In a time when blockbusters are often too much –- amping up the violence, snarky humor, or coarse dialogue to somehow “justify” a $150M movie –- rare is the film that sticks with the heart of a good story.
How to Train Your Dragon, which tells a teen boy’s coming-of-age set in an ancient land of Vikings locked in a violent conflict with dragons, surely sounds like it could go a dark route. Thankfully, this PG film is an emotionally resonant, large-scale version of a myth worth retelling.
This film is a close remake of a DreamWorks animated franchise, with the first film released in 2015 (more on that in this post). The new film is also from DreamWorks Animation, distributed by its parent company, Universal Pictures.
It’s breathtaking to see this family drama played out in a visually arresting blend of 3D computer animation and live-action footage filmed on location in Northern Ireland. To avoid the usual pitfalls of reinventing a beloved franchise, DreamWorks and Universal Studios turned to Dean DeBlois, writer-director of the original animated trilogy, to helm this reimagined take.
In an interview, DeBlois recounted his dialogue with the studio when he heard their plans, saying, “I immediately put my hand up and said, 'Consider me. I know I haven't made a live-action movie, but I know where the heart is, and I know this world, and I know these characters.'”
With DeBlois, producer Marc Platt (Wicked, Mary Poppins Returns), returning composer John Powell, and the efforts of over 1,000 people behind the scenes, they bring to life big-screen storytelling with gripping action scenes, set to an unforgettable score.
Families who’ve loved the characters of Hiccup, Astrid, Chief Stoick the Vast, and other denizens on the Isle of Berk over the past 15 years may notice some small nuances changed.
For audiences who have yet to meet the mysterious Night Fury dragon named Toothless, I won’t spoil it. But what may surprise you is it’s really about fathers and sons, both specific in its emotion and universal in appeal.
Mason Thames takes on the role of Hiccup, with Nico Parker as Astrid, and Gerard Butler as Stoick (reprising his voice role from the original).
Drawing on history and myth
Somewhere off the coast of Scotland, a tribe of Vikings (along with some additional multicultural folks from far-flung lands supposedly visited by Vikings) have hewn a weathered, wind-swept village from rock that’s as tough as they are.
Yet, for decades, they’ve been at war with beasts they barely understand: fire-breathing dragons.
That’s how Hiccup’s story on the Isle of Berk begins, which writer-director DeBlois said comes from a “wish fulfillment” back to his childhood.
“As a kid, I loved fantasy,” said DeBlois. “I loved dragons. I loved warriors walking around with swords . . . And as an adult, being able to delve into this world with everything I've learned about storytelling, it's just a culmination of all the things I love.”
Akin to other great fantasy works, HTTYD draws on elements of actual history and myth.
Massive 12-foot tapestries seen on-screen in the Great Hall, woven and hand-dyed, take inspiration from centuries-old Viking designs. So do the weighty swords and axes, with a functional blacksmith’s forge built for the film playing a central part in several scenes.
In this case, it’s equally drawing upon recent work.
Loosely inspired by the novels of Cressida Cowell, the film trilogy and franchise has 15 years of production artists who’ve poured into it. Now their best designs are translated into fantastical photorealistic creatures.
DeBlois told me: “To be able to build practical sets with such love and detail, every texture, to be able to walk around and touch things and be in that space, it became a playground for the actors. They were all having a ball!”
Tough love and hidden strength
Yet the grand-scale visuals are merely the setting for the tale of a son trying to live up to his dad’s outsized expectations. Hiccup is more prone to think and draw than swing an axe, to Chief Stoick’s shame.
His discovery of Toothless enables Hiccup to succeed in dragon training, learning tricks of how to appease them. At the movie’s midpoint, as Hiccup waits to enter the dragon arena and supposedly slay a dragon, Stoick praises him in lines that get at the central conflict.
“Well, I can finally show my face in public again,” booms Stoick to the crowd. “My son has won the title of top slayer. Today, my son becomes a warrior. Today, he becomes one of us!”
Hiccup again rescuing the beasts devastates his father. Yet, as the story progresses, the boy’s skills –- DeBlois calls them “strengths in disguise, (which) seem disappointing at first glance” –- prove critical to the well-being of his tribe.
The director says this is a true-to-life dynamic: “Between the parent and the kid, there is sort of finding an understanding and learning to see one another and looking beyond the expectation.”
One change in the live-action film is how cocky Snotlout (Gabriel Howell) is shown trying to prove himself to his father, Spitelout (Peter Serafinowicz). It underlines how the father-son dynamic is this film’s main theme.
“Hiccup is marching to the beat of his own drum," says DeBlois, "whereas Snotlout is desperately trying to emulate his father, with very little praise for it. They both come to a moment of redemption."
Reinterpreting the story in a new medium
Like the animated franchise, live-action How To Train Your Dragon has several visceral action scenes featuring fire-breathing creatures –- which are scarier with realistic dragons.
For us, even my four-year-old daughter enjoyed the movie, holding tight to Mommy a few times.
People will inevitably criticize this film (and its already-announced sequel) as a cash-grab or a theme-park ride. They’re right, the original animated HTTYD film is a masterpiece of cinema.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be revisited. DeBlois, well acquainted with script revisions, pre-viz storyboards, and actors’ dialogue, reflected on his first time directing an ensemble on a set.
“When we had them run a scene that I was quite familiar with, suddenly there was a spontaneity and a cadence and a rhythm that would develop,” he said. “The scene became quite truthful (which) was a revelation for me.”
Like Toothless himself – the so-called “unholy offspring of lightning and death” who’s also a cuddly pet -– this story has an inherent creative tension in it.
It’s about a protagonist who leads with his heart in compassion-- and still must find the courage to facedown a ruthless foe. And it’s told in a film that’s gritty to the point of being believable but not too violent for young ones.
There’s nothing like soaring with dragons, and most families with kids will enjoy this ride.
Rated PG for frightening and intense scenes, “How to Train Your Dragon” is now playing in theaters.
Image: Universal Pictures
Freelance journalist Josh Shepherd writes on faith and culture for several media outlets. He and his family live in central Florida.
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