TL;DR – It earned Test Drive.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a post-credit snippet.

Disclosure – I paid to watch this film.

How to Train Your Dragon Review –

Well, if there was one film I was hesitant to see, it was this one. I adore the How to Train Your Dragon films; How to Train Your Dragon 3 is in our Top 10 Animated Films of All Time, though I think that list might need an update. So, I was not one of those people jumping for joy when it was announced that it was getting one of those dreaded live-action re-makes. I say that because they are mostly trash and rarely get even into the same ballpark as the originals. Well, I was shocked because I could not believe how quickly this film had entranced me.

So, to set the scene, in the great arctic north, there is a village called Berk. The people of the town were summoned from across the Viking lands for one reason: to find the Dragon’s nest and destroy it. They just have not had a lot of success on that front because even though it is an old town, every house is new. At night, the dragons attack to steal their livestock and burn down their village, and every time, the villagers fight back. However, within this highly competent town lives Hiccup (Mason Thames), the son of the village chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler). Who wants to work smarter, not harder, but no one trusts him. But one night, as the village burned, Hiccup wheeled out one of his inventions and aimed it at a mysterious Night Fury, and for the first time in his life, he struck gold.

One of the reasons I liked this film is that it is essentially a shot-for-shot re-make of the original animated film. I mean, sure, there are a couple of extra plot beats, they do a touch more worldbuilding for Berk, and there is a bit more to the climatic battle. But the core of the film is the same. Even more than that, one of the original screenwriters and directors is back at the helm, which gives you that continuity, including every kid speaking in an American accent while all the adults are trying their best Northern British and Scandinavian inflections. Also, some of its themes around fighting endless wars for the only reason that this is what we have always done probably hits a lot closer to home, given the current state of world affairs.

But, just because you are following the same story does not mean that you will hit lighting twice. You need to get the casting right, and I think they nailed it here. All of the young actors completely captured the vibe of their predecessors. Mason Thames is misunderstood, Nico Parker is profoundly competent, Gabriel Howell’s world revolves around him, and Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James & Harry Trevaldwyn are all there having fun. I think it was the right choice to get Gerard Butler back, and I think he is giving a more rounded performance, given where we know the character goes in the following films. Also, while I do believe that Nick Frost captured the visual vibe of Gobber, Craig Ferguson is such a hard act to follow.

We also see that in the animation because it feels like the dragons were cut-and-pasted from the original films, and I mean that as a compliment. I did not need to spend any time adjusting to Toothless because they were just there as I remembered them. The world is also enhanced by what looked like some extensive practical sets and a lot of location filming of what I assume was a combination of Ireland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. This gave the film and Berk a ‘lived-in’ feeling that it needed. Oh, and of course, John Powell was back with the musical score, which did not shy away from the score of the original films. Moreover, they did not just rerecord the old score and call it a day. You can feel some of the slight variations in the syncopation that shift the tone in places, which was a delight. All of this was combined into Test Drive, and well, it stuck the landing.

In the end, do we recommend How to Train Your Dragon? Yes, we would. Look, it is still very much a shot-for-shot re-make of the old narrative, which still holds it back compared to something transformative. But it understands why the audience wants to be there, and given all the kids in my screening were having a ball, I think they succeeded. Have you watched How to Train Your Dragon? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.If you liked How to Train Your Dragon, we would recommend to you Flow.

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of How to Train Your Dragon
Directed by – Dean DeBlois
Screenplay by – Dean DeBlois
Based on – How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell & How to Train Your Dragon by Will Davies, Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders
Music by – John Powell
Cinematography by – Bill Pope
Edited by – Wyatt Smith
Production/Distribution Companies – DreamWorks Animation, Marc Platt Productions & Universal Studios
Starring – Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Gabriel Howell, Julian Dennison, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Peter Serafinowicz, Ruth Codd, Murray McArthur, Naomi Wirthner, Andrea Ware, Anna Leong Brophy, Marcus Onilude, Peter Selwood, Daniel-John Williams, Kate Kennedy, Selina Jones, Nick Cornwall & Samuel Johnson   
Rating – Australia: PG; Canada: PG; Germany: 12; New Zealand: PG; United Kingdom: PG; United States: PG