'How to Train Your Dragon' Soars Over a Mild Competition
After multiple failed attempts at adapting animated material into live-action, DreamWorks Animation ironically outdoes Disney. The company that once ripped off Pixar's A Bug's Life with their first feature, Antz, whose golden boy for years was Shrek, until the studio overplayed that franchise. Dreamworks Animation wasn't so great until How to Train Your Dragon course-corrected the studio's rocky path with a critically acclaimed trilogy. The live-action version of the film is surprisingly good. In fact, it's better than all the regurgitated Disney live-action adaptations over the past decade. Why does it work better? Maybe because it's not a musical. Additionally, How to Train Your Dragon may lend itself to live-action more than those dreaded Disney films, as the director of the animated films is at the helm of this remake.
Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the first film and then solo-directed the sequels from the animated Dragon trilogy, doesn't let someone else make his baby. There's a level of talent that happens when someone from an animation background (which draws similarities to visual effects) makes a live-action film. They know how to avoid making it look fake. Yet, Robert Zemeckis is a magician, and he directed the remake of Pinocchio, which looked horrendous. So maybe it's not a matter of directorial background as much as it's time. Disney might be "pixel f******" their animation team. A term used by animators who are forced to make last-minute changes to their work when under a tight deadline. The dragons in this film could have easily looked phony, especially when they're going for a cuter angle of a mythical beast. Yet they appear better than you'd expect.
Most of the visual effects don't go for an overly cartoony look. Toothless, the dragon, is still cute, with his eyes that are a mixture between a puppy and a cat. Somehow, he looks believable. Everything, from the design of the dragons to the lush green mountains of Berk, looks great. However, the hair and makeup are off. The Viking beards look like prosthetics. Why would they be so clean? The sets and costumes resemble something more from Universal Studios Florida than a real, lived-in world. Considering this movie is a fantasy for kids, I can see why that may be the intention. Do we really need filthy real-life depictions of the savage Vikings or something the children can like? As a retelling of the original 2010 film's story, it's not bad. Creatively bankrupt, yes. HTTYD (2025) is a near shot-for-shot remake of the original film. Considering that's something the studio isn't hiding, it's to be expected.
If the M.O. is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," then luckily, they didn't screw this one up. The story about Hiccup, who learns to train dragons instead of killing them, still works, thanks to a lead who does a much better job than his voice-over counterpart. Where Jay Baruchel sounded like he was bored half the time, Mason Thames' Hiccup has far more range. Gerard Butler, who reprises his role as Hiccup's father, Stoick, was a great choice for voice-over and is an equally solid choice in live-action. His Sparta gruff voice doesn't just sound tough; he can also be delicate. Nick Frost doesn't have the charisma Craig Ferguson brought to Gobber. Then again, I'm a fan of his talk show, so that may be my nostalgia talking. The rest of the cast is fine, although I'm unsure why Julian Dennison (Fishlegs) is attempting a poor American accent, given that there's no historical accuracy to this film's setting.
Despite the accolades, there's no ignoring the lack of creativity brought to the script. Making the same story isn't the most impressive thing in the world to do. For achieving the low accomplishment of making an entertaining remake of an animated film, DreamWorks blows Disney out of the water with a movie that's an enjoyable standalone film. It's not as good as the original, but it does the job. And that alone will be enough praise to send audiences flooding the multiplex with their families.
