Fans were thrown back into a world of nostalgia when the live action version of How to Train your Dragon was officially released in cinemas in the UK on June 13.
The film was directed by the Golden Globe winner and three-time Oscar nominee Dean DeBlois who is the mastermind that directed the original animated How To Train Your Dragon along with Chris Sanders fifteen years ago.
Based on the outstanding How to Train Your Dragon novels by Cressida Cowell, the movie follows the story of a young fifteen year old boy, Hiccup, who longs to belong in his tribe, and to impress his father by becoming a fierce warrior and dragon slayer, but eventually defies all odds, and becomes an inspiration to all by taking pride in being different and standing out from the crowd.
The life lessons the franchise teaches are undoubtedly some of the most invaluable to be told for young children and adults alike. The live action remake is no different.
A Nostalgic Throwback
By having the same award winning director, music by John Powell, and the famous Gerard Butler returning as Stoick the Vast, the film was already set up to be a great nostalgic success, having already made $516 million in the box office in just the first month of its release.
The franchise has always been everything to me, all the way from when I first watched it when it came out in 2010 right up to this very day going into my second year of university, it has and will always be my number one go-to for things to re-watch.
Needless to say I was excited when the announcement of a live action was made, however, much like many other animation lovers, I’ve never quite trusted live-action remakes. I was especially cautious of this one because there was just no way they were going to be able to capture the magic of the original film, and to an extent this is true, but there are still some truly outstanding things about the remake.
Not the dragons
While the official trailer was truthful about many of the positive aspects of the film, there were some things we could only pick up from the movie itself.
The realism of the mannerisms of the dragons was astonishing, and the crew did well to somewhat keep the essence of the animated dragons alive. However, particularly with Toothless, they simply seemed like dragons, and not like the dragons from our childhoods.
Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Jullian Dennison, Harry Trevaldwyn, Gabriel Howell, and Bronwyn James gave their all to the roles of the famous dragon riders and did well to physically bring them to life. However, the true demeanour and dynamics of the original characters and relationships was somewhat lost, as nothing can replicate what the voice actors did to arguably bring them to life even more than the live action did.
There were also certainly noticeable changes to the script, Hiccup’s impression of his father while ranting to Gobber (played by the talented Nick Frost in the live action, who next to Stoick was my favourite of the remake characters) was removed, which many fans have felt disappointment over as this was a hilarious and key part of Hiccup’s sass and character, which was also lost throughout the remake.
While there are certainly things that could have been different, there was never a chance that the same magic and comfort of the original movie could have been replicated.
However, as far as live action adaptations go, this one is a magical throwback to our childhoods. With a rush of sentimental nostalgia as older fans teared up at the opening credit music, the remake becomes a magical new take on one of the most iconic stories of our time for all fans.
Featured image credit: DreamWorks Animations and Platt Productions
