HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON

'How to Train Your Dragon' is the textbook definition of a remake; it is the animated film brought to life. While it is about 30 minutes longer, nothing is really added here - scenes just take a little bit longer or are more broken up. It's truly the same film again, but with real people still acting with CGI dragons. It looks good, the effects are nice, and the acting is fine, but it's truly just the animated film remade slightly longer. There isn't much to say about its creativity other than it's 'How to Train Your Dragon' again. I will say that if this were the first time experiencing this story, it would not have made as big an impact as it did in animated form. Extending the run time does make it a tougher sit for the younger demographic. The 2010 film is so perfectly paced, and extending it doesn't add anything. Also on the younger viewer front, it is a dark film, both visually and narrativity, and so making that live action, it loses some of the softness and frankly charm it had in animated form.

On the effects front, while again yes, the dragons look great, the creative team chooses to keep Toothless close to his animated counterpart, while the other dragons look more reptilian-like. This isn't particularly jarring, as in this film we don't really focus on the other dragons, but since we know a sequel is coming, it will be interesting to see how they balance this as the world grows.

This is not a bad thing, but I wouldn't call this a victory either. A lot of audience members are going to come out of this and enjoy it; they will say they didn't change anything much like Disney does, and again that's fine, but it still needs a reason to exist. I don't think a remake should just be a carbon copy of its counterpart; it has to do something different or bring something new to justify its existence. Especially here, when the original film is only 15 years old, it can't even drink yet, and you also have the double-edged sword of it being such a beloved film, so there isn't much you could change, if anything, to the film to make it better. Even worse than the only 15-year gap, the last film in the series only came out in 2019!

You can argue that Disney remakes started as some kind of way to refresh and reinvent these classic films and reintroduce the IP to new audiences, but of course, a key motive for their existence is money. With 'How to Train Your Dragon', money is the goal, and you can tell they are trying to do right by the fans, bringing back original director Dean DeBlois, bringing Gerard Butler back, and keeping the original design, but the whole purpose of this remake is essentially to make money. Why do I bring this up with this film and not with something like 'Snow White' or 'Aladdin'? This remake trend leaving the House of Mouse only solidifies that this is a new normal in Hollywood. This is where I'm conflicted: it's no secret that cinemas are struggling and the only things making money are IPs. Yes, original films that we all love still exist, but they aren't turning a profit, nor are they appealing to mass audiences. I completely understand, especially for the family demographic, in this cost-of-living crisis, why you are going to see something like 'Lilo & Stitch' or 'A Minecraft Movie' or 'How to Train Your Dragon' over a new IP. It's a much safer bet when the barrier to entry is costing more and more. The underlying question I'm wrestling with is: is this a bad thing? Is it a bad thing that 'How to Train Your Dragon' is just fine if that means it will make money, as the theatrical experience is ultimately a business? To quote Katzenberg's successor at Disney, Michael Eisner, "We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. To make money is our only objective."

DreamWorks' lesson from Disney here was to not touch a thing, but instead to simply transfer the animated classic to live action. It might change a line here, extend a scene here, but it's just the 2010 film again. From the aesthetics to the story, it's just the original again, slightly weaker, slightly extended. It has an advantage because the original director is here. The first time around, he made a phenomenal work of art, and he has come back and not changed much, if anything.

'How to Train Your Dragon' is completely fine. If you love the original, you'll enjoy this. It's an inoffensive remake, and it will be celebrated for that. As a film designed to make money, it will more than succeed. Audiences might only watch it once, but they will have a good time and go home.

Huge year for Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois on the live action front, here's hoping 'The Croods' is next!