Dragon Trainer

The trend of transitioning animated movies to live-action is on the rise these years, with Lilo & Stitch and other movies. This time, what would happen if the director who directed the same franchise in animation returned to direct the live-action version?

Dean DeBois, he's the man. The man who previously helmed the three How to Train Your Dragon movies is back to direct the live-action version of this movie. The studio has made the right decision to hand over this movie to him. Because the vision and mission he conveyed in the previous movie are suitable to be brought to the live-action format. This movie does not replicate the previous movie but adds how magical the expressions of the characters are, especially Mason Thames, who plays Hiccup. That's really seeing the animated version. He was perfect as Hiccup. While the other actors also showed their abilities in this movie.

Gerard Butler, who previously played the animated version of Stoick, continues to return for this movie? This is a cinema moment right there. He really fits back in for this movie. There are no other words.

I think one of the problems with this current live action era is how took the original material and go: "Yep we are not doing that" and proceed to torn the story apart, but this one tastes of love for the first movie and and don't take away the magic away.

I understand that some of the cast aren't carbon copies of their animated but overall the actors are fairly good and we get to see a little more of character building for some of the kids, like Snoutloud and Astrid.

Hiccup is great and awkward like he is supposed to be, Stoic is stubborn and strong-headed, is his way or the highway and Gerald Butler delivers. I mean come on he is Stoic!

You could tell by the face, the voice, the posture, the presence that Gerard Butler really really loves his character. There is just so much right energy and inveatment coming from him in every Stoick The Vast scene. Joy to watch. The rest... Hiccup. Astrid and the twins are so plastic in their approach to the characters that it's hard to take them seriously. I don't know why but they looked more _animated_ than the animation veraions. Snotlout and Fishlegs were quite forgettable.

Hookfang looks absolutely amazing. Gorgeous. Stormfly not so much. Toothless is always beautiful but honestly all of his movement felt less natural than the animation. Especially in particular moment (I would like to keep it spoiler free) which mesmerised me when I saw the animated one back in 2010 and here looked more generic rather than emotional.

Green Death looks cool if a bit lazy.

I watched the original back in 2010 and there was just magic in there. I thought the 3d was way more effective than Avatar. Was it formulaic? Yes. Was it simple? Yes. But did it have a heart? YES. And huge one at that.

I don't think this version adds anything or is in any way needed but it can be enjoyable if you overlook the plastic acting. The score is still great. And seeing Gerard Butler care so much about his character is just lovely. So I'd rather be staying on this positive note.

This movie runs mostly as the original animation. Could be said, one of the most stunning live-action remake. Graphic cool, CGI cool (like animation dragons but upgraded a bit more real), landscape sooo cool, casting fine enough, music nice, plot same as origin but I saw some minor changes that don't affect the story. Flying scene very fantastic. For emotional, beginning to middle (for me) feels a bit neutral until toothless started flying scene cuz it was the same as animation, and mid to end was a bit intense, I saw they tried emotional act at final a bit more than original. Personally, I like to see a bit dark as origin with iconic music (not as animation's) however since this is children film, I can't blame on them. Anyway and overall, I really enjoyed the film as if I saw 1st original while I was young. It brought some nostalgia back. I'm looking forward to 2nd movie. Thank you, DreamWorks!

The live-action version of "How to Train Your Dragon" is simply excellent. This is how you adapt an animated classic: with respect and care. The movie stays very faithful to the original, almost identical in many scenes and emotions, yet manages to feel fresh and engaging.

The cast fits naturally with the story-they were well chosen and deliver strong performances without overdoing it. The interactions, the relationships, and the character dynamics all feel in line with the spirit of the original movie.

What impressed me most was the emotion. I genuinely felt the same feelings I had when I first watched the animated film years ago. That sense of wonder, friendship, and growth is perfectly preserved here. It's rare for a live-action remake to capture the soul of its source material, but this movie nails it.

Disney should honestly take notes from Universal Pictures and DreamWorks. This is proof that respecting the source is the real key to success in remakes. A great work, and easily one of the best live-action adaptations I've seen.