Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)




Rated PG - for sequences of intense action, and peril.
Director: Dean DeBlois
Starring: Mason Thames, Gerard Butler, Nico Parker, Nick Frost, Julian Dennison
Running Time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Theatrical Release Date: June 13, 2025

READER RATING:   


Plot Summary

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. (from IMDb)


Film Review

Well, here we are. With Disney desperately milking their animated catalog for classics to reimagine in live action form, DreamWorks has decided to throw its hat in the ring as well. This trend not only begs to ask, "Is this necessary?" but maybe even just a simple "Why?!" 2010's How To Train Your Dragon is pretty much a perfect animated movie. It's suitable for just about any age, it's loaded with heart, excitement, laughs and drama -- and it will surprise you. So why would we need it to be remade?

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)
The simple answer is: we don't. We don't need a remake. So pretty much any live action remake will feel like a gratuitous cashgrab... right? Thankfully, the director and writer behind the three theatrical animated How To Train Your Dragon movies has returned to helm the live action take on the original film - 15 years later. It's a tall order to try to improve on near perfection, and while I can honestly say this remake doesn't quite rise up to the heights of the original, it is definitely a worthy effort.

But the odd thing about seeing a live action remake of an animated favorite is - your mind is constantly comparing it to the original while you're watching it. A pretty good example of this, for the musical world, would be Anberlin's recent re-recording of their 2005 album Never Take Friendship Personal with Matty Mullins on vocals instead of original lead singer Stephen Christian. You may think it's better in some ways - like sonically, at times - but you can never give it a truly fair fresh ear because, if you've been listening to the original for the past 20 years, you will always be hearing that in your head as you listen to the re-recording. Watching the live action version of How To Train Your Dragon is a total mental blender; I found myself constantly comparing shots, scenes, lines, performances... even the musical score. The greatest thing this movie has going against it, is its own unoriginality. But I suppose that will ultimately come down to everyone's own personal perference in the end.

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)
How To Train Your Dragon (2025) honors the original in every way it can, and adds up to a very good adaptation, but it doesn't quite capture the same wonderment of the original - mostly because it feels like you're rewatching the original. Or, in a way, a stage play being put on of the original. In fact, characters like Tuffnut, Ruffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs all especially just feel like kids in cosplay. It took a lot of the film's runtime for me to get used to them, but I found myself scrutinizing their performances to see if it felt like they were the characters... or just fans dressing up for a local comic-con. It's a tough line to tread. Even Hiccup takes a bit to adjust to. Mason Thames does a really good job, but his voice is distinctly different from Jay Baruchel's, and he seems less... pathetic than Hiccup is supposed to. (Again, at times, it really feels like I was watching a stage play version of the film.) Nick Frost as Gobber is solid - he seems to capture all of the characteristics of the character, including the warmth in Craig Ferguson's voice. And Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick with ease. He's absolutely perfect coming out of the voice recording booth for live action. The only one who's a hard sell is Thandie Newton's real-life daughter, Nico Parker, as Astrid. She not only doesn't look the part - at all - but she just doesn't remind me in any way of the animated version of the character. Her performance here is far less wooden than other things I've seen her in (like the live action Dumbo), but I think someone else would have been much better in the part. Still, she doesn't sink the production, or ruin scenes she's in, and I suppose that says something, too.

Dean DeBlois makes the transition from animation director to live action director seem effortless. I can only assume that his experience with animation is why the dragons look downright incredible in this film. We saw this on IMAX, which obviously means the picture is larger than usual, so you can imagine flaws would be more apparent. I truly marvelled at how seamless the blending of live action and CG-animated dragons was. The Hiccup and Toothless flying scenes - coupled with John Powell's musical genius - are what stand out most in the 2010 movie. While I have to say that, despite still being impressive, they don't quite capture the amazement from the first film, they're still wonderful. And I was just totally blown away by how perfect Thames' Hiccup blends with the animated Toothless. DeBlois actually makes it look like the two are really on screen together -- and that is no small feat.

Live action Berk looks great, too. The production quality is topnotch, so it never feels like you're just watching a movie filmed at a Universal Studios theme park or something. The wardrobes are excellent as well. I loved how huge (or should I say "vast") they make Stoick look, to match his animated character. It was a nice touch to show him shed his furs - which is what made him look so big - at one point to show how much smaller he really is underneath his armor. It's little details like that that help ground this version. In fact, as I think about it, it seems like effects were only ever used to enhance scenes instead of build them. DeBlois did a great job making sure there were a lot of physical props and sets there for the characters to interact with. If you're going to make a live action version of an animated movie, it makes sense to have as much there done practically as possible.

How To Train Your Dragon (2025)
The content for How To Train Your Dragon is totally aligned with the original. In our recent interview with DeBlois, he had said he wanted to make it a little less aimed at kids, and I think he did a solid job of doing that. (After all, the kids who saw the original movie are 15 years older now.) I wouldn't say anything in the movie is particularly not kid friendly - compared to the original - but there is still plenty of action. The dragons keep their designs from the original movies, too, which is great, but they definitely look so much more realistic and intimidating here. The scene where Toothless roars in Hiccup's face to intimidate him is genuinely intense, which is an accomplishment. Much of the action mimics the first movie - like the opening sequence of dragons attacking the village of Berk, the training/fight scenes in the arena, and the vikings battling the alpha dragon during the finale. You can expect to see some vikings getting knocked around during training or while tussling with dragons, but it's not usually graphic, or even fatal, in any way. There's the emotional "did he survive??" moment involving Hiccup at the end - mirrored after the original - which could potentially upset some younger viewers. There's also the theme of meeting your father's expectations and the tension between father and son about measuring up, but it's got a heartwarming resolution (and it makes for a perfect Father's Day weekend theatrical release).

Did we need a live action version of How To Train Your Dragon? Personally, I don't think so. But what we have here is a solid remake made with all the love and care of the original - by those who made the original. And in this case, it's really all fans could hope or ask for. Sticking too close to the original or deviating too much is a darned-if-you-do, darned-if-you-don't kind of situation, but Dean DeBlois's live action revisitation to the land of Berk is a really solid and noble effort. A sequel is already slated for release in 2 years, and I think that could be even better, with viewers most likely being more adjusted to the changes by then (Plus I'd love to see a couple things get changed from the animated version of that movie, but we'll see, I suppose). As it stands, though, this How To Train Your Dragon is one of the better live action remakes made to date, and a promising start to a new take on our beloved Berk.

- John DiBiase (reviewed: 6/14/25)

 

 

Parental Guide: Content Summary


. Sex/Nudity: Tuffnut sees a small dragon and says something like "It's the size of my--" and gets cut off as the dragon jumps on him and bites his nose; Stoick gives Hiccup a helmet and says it was made from Hiccup's mother's breatplate, which grosses out Hiccup. He then thanks Stoick for the "breast helmet"
. Vulgarity/Language: 3 "Oh gods," 2 "bloody," 1 "send these devils back to Hell" (which is not really a profanity, but thought I'd mention it)
. Alcohol/Drugs: None.
. Blood/Gore: Gobber is missing some limbs and has metal appendages in their places. He often takes them off and replaces them with other prosthetic attachments; Like the original cartoon, Hiccup loses a foot and we see a metal mechanism in its place; Toothless eats a fish and then throws up a chunk of it for Hiccup to also eat. He bites the half-eaten chunk and almost throws up, feeling sickened by it. We see a little bit of fish guts residuals on his lips afterwards, too; Astrid is shown using her ax to smash several fang teeth in the mouth of the gigantic alpha dragon.
. Violence: The movie opens with dragons attacking Berk and causing fires, while the vikings fight back against the dragons. Some dragons carry off sheep to be eaten, too; Hiccup uses his homemade launcher to shoot at a dragon and is thrilled when he finds he hit one; The vikings often wield axes, but we never see them slicing or cutting any creatures; Hiccup tries to kill a dragon with a knife (by raising it above it), but can't bring himself to do it, so he sets it free. The dragon then pins him against a rock, roars in his face and then runs away; During the training that the teen recruits do, we see them wielding weapons but never really doing much with them. They're usually just running away from the dragons and dodging their attacks; We see Hiccup fall through the air while riding Toothless, but Toothless catches him; We see dragons held in captivity. We watch one specifically getting captured; A giant dragon is seen chasing some smaller dragons. Later we see the creature chasing vikings and fighting with them; Some characters are seen falling in the air; We see a presumably hurt dragon; We see a lot of smaller dragons dropping food offerings into the mouth of a gigantic alpha dragon. It then leaps out and eats a smaller dragon; We find out a character has lost their foot by seeing that their foot has been replaced by a metal peg leg; A dragon sets a whole fleet of viking ships on fire; Hiccup struggles to free a dragon restrained to a boat that is sinking. Stoick then pulls Hiccup out of the water and dives back under to free the dragon; Snotlout hits a large dragon in the eye(s) repeatedly; Astrid ends up in the mouth of the alpha dragon and uses her ax to smash and break some of its teeth; A dragon shoots a blast into the mouth of a large dragon about to ignite flames with gas in its mouth, causing it to choke on its own flames. We then see it crash into a mountainside and presumably die; and some other violence.

 

Disclaimer: All reviews are based solely on the opinions of the reviewer. Most reviews are rated on how the reviewer enjoyed the film overall, not exclusively on content. However, if the content really affects the reviewer's opinion and experience of the film, it will definitely affect the reviewer's overall rating.

To find out why we don't typically review R-rated movies, click here

 

 

go to main Movie review page
go to Video and DVD review archive

 

                 
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

Search JFH



This Friday, July 25, 2025
ALBUMS
Anchor & Braille New Mexico [Equal Vision]
B. Tee Told You [Syntax]
Bride Scarecrow Messiah CD Re-Release [Girder]
Empowered SALT - EP (independent)
Homesick Prodigals Different Good (independent)
KDNS After Eden [Syntax]
Olivia Lane Songs About Jesus (Deluxe Edition) [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard TASHA [Motown Gospel]
Kevi Morse Kingston We Winning [Syntax]
Pulpit Vomit Hospital Lens [Rottweiler]
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno Dance for Jesus - EP (independent)
Taylor & Co Worship Breakthrough - EP (independent)
Josh Wright LEAD (independent)

SINGLES
abenezer i was lost - Single [Gotee]
Joe L Barnes Good Shepherd (Studio Version) - Single [Provident]
Sho Baraka Still Got Faith (ft. L3xdivine) - Single [Syntax]
Gracie Binion Easy To Please - Single [BEC]
Katty Camargo Shine Upon Me - Single (independent)
The CCC Collective Thankful - Single (independent)
C4 Crotona Mr. Gritty - Single [Syntax]
CXMMXNS Trust and Obey (feat. CAIN) - Single [Provident]
EJ Swavv & Nickwit2Ks Growth - Single [Syntax]
Forrest Frank GOD'S GOT MY BACK - Single [River House / 10K]
gio., Dell Mac oxygen (H3nry Thr!ll remix) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Andrew Gonoude Closer To You - Single (independent)
Noah Paul Harrison Oh Lord My God (Live) - Single [Bethel]
J.Solo All I Have (ft. Kaboose & MotionPlus) - Single [Syntax]
Kings Kaleidoscope + Kings Kaleidoscope Hymns Amazing Grace - Single [BEC]
Tasha Layton Life In Me - Single [BEC]
Lecrae Bless You (feat. Torey D'Shaun) - Single [Reach]
TobyMac God Did It (feat. Jamie MacDonald) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Matt Maher Wait (Radio Version) - Single [Provident]
Passion The Lord Will Provide - Single [Capitol CMG]
Hunter Plake Down to Earth - Single [BEC]
Tommee Profitt, Bryce Green Adrenaline Rush - Single [Capitol CMG]
QEW JOYXFIX (ft. Stevie Rizo) - Single [Syntax]
Naomi Raine God Will Work It Out - Single [Tribl]
Rave Jesus Runnin' - Single [Provident]
Saints in Exile Bad Vibes - Single [Syntax]
Xander Sallows infinite - Single [DREAM]
Silent Reflection Left Me for Dead - Single [Syntax]
Michael W. Smith Your Love Is A Flood - Single [The Fuel]
John Stratton The Body and the Blood - Single [Pure Mosaic Services]
Regina Vandereijk You're the Light - Single (independent)
Joel Vaughn Feel It - Single [DREAM]
Zach Williams Killed A Man - Single [Provident]
Zauntee Jesus Down In Florida - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Bride Scarecrow Messiah Vinyl [Girder]

DVD
Jordan Smith The People's Hymnal DVD [Gaither]

This Saturday, July 26, 2025
SINGLES
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno What Would You Do? - Single (independent)

Next Friday, August 1, 2025
ALBUMS
Crash Rickshaw Big Sir - EP [Velvet Blue]
McKamey Legacy Holding to Truth [Horizon]
Ordained Thunder Roar [Girder]
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM Worship]

SINGLES
Dan Bremnes Human - Single [Curb]
Lauren Daigle Let It Be A Hallelujah - Single [Centricity]
Sleeping At Last Believe - Single (independent)

VINYL
Disciple Attack! (Limited Run Vinyl) Vinyl [Girder]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Get all of JFH's indie compilation now totally free!
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images