As the train of live-action money-grabs remakes continues, this one isn’t half bad. It is still a charming story that is good, but not Peak Pixar good.

Acting

Casting for a live-action like this has to be one of the hardest casting jobs around. There is a very specific look that the actor has to have, and then they also need to be talented to boot. I think they chose wisely by picking Mason Thames. This is the first thing I’ve seen him in, but he was also in For All Mankind, and The Black Phone. He is a spot-on choice to stand in for the animated Hiccup and delivered all of the drama and humor necessary for the role. Of course, it’s made easier by having Dean DeBlois as director, who has directed everything in the How To Train Your Dragon universe, from movies to games. I have to imagine that it’s easier to act in a movie when you basically have animated storyboards to follow in every single scene.

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Dean DeBlois: Okay Mason, in this scene I want you to react with surprise and fear, just like… Oh, just like Hiccup did in this scene in the animated version.

Still Cartoonish

If there is one gripe I have, it’s that this live-action version really doesn’t bring anything new to the story. Personally, I would have preferred that it were a little more adult-oriented. The other kids in the movie were still very cartoonish in their behavior. I wish they had written them to be more real. I’m not saying that I would want to see a version of this made by A24, but maybe somewhere in between the two.

Setting

No one will be disappointed in the landscape. This is the best tourism advertisement for Iceland since… Ever.

Grade: B

If You Liked This

Fans might enjoy The NeverEnding Story for similar boy-and-his-dragon energy, or Pete’s Dragon (2016) for a more successful live-action approach to magical creatures. For streaming, Dragon Prince on Netflix captures similar themes with more sophisticated storytelling.

About The Peetimes: I have three good Peetimes. It’s rare, but the last Peetime is, I think, the best. There’s only some speeches that are easy to summarize.

Everything after the 3rd Peetime is action and drama.

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There are extra scenes during, or after, the end credits of How to Train Your Dragon.

Plot
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.