***SPOILERS***

Please continue pre-release discussion here

Movie
How to Train Your Dragon (2025 Live Action) (Starring: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost)

Studio
Universal Pictures
Dreamworks Animation

Release Date
June 13, 2025

Rating
PG

Runtime
2h 5 min

Budget
$150 million (estimated)

Box Office
Opening weekend:
$84.6 million domestic
$200 million worldwide

Variety
Box Office Mojo

Synopsis

As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.

IMDB
IMDB 8.1, 5,900 votes as of 6/13/25

Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes 77% Critics, 99% Audience as of 6/13/25

Metacritic
Metacritic Score 60 Mixed or Average as of 6/13/25

Trailer:

Poster



Merchandising

I'm seeing this later tonight.

Was initially going to see the Early screening on Wednesday that was giving out a free poster, but decided to postpone it until today.

Probably going to pass on the concessions merch for this one.

I just got back from a Dolby show. It was mostly families and small children.

Anyway, as someone who hasn’t seen the animated version, I liked it. It starts out a little slow, but picked up in the second act. The third act was awesome and exhilarating. Some amazing flight and battle sequences. That queen dragon was pretty terrifying. I thought Toothless was an animated well to make him visually appealing to kids.

Does Hiccup lose his leg in the animated version? Butler was great as Stoick. He and Mason Thames had great chemistry as father and son.

I gave it 3.5 out of 5. And I’m in the B to B+ range.

No need to stick around for the end credits. There is no bonus scene. Just a quick animation to Hiccup looking at a sketch in his book and then it’s done.

This was fantastic!! Now THIS is how you do a live-action version! They work they did to make this world like a real place was incredible. The sets and costumes were amazing. Loved the entire cast. Mason gives me young Ethan Hawke vibes. Nico is gonna shoot into the stratosphere. One of my faves of the year hands down. This is a 4k must buy.

The animated version is probably my all-time favorite CGI film to date. I absolutely adore it. I hadn’t planned on seeing this one in the theaters because it looked beat-for-beat like the original. However, my wife bought tickets for the whole family for Father’s Day.

If you haven’t seen the animated version, this would be pretty good! It’s got great visuals and the actors are mostly enjoyable. Unfortunately, it’s exactly like the animated version. Right down to the same lines of dialogue and musical cues. There’s a very minor new subplot involving one of the other kids and his father that I don’t recall from the original but aside from a slightly different opening, it’s the same.

I will say, I think they did a slightly better job of showing how Hiccup learns how to train dragons from Toothless than was depicted in the CGI version, so I’ll give them that.

Ok so here's some discussion. You have Lilo and Stitch, which is getting slammed because it's not like the original and they make some dramatic changes that's pissing people off. Then you have this, which is getting meh'd, because it's exactly like the original. What gives?

I haven’t seen Lilo and Stitch (either version) so I can’t comment on that, but yeah, I get that it seems to be a no win situation for these studios that make a live-action remake of an animated movie. I don’t have an answer aside from saying, maybe just not make them then.

If these live-action remakes are still making a profit for the studios then they probably don’t care about the criticism one way or the other. For me personally, I’d rather the live-action remake be somewhat different than the original. At least show that the filmmakers have put some effort into making it their own. In the case of HTTYD, it looks like it’s the same director for both, which adds a whole other dimension to the question of…why?

It's a no-win situation. Everyone of these live action remakes is always going to have someone complaining, kicking and screaming that this wasn't necessary or they got it wrong etc.

I find there is a very fine line to walk when it comes to remakes. If it's just the same but with different actors (or live action instead of animated), don't bother. If, however, you have new way to tell the story that still keeps the spirit of the original or even improves upon it, by all means go ahead. It's basically a game of Operation wherein if you stray too close to either edge, you lose.

I think it's best to remake films that are flawed in some key manner, instead of remaking movies that already got it right the first time. In cases such as those, you're likely better off re-releasing the original.

I totally agree. I thought it was absolutely an absolutely pitch perfect example of how you do a live action remake.




Yeah you're right. But I think instead of focusing on what to do in terms of the original, movie makers need to focus on making a great movie. And this is it. It's also crucial for someone who not only knows the world that it exists in but is passionate in continuing the storytelling in that world.

Quote:

DeBlois pleaded with the studio. “I said, ‘If you’re going to do it, please consider me as the writer and director.'” He went on to tell them, “‘I do know where the heart is, and I know this world. I know these characters. So I pledge and promise that we will bring that over into this new medium, intact, and then expand wherever it was additive, you know, find a myriad of ways of giving a little more character depth, expanded mythology, make it more immersive, lean into the tools of live action, but always with the wonder and emotion intact.'”

https://variety.com/2025/film/news/h...ed-1236429622/

Whereas at the other studio down the road you've got people wanting to change things with no real reason why other than to push some dopey narrative that isn't in line with the themes of the original. And when they do a movie that's a shot for shot remake, like the Lion King, they totally screw up the look of the characters and make them so realistic that they can't emote. So the emotions are just stripped away.

This movie was absolutely great and a shining example of what a live action remake should be. It really captured the heart and themes of the original while expanding on the world that it exists in. You can really tell the passion that DeBlois has for this world and story. I think it really shines through here. It's not just some filmmaker that wants to put their own mark on things or changing things up just to change them or just doing it for the paycheck. And even though it's a beat for beat remake of the cartoon it still really justifies it's existence by showing us the world of Berk as a real world place. All of the physical pieces really came together in this film. The location was absolutely gorgeous. The sets were tangible. The costumes were perfect. It was such a well done production and it really shows through on the screen. IMO this is especially essential when dealing with fantasy. By nature a story like this will require a lot of CGI to produce so everything that you can you have to put the work in and craft real world connections that help ground the fantasy setting with the viewer. Similar with how Wicked did a great job with their sets to ground the story in reality. Compare that with the typical CGI fest that Disney tends to do with their live action remakes and you can feel that it just isn't real. Which is why I think Lilo & Stitch did a much better job than most remakes because they shot it on location with real sets and real people.

The cast really did a wonderful job. Mason Thames as Hiccup really sold the heart of the movie. Which isn't an easy thing to do when your costar is a CGI dragon. Especially at 17! Nico Parker as Astrid was pitch perfect as well. I'm so glad they were able to get Gerald Butler as his dad as he was perfect in the original. I don't know why it's so difficult to just cast actors who resemble the originals. The original cartoons are beloved for a reason and most of that is because everyone fell in love with the characters. So why would you want to change that?

$85 million is a pretty good opening weekend. I hope that it has legs to be able to pump out the next two movies.

I'm pretty surprised that there isn't more synergy with the parks. I guess they don't tend to air regular commercials but some kind of material promoting Epic Universe and the Isle of Berk seems like it would have been obvious.

Either way it's a great year to be a How to Train Your Dragon fan.

I can't speak for either movie (I plan on seeing Dragon this weekend) but I think it's a question of not whether or not the deviate from the source material, but rather whether those changes make the story better or worse.

Lilo & Stitch isn't exactly a beloved movie of mine but I liked it well enough; it just seems more "cartoony" or suited to animation than a Viking Dragon adventure.

Don't change major plot points and keep the heart and themes from the original, but adaptations should do their own thing to an extent. I will say that I did enjoy this and even teared up a couple times, but my issue is generally with "I know exactly what's going to happen"

Maybe some of the stellar reviews are based on some sort of nostalgia for the 2010 animated movie but I don't hold the same regard to that movie, although I did enjoy those movies. However, this live action version, like the ones Disney has been churning out, feels a bit pointless even though most of the CGI wasn't bad. It is certainly watchable but I found myself a bit bored having seen most of this before in the 2010 version. That said, the cast was pretty good, and I did like Nico Parker as Astrid. Not sure there's really any reason to see this one, just re-watch the animated version... ***/*****