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How To Train Your Dragon follows the trend, where studios have run out of ideas, in which they take a successful animated movie and create a live-action remake.
Recently, this worked very well for Disney for Lilo And Stitch, but far from that with Snow White.
I’ve not seen the original HTTYD movie, but after watching the new one, I can see that while 2010’s had a running time of 98 minutes, this one REALLY didn’t need to drag on for almost 30 minutes longer.
Still, by way of a plot, Hiccup (Mason Thames) is the young apprentice of Gobber (Nick Frost playing Nick Frost, as always), who fancies feisty Astrid (Nico Parker, last seen wasting everyone’s time in the opening episode of the awful The Last Of Us live-action remake… I think I’m spotting a pattern for her), whilst wanting to become a dragon-killer like his Dad, Stoick (Gerard Butler – Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera).
Of all the dragons out there, the Night Fury is considered the biggest, and whoever kills that will be considered the best Viking ever, etc. Hence, Hiccup wants to be the first, especially since a dragon killed his mum, some time before this film began.
However, when he does find him, said Night Fury is the uber-cute Toothless, and no-one would want to kill him, surely? Well, it’s certainly not going to be a gore-fest, given that this is a PG-certificate.
Before they can attempt any killing, though, the teenagers must go through Trial Of Flame training process to decide who is the Top Slayer, and that’s the main area where they could really have cut 20 minutes out of it. They go into the training ring about five times, and two of those could’ve been cut out to tighten the film up.
There’s also not a great deal of humour. The first moment that stuck in the mind was how these vikings employ the ‘skills’ of a female fortune teller to simply throw some small bones onto a table, and that somehow tells the future… and they’re thick enough to believe her!
The other was how Stoick fashioned two viking helmets out of… his late wife’s bra! Erm… is that the best way to remember her?
“Hey, son, your mum had MASSIVE HOOTERS! BIGGER THAN MY FAT HEAD!!”
Beyond that, the film’s saving grace is the gorgeous locations, and the fact that if you watch this in IMAX, you get around 50 minutes opened up to 1.90:1, which incorporates a lot of the flying scenes. Plus, they’ve done a great job with the 3D, so if you can see it in that format, do. In its first few days, it was showing at my Odeon for three of the five daily IMAX screenings, and now is down to one or two per day.
Additionally, an early flying scene sees the IMAX screen opening up slowly from 2.39:1 to 1.90:1, as per Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning.
However, for the rest of the film, it really drags.
Can’t wait for the 2027 sequel, How To Train Your Dragon’s Director Not To Overstay Your Film’s Welcome.
There’s also a post-credits scene, as described in the video below.
How To Train Your Dragon is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
However, you can buy the original How To Train Your Dragon Trilogy on Blu-ray and DVD.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 125 minutes
Release date: June 9th 2025
Studio: Universal Pictures
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (Anamorphic Panavision); 1.90:1 (IMAX: 50 minutes)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 4.5/10
Director: Dean DeBlois
Producers: Dean DeBlois, Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
Screenplay: Dean DeBlois
Novel: Cressida Cowell
Based upon the animated film by: Will Davies, Dean DeBlois, Chris Sanders
Music: John Powell
Cast:
Hiccup: Mason Thames
Astrid: Nico Parker
Stoick: Gerard Butler
Gobber: Nick Frost
Snotlout: Gabriel Howell
Fishlegs: Julian Dennison
Ruffnut: Bronwyn James
Tuffnut: Harry Trevaldwyn
Hoark: Murray McArthur
Spitelout: Peter Serafinowicz
Gothi: Naomi Wirthner
Phlegma: Ruth Codd
Burnheart: Andrea Ware
Retcha: Anna Leong Brophy
Snorti: Marcus Onilude
Drül: Peter Selwood
Fungi: Daniel-John Williams
Flatula: Kate Kennedy
Loogi: Selina Jones
Hürl: Nick Cornwall
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.