Review: How to Train Your Dragon (2025)

Universal Pictures are the most recent big studio to dip their foot into the live-action remake trend with their latest release, How to Train Your Dragon (2025), but did they do this beloved animated classic the justice it deserves? Anna Solome soars into the world of dragons to review.

Similar to many others, I saw the animated How to Train Your Dragon at its initial release in 2010. Since 2010, I had not re-visited the film, only remembering a friendship between a cute dragon and a Viking boy, so I was going into this remake with fresh eyes and an open mindset. However, with an IMDB rating of 81 stars and positive reviews across social media, I was ready to be taken back to when life was good.

How to Train Your Dragon is a story of friendship and acceptance. For 300 years the Viking town of Berk has been at war with dragons. The fiery creatures have repeatedly burnt their town down, creating a warrior culture where teens are trained to join the fight against their attackers. The protagonist, Hiccup, goes against all odds, however, and befriends a terrifying Night Fury dragon that he names Toothless. Is unity the answer to Berk’s problems?

If you have seen the original How to Train Your Dragon film, it is the exact same storyline with very similar dialogue. The franchise is loosely based on a book series written by UK author Cressida Cowell of the same name. As someone who didn’t remember the original film, I loved this adaptation! It was an action-packed family flick with emotional highs and lows. I never thought I would care so much about the fate of a fictional dragon.

The fusion of live-action elements and the CGI dragons was extremely well done. A common problem that live-action adaptations with CGI elements face is that the fantasy characters feel superimposed; this wasn’t the case in How to Train Your Dragon. The dragons felt as realistic as a fantasy creature could be in this universe. This is mainly due to their character design not being over the top and their lighting being immaculate. The animated movie hired legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins as a visual adviser, so it is no surprise that the live-action adaptation lived up to the same beautiful visuals.

Maston Thams and Nico Parker as Hiccup and Astrid. (Photo: Universal Studios)

Mason Thames as Hiccup was an amazing casting choice; he looked like the source material, but has a youthful charisma and innocence to him. Nico Parker captured the sassiness and confident nature of the powerful Astrid. The actors interacted extremely well with the imaginary dragons, and most scenes felt very natural. As an audience member, you felt a strong connection between Hiccup and Toothless, caring about the fate of a dragon that is meant to be feared.

Similar to its animated counterpart, How to Train Your Dragon has an impeccable score to match the grand and sombre moments. John Powell returned to score the film with the iconic main theme making a feature. Part of what also made the film feel authentic was the sets, as most of it was shot on location in Northern Ireland and Iceland. The outcome of these locations is a beautiful film, not a blue screen CGI that can be seen in other adaptations.

Live-action (above) vs original animated (below) in this iconic scene. (Image: Buzzfeed)

Was this film necessary? No, but it is a fun counterpart to the original.

It is almost a shot-for-shot recreation of the animated film, so of course it worked well. It could be considered a cash grab for nostalgia or as a way to promote the recently opened How to Train Your Dragon theme park at Universal Studios. People are never pleased; if an adaptation strays from the source material, it is too different but if it is the same, people say it was too similar. Comparison is the thief of happiness. I have been in both situations where I have been a massive fan of the source material, seeing it get adapted, and I almost always prefer a piece to be faithful. Of the remakes I have seen, this is right at the top as one of the best or the best.

If you want to watch a feel-good movie that is stunning, I highly recommend it. It was emotional watching a friendship blossom between a dragon and a teenager. The film emphasises that unity prevails and is better than war, a message that is beautiful to see, considering the world right now. I was hooked the entire movie, needing to know what happens next. The only flaw is that you could say a lack of creativity, considering it is a remake.

9/10