So, the new live-action How to Train Your Dragon is out. I have seen it and I have thoughts. It probably doesn’t need to be said, but I shall anyway: SPOILERS AHEAD!!
I tried to go in open minded, telling myself to give it an honest chance and not go in planning to hate it. In fact, by the time I sat down in the theatre, I was excited for it. And I feel it is an excellent adaptation. I will say not quite as spectacular as the original animated, but much better than most live-action adaptations. I won’t go into a lot of detail, since this was my first viewing, just the first thoughts I have. It doesn’t have quite the humor that the animated has. But the actors make it their own. I enjoyed Mason Thames as Hiccup; not quite as quippy as his animated counterpart, but very real. I loved the emotions he showed and I was still impresses with Hiccup as a character while watching him; like, why does his village doubt him so much because he does these awesome things.
They’ve changed Astrid’s character a bit, but she still stands beside Hiccup and I like that. Gerard Butler reprised Stoick well. I liked the emotion he showed when he asks about Hiccup when he returns from looking for the dragons’ nest; “he’s gone?” and he clearly shows that Stoick is now fearful that Hiccup has died. We definitely inferred it in the animated, but I like it being shown clearer. Nick Frost was good as Gobber; again, not as quippy and sarcastic as he is as voiced by Craig Ferguson, but we can clearly see that Gobber cares for Hiccup. Heck, they even brought in some of the father-son dynamic from the show to Spitelout and Snotlout, which is rather impressive. And Fishlegs’ cards make an appearance. Valka is mentioned, by name, even, but not too much to deviate from the original, just, laying the groundwork more for the other movies. And I will admit, I am excited to see them brought to live action now. Please finish the trilogy.
The animatronic, lifelike Toothless is very good, though we miss some of the cute facial expressions from the animated. Still not as fond of how the other dragons appear on screen, but they had to nail Toothless and they did. The music is wonderful, of course. And since I have internalized this soundtrack over the years (it is part of my soul now), I can tell there were a few additions and I swear, some themes from later films peaked in. And they added words to the ending theme! I will be purchasing the soundtrack.
They nailed the Test Drive scene. It’s so iconic and loved from the original. I was sitting straight up in my seat, watching the scene and loving every single second of it. I wanted to cheer at the end. Hiccup also said my favorite line: “Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile.” (It’s my notification alert on my phone; has been for years). Again, I wanted to cheer out loud. The final battle was well done and they brought more emotion to Hiccup waking up and discovering his prosthetic foot, even though they didn’t add much to the actual shot.
I still have some issues with costuming choices. The one outfit Hiccup wears definitely looks like a hoodie. Actually, I think all of his tunics have hoods. Which were not in the original and not period. But they get better through the movie. And I think his outfit overall was the best adaptation.
Overall, I give this movie two thumbs up and I encourage everyone to go see it! I already want to see it again. And own it.
I have also seen clips from the new Isle of Berk theme park at Universal and yes, I definitely want to go. I want to hug Toothless!!
On the topic of Dragons, I swear, I will complete Race to the Edge. The story inspired by Reign has grown and I want to complete it (or at least a full rough draft) before I switch back. There will probably be a wrap-up blog of that show (once I’ve seen the last two episodes). Then back to Dragons. And there’s more to come with that, and a few more movies beyond.
Dreamer in the Mirror 