How to Train Your Dragon, 2025 - ★★★★
Thursday, June 12, 2025
Watching the live-action adaptation of "How to Train Your Dragon," one of my all-time favorite animated movies, is a deeply nostalgic moment.
Although the adaptation remains faithful to the original—something fans of the animated version will likely appreciate—it follows the source material perhaps too closely. It's a bit disappointing that the adaptation missed opportunities to leverage the live-action format to deepen character dynamics with real actors.
While the adaptation is great overall, it could have been even better if it had expanded on human interactions and relationships instead of merely recreating scenes from the original. Allowing the actors to engage in more dialogue and giving personal moments to linger would have made it feel more intimate, emotional, and authentic.
Surprisingly, that's why I found the animated version to have a greater emotional impact.
Despite this, I still love this adaptation—not just for the adorable Toothless, but for the core message of the story. It's about seeing others with love and leading with our hearts rather than through the lens of our own fears. Moreover, it emphasizes recognizing our differences, which can also be perceived as our unique strengths, and using them to work together. We're all a little broken, but we're in this together, and we can lean on each other a little more.
I truly appreciate experiencing this story again. It not only makes me nostalgic but also reminds me how this lovely tale from my childhood helped shape who I am today.