live-action version shows her disappointment more clearly. She believes Hiccup benefits from being the chief's son and expresses a strong desire to lead the tribe herself. This makes her eventual support for Hiccup in the dragon ring more meaningful and well-earned. Snoutlout and his father get more focus Snoutlout, known for being a bully in the original, is toned down in the live-action version. His father, Spitelout, also gets a bigger role. While Spitelout barely spoke in the original, here he serves as a key Viking leader. He ignores Snoutlout's efforts to impress him, creating a parallel between Snoutlout and Hiccup, who both struggle to gain their fathers' approval. Fishlegs and the twins are reimagined Fishlegs remains the dragon-loving nerd, but he's more sincere and friendlier in the remake. He even tries to help Hiccup during the dragon training ring scene, showing early support. Ruffnut and Tuffnut, the comic relief twins, are no longer identical and are older than the others, having been held back in training. These small changes add more personality to the HTTYD cast. Gobber's physical details adjusted for actor Nick Frost plays Gobber in the How to Train Your Dragon live-action film. The character's missing limbs were adjusted slightly to reflect Frost's real-life knee condition. In the original, Gobber lost his right leg; in the remake, it's his left. This change helped the actor perform scenes more comfortably. Tonal shifts and darker scenes The live-action remake takes a slightly darker approach. For example, the scene where Stoick and his crew search for the dragon nest is more intense and horror-like. Dragons ambush them from underwater, a moment that's more dramatic than the original. Emotional scenes, like Stoick grieving Hiccup's supposed death, also feel heavier due to the real-world visuals. Valka's absence hints at sequel While Hiccup's mother Valka doesn't appear in the live-action film, her death is more directly referenced than in the original. Stoick gifts Hiccup a helmet made from her armor, and her loss is used to explain Stoick's hatred for dragons. This change may help set up her return in the confirmed HTTYD live action sequel.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘How To Train Your Dragon' Won't Be Laggin' At Summer Box Office With $175M-$185M Global Start For Live-Action Redo
Domestic box office estimates for this week's opening of the live-action adaptation of Universal/DreamWorks Animation's How to Train Your Dragon are between $65 million-$75 million-plus at 4,000 theaters, and don't be shocked if this beloved title overperforms. This isn't Gus Van Sant's take on Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, meaning a shot-for-shot version of the original 2010 movie — and that's even with original HTTYD architect Dean DeBlois behind the camera. There's a lot of heart and there's a lot of flying swoops that set this live-action reboot apart (even if Toothless the Dragon looks similar to his animated version), not to mention Mason Thames and Nico Parker's respective turns as Hiccup and Astrid; the duo take entire ownership of the characters. No carbon copies here. More from Deadline 'How To Train Your Dragon' Review: Live-Action Take Subtly Stretches The Original's Wingspan – Annecy Film Festival 'Materialists' Review: Dakota Johnson Measures Value Of Love Between Chris Evans And Pedro Pascal in Celine Song's Sublime Romcomdram Nico Parker On 'How To Train Your Dragon' Backlash Over Her Casting: "I Just Don't Care" Critics on Rotten Tomatoes are 81% fresh; the original animated movie was 99% certified fresh. HTTYD will have all the firepower of PLFs, 4DX, ScreenX and the entire Imax network of 413 screens. Estimates for the full international opening through Sunday point to the $110M range, with room for upside. That takes the global start for the movie produced by Marc Platt, Adam Siegel and DeBlois to $175M-$185M. The international take includes offshore previews, which will roll up into that number. Through Monday, the previews estimate is $21.8M (see more detail below). HTTYD started significant overseas previews last weekend and begins official rollout Wednesday, with all international box office markets in the mix through Friday save Japan which flies in September 5. How to Train Your Dragon is rated PG for kissing. The movie before P&A cost $150M net, shot with tax credits in Ireland. Stateside previews for How to Train Your Dragon start 2 p.m. Thursday. There's some question as to how hard the fourth weekend of will eat into Toothless' take, with the former live-action take of the Disney toon expected to do around $20M in the U.S. and Canada, off 38% week over week. The notion as of this minute is that there's room for both adaptations of these beloved feature toons. Lilo & Stitch made $3.6M in its third Monday, with a running cume of $339.2M. HTTYD is big in unaided awareness and first choice with women under 25, through currently pacing behind Lilo & Stitch at the same point in time before its opening. In February, How to Train Your Dragon's Super Bowl spot amassed north of 370M global views on YouTube and yielded the most online engagement of any trailer shown during the game. The official trailer dropped February 12, when it also trended on YouTube and played on such movies as Captain America: Brave New World, A Minecraft Movie and Thunderbolts*. HTTYD trailers to date have clocked three quarters of a billion views to date. Note that HTTYD has no significant holidays ahead overseas, but European majors love the previous animated movies as does Latin America, especially Brazil and Mexico. Korea and Australia also have a sweet spot for property is well known in China, where the 2014 and 2019 films released (grossing a combined $120M at historical rates). As per the norm in recent times, the market is uncertain, but the film is leading presales on Friday and Saturday. There are popular HTTYD-themed attractions at the Universal Beijing Resort including a character meet-and-greet and an 'Untrainable' terms of overall comps, it's not cut-and-dried. If we look at animation to live-action transfers, we're pretty much in Disney-only territory which is a different beast based on the historical nature of those IPs. Meanwhile, it's not apples-to-apples to comp the HTTYD toons to a flesh-and-blood yet, looking at the previews, we can extrapolate overall good news. Direct comps are again ornery since the sneaks include varied amounts of screenings and non-traditional opening days. Still, here's a sample of what's transpired with HTTYD's early previews overseas: Korea began previews June 6, reaching $4.3M after four days and leading each day, playing across 1,644 screens, including 26 Imax. It has a fantastic 99% CVG Egg score. UK & Ireland kicked off previews Monday, grossing $1.2M across 1,600 screens (54 in Imax) and at No. 1 on the day with a 41% market share. Germany on Monday grossed $1.1M in previews across 1,075 screens. France has grossed $1.4M in previews through two days. Across all of Latin America, HTTYD opened in 1,681 locations. Hiccup's jump-start in Brazil is $2.7M. Mexico grossed $2.1M in Saturday-Sunday previews this past weekend across 812 the nearly $1.7B overall that the animated franchise has grossed, $1.1B comes from international. There's another wide entry and that's A24's Materialists from Oscar nominee Celine Song, which currently counts 89% certified fresh with critics on RT. The outlook is $7M-$8M for the feature, which cost around $20M. You want more romantic comedies? You want more movies for women? Well, then here's an original starring Dakota Johnson as an upscale matchmaker torn between the wealthy unicorn guy, played by Pedro Pascal, and the poor b.f. with a heart of gold, played by Chris Evans. Sony bought foreign on Materialists. Unaided awareness and first choice is best with women over 25, and just a point behind in each category from Anyone But You. Let's see where this one goes as it's a crowd-pleaser with a lot of quotable lines and an ending that will keep women and men debating well after they leave the theater. Materialists is rated R for hanky panky with Pedro. Previews begin at 1 p.m. Thursday. Lionsgate's second weekend of From the World of John Wick: Ballerina is looking to be around $11M, off 55%. On Monday, the Len Wiseman-directed movie did $2.05M, taking the running total on the Thunder Road production to $26.5M. Best of Deadline List Of Hollywood & Media Layoffs From Paramount To Warner Bros Discovery To CNN & More Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media
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Rakyat Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Rakyat Post
The Live-Action ‘How To Train Your Dragon' Remake Flies Dangerously Close To The Original [Review]
Subscribe to our FREE The 2010 animated How To Train Your Dragon (HTTYD) is beloved for good reason: it's got heart, humour, and a solid three-act story about a lonely, damaged boy bonding with an equally lonely, injured dragon. With its spirited script and swooping animation, it carved out a special place in the hearts of audiences. But when the live-action remake was announced, I wasn't ecstatic about it – not because I didn't think it would be good – just that I felt it's… too soon . Some might argue that 15 years is technically long enough for a reboot, but the third instalment in the animated film series released only 6 years ago. Where do we draw the line between a nostalgic throwback and an obvious attempt at milking a franchise? That's showbiz, baby. © DreamWorks. There are some tweaks. There's a dash more backstory for Astrid (played confidently by Nico Parker), and Berk is now framed as part of an international dragon task force led by Vikings – which is fun, if not exactly transformative. But these little updates feel more like easter eggs for superfans than meaningful reinventions. That said, it's perfectly cast, and everyone does a good job at matching their animated counterparts. © DreamWorks. Mason Thames makes a strong Hiccup, our awkward Viking hero who famously can't bring himself to kill an injured dragon and ends up making history instead. His scenes with Toothless still pack an emotional punch, the fish scene being a highlight for me (you'll know the one). © DreamWorks. Gerard Butler, returning to portray Stoick the Vast in live-action, brings gruff dad energy with real warmth. Nico Parker as Astrid is fierce, curious, and finally given more to do than just roll her eyes and kick things. © DreamWorks. Cinematographer Bill Pope brings the isle to glorious life, with stunning shots of Hiccup riding Toothless through Northern Ireland-as-Berk. But I couldn't help feeling irked by how off some visuals felt, especially certain close-up shots that didn't quite translate so well with the CG background. It's hard not to compare HTTYD to the Lilo & Stitch remake, especially since their releases are only a few weeks apart. © DreamWorks. But the key difference is time. Stitch has had 20-something years to marinate in pop culture – he has earned his resurrection. HTTYD , meanwhile, feels like throwing a freshly baked loaf back into the oven for no good reason. Given how heavily the original film adapted Cressida Cowell's books, you'd think this version might've dared to fly a little further from the nest – take some creative risks, tell a new story within the same world. But instead, it clings tightly to the original flight path. But, I must say again – it's not a bad film. Like I mentioned earlier, the script works and it's undoubtedly an entertaining watch, especially for existing HTTYD fans. There's no denying the care and craftsmanship poured into the project. It's made with love, especially with the same crew stewarding the film. © DreamWorks. What I love most about HTTYD 's story is that it shows how imperative it is to have just one person who defies generations of familiarity and dares to do something different. Hiccup's apparent weakness of not being able to fight dragons causes him and everyone else in Berk to doubt his identity as a Viking, especially with him being Stoick's son. But HTTYD ultimately proves to us that identities are not necessarily defined and limited to passed-down patterns. Sometimes we fight things (or people) purely because we don't try to understand them. But as Hiccup shows us, attempting to understand what scares us is a scary thing to do – yet it pays off in lasting and unimaginably rewarding ways. © DreamWorks. All that said, it's hard to ignore the bigger picture: if we're already remaking HTTYD , what's next? A live-action Moana? How To Train Your Dragon opens in cinemas nationwide on 12 June 2025. If you're watching it in Sunway Pyramid, drop by the HTTYD roadshow now until 22 June at LG2, Orange Concourse for some fire-breathing fun! Share your thoughts with us via TRP's . Get more stories like this to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- RTÉ News
How to Train Your Dragon is all-fired-up family fun
Good news - on a Monday! The latest live-action remake of a family favourite is among the genre's best. There's plenty here for lovers of author Cressida Cowell's books and the animated movies they inspired, new arrivals to the franchise, and adults who find kids' films, well, a bit of an ask. Indeed, any grown-up whose factory settings see the Land of Nod beckon on a trip to the cinema should be pleasantly surprised by this summer treat, a gift on a plate for Tourism NI. The perfectly cast Mason Thames plays Hapless, the misfit son of Viking chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, now larger than life as he reprises his voice role from the original trilogy). Written off by his entire village, Hapless ends up teaching everyone a thing or two when he befriends Toothless, a downed dragon who shows the teenager that all is not as it seems. From the get-go, HTTYD gets right into the action and avoids Jenga-ing the story with endless details and exposition. There's as much heart here as there is excitement, and if anyone knows this IP and what to do with it, it's director Dean DeBlois. He co-directed the first Dragon outing with Chris Sanders and then helmed the two sequels. He also co-directed the original Lilo & Stitch with Sanders. That's a lot of feels for one CV. With over $50 million spent before filming even began in Belfast and along the North's coast, this is an adventure where you can truly see where the money went. The effects are excellent, the sets are stunning, and the real-life scenery is as much a star as the charming Thames, rowdy Butler, and winning supporting cast that includes Nico Parker - daughter of actor Thandiwe Newton and director Oliver Parker - as the effortlessly cool warrior Astrid. Top jobs in front of and behind the lens abound. How to Train Your Dragon could have done with a couple of more standout laughs, but that's the only niggle. They can right that in the recently announced sequel. Hurry up, June 2027!
