2025 has had some great movies, but as of right now, How to Train Your Dragon is my movie of the year! I watched the trilogy of movies with my son as he was growing up, and we loved them all. When I heard that they were making a live action How to Train Your Dragon, I was excited and also a little nervous. The animated movies were up there as the best movies DreamWorks had to offer. How could they possibly top this?
How to Download How To Train Your Dragon (2025)
How To Train Your Dragon was released on June 13, 2025. In a few months from this date you can expect the film to become available for download or streaming on Peacock TV and later on other digital platfroms uch as Apple TV or Amazon Prime Video. Click on the button at the end of this review and make your choice. Check out also the animated films:
- How to Train Your Dragon (2010)
- How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)
- How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
Review of the Live Action How to Train Your Dragon
The first step in the right direction that DreamWorks took was in who they got to write and direct the movie. Dean DeBlois, the same guy who made the animated trilogy, was at the helm here, and I thought that was awesome! Who better to bring the story of Hiccup and Toothless to live action than the guy who made the animated movies? The more I heard about the movie, the more confident I became that it was going to be good, and then when the trailer dropped, this became one of my most anticipated movies of the year.
Mason Thames as Hiccup and Gerard Butler as Stoick
By the time the credits rolled, I had been very entertained, and I honestly could have sat through the movie again! In case you do not know, the plot of the movie is about a clan of Vikings led by Stoick, and they are at constant war with dragons. Stoick is awesome, and it is so much fun that they got Gerrard Butler to reprise his role here.
Stoick has a son, Hiccup, who is played by Mason Thames, who you may know from The Black Phone. Anyway, Hiccup is not like his dad; he is nervous, not good in combat, and he is seen as a joke by the rest of the clan. However, Hiccup is smart, and he is brave in his own way. One night, during an attack by the dragons, Hiccup tries out a new invention of his, and he actually has success.
The Bond Between Hiccup and Toothless
They do a great job of talking up a dangerous dragon called a “nightfury,” a deadly dragon that never misses, and no one has ever actually seen one! Well, Hiccup shoots down a nightfury, but he cannot bring himself to kill it. Noticing that the dragon is hurt, Hiccup and the dragon start to bond, and Hiccup heals the dragon back to health. Due to his clever ways, he manages to repair the damaged tail the dragon has, and he even gives him a name, Toothless.
Training and Friendships Among the Dragon Warriors
Hiccup is placed into the gang of new recruits, and due to what he is learning from spending time with Toothless, Hiccup becomes the best in the class. The stuff with him and his dragon warrior classmates is awesome, and I thought that the young actress who played Astrid was awesome. Astrid and Hiccup have great chemistry together.
Hiccup vs Stoick: A Father-Son Conflict
Hiccup learns that dragons are not just mindless killers, but his dad refuses to believe him. He is so blinded by trying to find the dragon’s nest that he cannot see them as anything other than killers. Let me tell you, the stuff with Hiccup and Stoick is both brutal and beautiful; they have such a complicated relationship due to them being so different, but you can tell that they love each other a great deal.
Faithful to the Original: A Strong Adaptation
So far, the only complaint that I have heard about How to Train Your Dragon is that it is too similar to the animated movie. Well, I have to agree with that, but I do not see it as a complaint. I am glad that they kept this so close to the original; it is exactly what I wanted, and I am happy that they did not mess with the formula here. I truly do not know how they could have made this any better than they did. Plus, the small changes that they did make made sense.
Visual Mastery: CGI and Set Design
I was blown away by the whole look of the movie. Toothless and the other dragons actually look real, and the set designs were great, I had no idea what was a set and what was greenscreen! When it comes to CGI, this is up there as one of the best-looking movies that I have ever seen! You could have told me that the budget for this was 100 million higher, and I would have easily believed you.
Final Thoughts: A Must-See Live Action Adaptation
How to Train Your Dragon is the best live-action remake of an animated movie that I have seen so far! When I came out of the theatre, I said to my son that this was a 10/10 movie as there was honestly nothing about it that I disliked! This was a great experience, and I am pretty certain that I will see this again as I want to see it in IMAX! This is up there as one of, if not my movie of 2025.
