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Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
REVIEW: ‘How to Train Your Dragon' serves up life lessons and eye-popping action
Published Jun 13, 2025 • Last updated 5 minutes ago • 4 minute read Stoick (Gerard Butler) and Toothless in "How to Train Your Dragon." Photo by Universal Pictures / Universal Pictures Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. There are lessons to be learned in 'How to Train Your Dragon,' which tells the story of a weak and skinny teenage Viking who defies his dragon hunter father to, as the title spells out, domesticate a fire-breathing mythological beast. Lessons about generational discord, about demonizing the other – here, one of a different species, not race, religion or political party – and about how, when training, it is the teacher who learns as much as, if not more than, the student. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'Lots of lessons here,' a mother was overheard to remark, with some surprise, after a recent screening. Mom nodded her head in agreement with her young child, who also couldn't help noticing the film's deeper meaning. 'Dragon' imparts these pearls of wisdom with verve and delight, in a telling that is as visually impressive as it is emotionally stirring. The dragons – categorized by species like the two-headed Zippleback and the Gronckle, a sort of overstuffed couch with hummingbird wings – are fantastical, but so are the Vikings, whose homeland is entirely that of the imagination, not Scandinavia. But these things were equally true of the Oscar-nominated 2010 animated film of the same name, on which this live-action remake (live, except for the CGI dragons) is based. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote and co-directed the original (with Chris Sanders) before helming its two sequels, the new movie need only be no worse than the first to justify its existence. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And it does meet that bar, if you discount the slight bad taste that might be left in your mouth from the naked greed of DreamWorks. Like Disney, which has been remaking its own catalogue of animated classics as 'live-action' films – a dubious classification if you consider the number of elves, fairies, genies, flying elephants and other fantastical creatures involved – the studio has jumped on the money train, eager to persuade a new audience to buy tickets for the same thing it sold a previous generation. There's another lesson there about how Hollywood thinks. I can't say that I mind too terribly in this case. Full disclosure: It may have something to do with the fact that I have an 11-month-old rescue dog at home. The new film's titular dragon, dubbed Toothless for his retractable teeth, rendered in convincing CGI, is meant to remind viewers of a difficult, irascible pooch – albeit one that also resembles a bat large enough to saddle up and ride through the sky like Pegasus. That makes for some neat aerial action sequences. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. And so that's exactly what our adolescent hero Hiccup (Mason Thames) eventually does, much to the chagrin of his bloodthirsty dad, played by Gerard Butler in a reprise of the fulminating – and inexplicably Scottish – vocal role he originated in the first film as the Viking chieftain Stoick. While, in his village, Hiccup may be forced to train with other teens who are preparing to hunt dragons (who eat the Vikings' sheep), he's a lover, not a fighter. More tinkerer than soldier, Hiccup manages to capture a wounded Night Fury dragon with a weighted net, nursing it back to health and eventually teaching it to fly again, despite a broken tail fin. The real lesson will come later, when Toothless will teach Hiccup – and ultimately the other Vikings – about the perils of blind hatred. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. As good as the 2010 film was, there are actually a few more moments here that will leave animal lovers verklempt, given the realism of Toothless's rendering, especially in his sad, puppy-dog eyes, which are somehow both reptilian green and heart-melting. But there may be another reason to see this 'How to Train Your Dragon' now – to, as it were, relearn its lessons, even if you've already seen the first film. (Or, for those who haven't, to discover them for the first time.) Loosely based on the 2003 children's book by British writer Cressida Cowell, the film is, at its core, a cautionary tale about misjudging outsiders. In short, it's about prejudice. There's a line in the new 'How to Train Your Dragon' that says it all: 'I looked at him,' Hiccup says of Toothless, whom he was taught to fear and kill, 'and I saw myself.' The line also happens to be in the 2010 film, whose narrative the remake follows closely. But somehow it lands differently, and with a poignant urgency that startles, in 2025. – – – Three stars. Rated PG. At theatres. Contains sequences of intense action and peril. 125 minutes. Rating guide: Four stars masterpiece, three stars very good, two stars OK, one star poor, no stars waste of time. World World Canada Celebrity Canada
National Observer
a day ago
- Entertainment
- National Observer
MOVIES: A probable blockbuster with a Canadian connection, an Indigenous fantasy, and a very modern romance
The biggest film this week is perfect for your kids and you, if you remember How to Train Your Dragon. It was a big animated hit 15 years ago and it's back, remade as a live action film. That's Dreamworks copying the success Disney has had with the technique. Their latest re-make, Lilo & Stitch, has been number one for three weeks and as you can read below there's a touch of irony there. Along with that not-insignificant Canadian connection. Want something more substantial? I've written about the upsurge of films by and about Indigenous Canadians several times and this is a good time to mention it again. Two that I reviewed at festivals are now widely available. A third is coming. So Surreal: Behind the Masks is about efforts in BC to bring home ceremonial masks that were taken, sold and drifted into the hands of surreal artists in France. CBC and CBC GEM is showing it. Angela's Shadow, by filmmaker and academic Jules Koostachin, is a drama about a woman who visits her ancestral Cree community and has to turn to illegal ceremonies and medicine to protect herself from a dark figure, a mean-spirited husband and the effects of colonialism. The film will be in select theaters starting next week. And also next week, there's The Salmon's Call, Joy Haskell's documentary about the vital role that fish has in Indigenous culture on the West Coast. The film will be in theaters and I'll review it next week. This week I include another Indigenous film, Endless Cookie. It's quirky, entertaining and animated. And these ... How to Train Your Dragon: 3 stars Endless Cookie: 3 ½ The Life of Chuck: 3 ½ The Materialists: 4 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: If you haven't seen the much-loved original film from 10 years ago or its two sequels this will all be new to you and probably also a delight. If you have seen them, this will be mostly a repeat, the same story followed very closely, nothing much added but not in animation anymore, in live action, filmed in Ireland. Gerard Butler is back in body as well as voice as the Viking chief Stoick whose island has been pestered by dragons forever. Mason Thames plays his son Hiccup (officially Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) who can't meet his dad's expectations as a dragon killer and in fact becomes the opposite. He befriends a young Black Fury, treats him like a pet, flies on him and takes a girl (Nico Parker) from his training class in dragon-killing on a soaring flight in the skies. It's good fun for them and for us too delivered with fine visual effects created mostly in India, but Montreal too. It's got a bigger meaning though. Hiccup is demonstrating that dragons have been maligned and misrepresented. When Stoick argues 'They've killed hundreds of us,' Hiccup replies 'And we've killed thousands of them.' He's come to understand that they're only defending themselves. He argues for acceptance, a very necessary sentiment anytime, especially these days. That and a young man trying to meet the demands of his father are the deeper themes here. They're well-presented by director Dean DeBlois, who was born in Quebec, directed the three previous films, got Oscar nominations for them and in a bit of irony also created the original Lilo & Stitch, which Disney has just remade from animation into live action. It's huge at the box office right now and probably something of a competitor though Dragon is heading big also. (In theaters) 3 out of 5 ENDLESS COOKIE: This is not your usual Indigenous film. Sure it includes the grinding issues: land usurped, culture diminished, residential schools, the RCMP, but does it in a most unexpected way. First of all it's animated (in a rough and lively style) and it gets across its attitudes (some of them very harsh) in a series of entertaining stories. They're told by a pair of brothers, half brothers Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver, one Indigenous, the other white, one a great storyteller, the other recording him and leading the filmmaking. And first securing a government grant to make a film he describes as 'funny, beautiful, spiritual, political, complex, simple and true.' It is all that. Peter casually rambles here and there in telling his stories. The time he got his own hand caught in an animal trap he was setting takes several revisits to finish. His owl story, attracting one and then not able to get rid if it, is funny. An RCMP encounter, when a nut dropped on a cop car by a squirrel is heard as a gun shot, is both funny and scary. The film answers back subtly by twisting the RCMP motto into Justicia et Contritum Est Ratio Racist. Funny (trying to get free pizza in Toronto, household noise vs sound recording) is side by side with protest (prison numbers compared to whites, historical pressure to give up land). At the same time there's a quirky view of life on a reserve and a clear statement of pride . 'They say that the ancient ways, ancient knowledge, is sleeping within us and will awaken someday.' (In theaters now and sure to be again, as at The Rio in Vancouver, on National Indigenous Peoples Day Saturday, June 21.) 3 ½ out of 5 THE LIFE OF CHUCK: What this film is about isn't exactly clear although it is a treat to watch. It's directed by Mike Flanagan from a fanciful story by Stephen King and there's definitely a call to embrace life, accept death and enjoy all the unknowns around you in the universe. Characters say that but how it relates to the central character, an accountant played by Tom Hiddleston, is obscure. We first see him on his deathbed, then, at various earlier stages in his life. Vancouver's Jacob Tremblay plays him as a teenager. A teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) interprets a line from Walt Whitman to say that inside his head there are "multitudes", i.e. the whole world, everything he's learned. He feels special. His grandfather, played by Mark Hamill, tells him that mathematics is what's most important. "Mathematics is truth." He becomes an accountant. Carl Sagan on TV says if all human history were represented on a calendar it would be just 10 seconds long. He's moved to make the most of his life. That includes visiting his ex-wife (Karen Gillan) and in two sparkling sequences showing his talent for dancing which he learned from his grandmother (Mia Sara). Meanwhile, street banners, posters and TV ads appear repeatedly saying Thanks Chuck, for 39 great years. Nobody knows who he is. And there's chaos: there are power failures, wildfires, the internet dies. How does all that fit together? Not sure. It highlights moments and they're memorable. The film was voted most popular at the Toronto International Film Festival. (In theaters) 3 ½ out of 5 MATERIALISTS: Here's a modern romantic comedy that manages to be hip, witty and funny … and also come across relaxed and comfortable. A pretty good date movie, I'd say, unless there are tensions between you and the date. I say that only because there's a speech part way through that delivers an acerbic profile of a standard marriage. It's funny but way, way too real. Around it is a pleasant story about a woman (Dakota Johnson) who works as a matchmaker in New York. She connects people looking for dating partners with clients who fit their requirements exactly. Height, weight, personality, appearance, full head of hair, wealth, home décor, are all factors they consider, as well as 'intangibles.' The office celebrates when marriages result. It feels authentic but then the director, Celine Song, has experience doing that work before she turned to filmmaking. This is a follow-up to her Oscar-nominated Past Lives. Her matchmaker has a professional protocol for all of this and then the problems arrive. One client sues because the man she sent attacked her. Should she have known? She didn't detect any hint when she interviewed him and secretly regrets that. We watch her interview many others, usually with editing that highlights the humorous side. And a more personal problem arrives. Pedro Pascal, as a party guest, chats her up, charms her like one of those matinee idols from decades ago and she's attracted right into bed. He'd be a perfect match for her but she's also still attracted to her ex boyfriend (Chris Evans). So who's best for her Mr. Suave or Mr. Spontaneous? Mr. Rich or Mr. Poor? Finding the answer to that question gives us a bright and smart script, good and amiable acting and a lot of sharp observations about modern dating. A rom-com for adults. (in theaters) 4 out of 5
USA Today
a day ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Biggest changes in the 'How to Train Your Dragon' live-action movie
Biggest changes in the 'How to Train Your Dragon' live-action movie Show Caption Hide Caption 'How to Train Your Dragon' takes flight in live action: Watch Mason Thames stars as the Viking boy Hiccup, who instead of slaying dragons befriends one in the live-action remake of "How to Train Your Dragon." Gerard Butler wouldn't have been gutted to see someone else take his role in the live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon,' but there would have been some side eye. Though 'it would've made me sad,' the Scottish actor thinks it might have been interesting to see another person's interpretation of Butler's Viking chief Stoick the Vast from the 2010 animated 'Dragon.' He brings up a scene where Stoick's son Hiccup takes a knife at a tribal ceremony and Stoick goes, 'I would've chosen a hammer.' Watching a 'How to Train Your Dragon' movie he wasn't in, 'I would've been like that: 'I would've said that a little flatter,' ' Butler says, laughing. 'But I'm glad that it didn't come to that, because if I do say so myself, there is only one Stoick and it must be me.' Join our Watch Party! Sign up to receive USA TODAY's movie and TV recommendations right in your inbox With his new 'Dragon' (in theaters now), returning writer/director Dean DeBlois revamped the story of awkward Viking kid Hiccup (Mason Thames) and his best dragon pal Toothless to 'keep the best of what worked and find opportunities to go deeper with the mythology (and) character development.' Adds Thames: 'The original wasn't broken, so you can't fix it. All we could do was elevate it.' Here are the key differences between the cartoon and the live-action 'Dragon': 'How to Train Your Dragon' feels 'really raw' in live action Going from animation to live action, DeBlois leaned into 'visceral photorealism,' from the Vikings and their village to the dragons that Hiccup helps his people understand rather than slay. 'It feels like you're there, like this place and these creatures could actually exist,' the director says. That groundedness carried over to the human characters. 'There's a lot of weight to it, with real people and a real-ish world with dragons,' Thames says, adding that scenes like the shouting matches between the empathetic Hiccup and his dragon-hating dad were 'really raw.' The experiential dragon riding is more immersive and realistic Watching the original Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) learn to saddle up and soar with Toothless entertained a generation of kid film fans. DeBlois learned when testing that movie how important the flying scenes were to the audience. For the redo, the director wanted to expand the experiential quality of the sequences and 'just dial it up a little bit more (and) find those moments where the camera work has a little more life." The latest 'Dragon' has more appeal for teens and tweens Making the first film, DeBlois says he always had DreamWorks head Jeffrey Katzenberg over his shoulder saying, 'Don't forget the 4-year-olds!' This time around, the studio encouraged him to add extra stakes, action and intensity to make his teen heroes more relatable: 'If we're going to do live action, let's make it feel dangerous, textured and emotionally complicated,' DeBlois says. 'Younger kids aspire upward,' he adds. 'They want to see what their older siblings are watching. The reverse is not usually true. And there was just an opportunity with this movie to enrich the relationships so that they had a little more sophistication and texture and maturity. The story can withstand that all-ages approach.' Warrior girl Astrid finally gets a substantial role DeBlois always thought he could do more with Astrid (Nico Parker), Hiccup's crush who's at first annoyed by her dragon-training rival but then grows to like him. The remake was an opportunity to 'learn more about her and where she came from and why Hiccup is this obstacle in her way and how she resents his privilege,' he says. Casting the new Astrid (originally voiced by America Ferrera) proved difficult. Quite a few actresses looked like the animated character but none of them landed the dialogue, 'which was designed to be really harsh to Hiccup – a takedown of who he was as a character,' DeBlois says. Parker was the only one who consistently was more like a sports team captain rather than mean-spirited: 'It was like provoking you to be better, but it didn't have a cruelty to it.' But adorable Toothless stays (mostly) true to the original movie Animal references, from parrots and walruses to snakes and crocodiles, were used to design the various species of computer-generated dragons for the remake. However, DeBlois was very mindful that, because Toothless is the franchise's most beloved and recognizable dragon, they couldn't deviate too much from the original: 'That would draw ire from fans and just be disappointing.' When they tried to work in real-world animal vibes, 'it looked less and less like Toothless,' DeBlois says. So instead, designers tweaked certain details, like twitching nerves under his skin and the iridescence in his scales. They also studied panthers and lions to utilize their movements as well. 'Toothless needs to feel like your dog or your cat,' DeBlois says. 'So we tried to keep the design approachable and both ferocious but cuddly with lots of pet cues baked in there.'
