{"id":31434,"date":"2025-06-11T15:00:19","date_gmt":"2025-06-11T22:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31434"},"modified":"2025-06-11T15:00:19","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T22:00:19","slug":"the-live-action-how-to-train-your-dragon-impresses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31434","title":{"rendered":"The Live-Action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Impresses"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 125 minutes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This feature from Universal Pictures opens exclusively at\ntheaters on June 13th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019ve been reading this column with any regularity,\nyou\u2019ll be aware that this reviewer is not overly fond of the trend involving\nanimated features being remade into live-action pictures. Last month, there was\nan example from Disney, and this week sees the arrival of yet another title. How\nto Train Your Dragon<\/em> is a new take on the 2010 hit from Dreamworks Animation.\nWhile this newest redo may not be entirely necessary, it is exceptionally\nwell-produced and as solid of a live-action retelling as one could possibly\nhope for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picture is set on an island called Berk, where the human\npopulation is at war with dragons. The leader, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler)\nprides himself and his people on being fierce warriors ready to wipe out their\nsworn enemies. But Stoick is embarrassed of his 15-year-old son, Hiccup (Mason\nThames), who shows no fighting ability. Even when Hiccup actually manages to\ntake down a beast in battle, no one believes him. The teen searches out and\nfinds the wounded dragon, but can\u2019t bring himself to finish it off. Instead, he\nnames it Toothless, helps it recover, and forms a tight bond with it. In the\nprocess, Hiccup learns about dragons and becomes the best student in his\ndragon-fighting class, using unusual techniques to sedate the creatures (and\nbaffling classmates in the process). Hiccup learns that the dragons aren\u2019t the\nreal threat to his people, but can he convince his dad and others before it\u2019s\ntoo late?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The story plays fairly close to the original animated film.\nSome of the dialogue and exchanges between characters has been expanded and\nslightly altered to mix things up (and add a few more humorous comments and\nobservations), but otherwise it is essentially the same movie. One imagines\nthat, given the effectiveness and popularity of the original film, the studio\ndidn\u2019t want to throw many curveballs into the mix. In fact, they even hired\nDean DeBlois to write and direct, who penned and helmed the original animated How\nto Train Your Dragon<\/em> films, as well as the original Lilo & Stitch<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It certainly appears to have been the right call. The\nfilmmaker already knows the characters and story in exceptional detail, and all\nof the performers are well-cast and make great impressions in their roles. It\u2019s\nfun to see Gerard Butler embody the live-action Stoick (he voiced the character\nin the animated film). Thames is also a charismatic lead, who doesn\u2019t come\nacross as a physical threat, but also doesn\u2019t play the role in a broadly nerdy\nfashion. He\u2019s just a little out of his element compared to his brawnier\ncohorts. There are some amusingly awkward interactions between Hiccup and his\ndad, especially when he starts to win competitions and the guardian wants to\nbond over his unexpected battlefield accomplishments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Nick Frost also makes a positive impression as Gobber the\nBelch, a teacher with a better handle on appreciating Hiccup\u2019s qualities. The\nother students, including love interest Astrid Hofferson (Nico Parker), class\nrival Snotlout Jorgenson (Gabriel Howard), and best pal Fishlegs (Julian\nDennison) are all convincing and effectively sell the teen banter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The visuals also make an impact, with the sets and locations\nstanding out. As for the dragons, while Toothless does look like a CGI-creation\nwith cat-like features, the lead still manages to form a convincing connection\nwith it. When Hiccup and the dragon are flying through the air, the images are\ndynamic. One thing this film does as well, if not better than the original, is\nmake one feel like they are soaring through the air and plummeting towards the\nsea at breakneck speed. The climax, featuring a confrontation with an enormous\nmonster living inside a volcano, is truly spectacular to behold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is a mid-flight conversation between various\ncharacters at one point that isn\u2019t as convincing with real people involved (one\nwonders how they can hear each other with everything going on around them), but\nby this point in the picture one is already invested in the story.  If\nthat\u2019s the worst criticism one can come up with, it means this live-action\nadaptation is actually far more effective than anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The filmmaker has kept the original\u2019s beloved themes,\ncharacters, and conversations as faithful to the original as possible, while\nadding some visual panache to the more realistic environments and creating a\ntruly large-scale and spectacular finale. Whether you have seen the animated\nversion or are new to the franchise, How to Train Your Dragon <\/em>delivers\nsummer movie thrills and chuckles that will entertain families.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 125 minutes This feature from Universal Pictures opens exclusively at theaters on June 13th. If you\u2019ve been reading this column with any regularity, you\u2019ll be aware that this reviewer is not overly fond of the trend involving animated features being remade into live-action pictures. Last month, there was an example from Disney, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[216,785,1467,1471,6249,7283,7314,8041,8213,9431,9435,9436,11141,12536,13384,14802,14825,23571],"class_list":["post-31434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-216","tag-adventure","tag-animation","tag-animation-to-live-action-film","tag-dragons","tag-family","tag-fantasy","tag-gabriel-howard","tag-gerard-butler","tag-how-to-train-your-dragon","tag-how-to-train-your-dragon-movie-review","tag-how-to-train-your-dragon-review","tag-julian-dennison","tag-live-action-adaptation","tag-mason-thames","tag-nick-frost","tag-nico-parker","tag-universal-pictures"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}