“How to Train Your Dragon (2025)” Doesn’t Fully Take Flight
It’s stange to have two beloved animated films in theaters once again, but to have them presented in a way that so much of what made them loved is missing. Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon have something in common aside from their live-action remakes sharing theater space. Chris Sanders wrote, directed, and voiced Stitch in the original (and returned to voice Stitch in the remake) and co-wrote and co-directed the original How to Train Your Dragon. Both have returned without Sanders in a writing or directing capacity. Unfortunately, Sanders’ absence, along with the switch to live action, ultimately leaves How to Train Your Dragon lacking the heart-tugging nature of the film it’s adapted from.
courtesy of Universal Pictures
Hiccup (Mason Thames) is the son of the chieftain Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same character in the animated films) of the isle of Berk. It’s a Viking island that’s regularly attacked by dragons of all kinds. To the Vikings, dragons are public enemy number one. Hiccup, unlike Stoick, is struggling to follow in his father’s footsteps. He’s not as brave or strong as his dad. Instead, Hiccup’s strength is his creativity. When one of his inventions succeeds in bringing down a Night Fury, the most elusive type of dragon, Hiccup’s world is upended. Suddenly, the creature he’s meant to fear becomes his closest friend. Together, Hiccup and the newly named Toothless fundamentally upend generations of Viking society.
It’s hard to fault any of the young performers for the How to Train Your Dragon stumbles. Thames is endearingly awkward as Hiccup, and the budding romance between him and dragon-slayer extraordinaire Astrid (Nico Parker) is sweet. The rest of the ragtag group of wannabe dragon fighters round out a nice troupe of young heroes, but their dialogue doesn’t land. It’s hard when a movie geared toward children doesn’t elicit even a giggle from the kids in the audience. They are, at the end of the day, who this film is made for. It doesn’t really matter if the thirty-something critic in the audience is laughing, but it does matter if the kids are having a good time.
courtesy of Universal Pictures
Since kids are the target audience, it’s important to look at the message the film is sending. Most of the “jokes” of How to Train Your Dragon are at Hiccup’s expense. His father spends his time berating him for his failures, tells him he’ll never be the son he dreamed of, and doesn’t care about Hiccup’s inventing passion. Their relationship is remedied in one line in the final fight scene. It’s not enough though. The film allows Stoick to get away with this treatment of his son as long as Hiccup eventually manages to live up to Stoick’s expectations. What does that teach the kids who are watching and who may have a father who speaks like Stoick? That they have to endure this disrespect in the hope that one day their parents will respect them?
How to Train Your Dragon does have moments that can make your heart race. When John Powell’s soaring score kicks in as Hiccup and Toothless fly together for the first time, the goosebumps come back. The dynamic between these two has always been the heart of the series, and that’s no different here. How to Train Your Dragon doesn’t reach the heights of the original film, but with a sequel already on the horizon, one can hope that they take their own path, one not already traveled in animated form.
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