While I’m usually cautiously optimistic for each new live-action remake—a trend which has completely overstayed its welcome—I’m not always excited for the product, since the animated original it’s based on will remain better.

I’ve developed quite a love for the How to Train Your Dragon franchise (all three films have gotten 4-star reviews from me), so I was actually looking forward to this one. It being DreamWorks’ first live-action remake made a difference to me, too; they were really going to try here. The novelty of the idea in that studio, coupled with Dean DeBlois coming back to direct, made How to Train Your Dragon easily the best live-action remake I’ve seen.

DreamWorks did play it safe for the most part, taking the “shot-for-shot” path, but with such a bulletproof story with incredible characters and themes, why mess with it? The casting was perfect as well; I loved Mason Thames as Hiccup and Gerard Butler as Stoick, but I really enjoyed every performance. They all seemed to commit their roles completely, and DeBlois got the absolute most out of them. We’ve got a ton of lovely young actors in our future, from Thames to Nico Parker, which is very exciting.

For the most part, the remake was able to match the original. Where it lost was the humor, which was still there, but it just didn’t seem to work well in this format for some reason. Where it won, though, was in the visuals. The look of the original is great, of course, but the live-action remake featured some very impressive CGI that DeBlois wasn’t afraid to show off. The dragons looked great, the environments looked great, and there were a couple really pretty shots, too. Powell’s score remained powerful and emotional (Powell’s best score, I think), “Test Drive” still gave me (and everyone else) goosebumps, and that new song at the end—“You Are My Homeward”—was lovely as well.

How to Train Your Dragon (2025) achieved what has ostensibly been Disney’s goal for the last decade plus: bring these great stories to a new generation. When Disney does it, it usually falls apart under the weight of too many unnecessary or antithetical changes. I think that DreamWorks may actually be able to preserve the magic of their stories in their remakes, based on their first try. I may actually be excited for the next HTTYD remake, too!