‘How To Train Your Dragon’ Review: A Pleasing Return To Berk

After 15 long years since its release, the How To Train Your Dragon franchise is officially back for, this time around, a live-action remake. It’s not a sequel nor a spinoff, but instead a shot by shot remake made with real people. Honestly, I’m one of those who think live-action remakes are unnecessary and pointless and I just wish we never got them. But honestly… How To Train Your Dragon might be one of the best ones I’ve seen so far!

The plot is exactly the same as the one you already know. As an ancient threat endangers both Vikings and dragons alike on the isle of Berk, the friendship between Hiccup, an inventive Viking, and Toothless, a Night Fury dragon, becomes the key to both species forging a new future together.

It’s been a long time since I watched the original film, but even this movie being 30 minutes longer than it, it genuinely felt like I was watching the exact same thing. For the better and for the worse, the live-action retelling of How To Train Your Dragon is one of the few cases where it manages to capture the magic and soul of the original film. What makes this film so epic and wholesome is how massive and cinematic it feels, and also because the actors manage to deliver an amazing perfomance enough to give us that feeling that the animated characters managed to.

Mason Thames is great as Hiccup and so is Nico Parker as Astrid. The entire cast is excellent, but I must highlight Russell Crowe, they did the right thing on bringing him back to reprise his role. And now that the sequel has also been confirmed, I hope they bring Cate Blanchett back as Valka, it’d be epic…

The film’s CGI is simply perfect, and so are the set pieces; you can see that they crafted this film with a lot of passion and love for the source material. We had cases like Snow White, where they were incapable of giving us that feeling of passion, and instead, the entire movie feels like a cash grab. How to Train Your Dragon is not only one of the best films of 2025 but also a story worth retelling—a story that will now reach younger audiences and leave more people eager to discover this world.

It might be something unlikely to say but How To Train Your Dragon proved that this was a story worth retelling. With great performances, outstanding set pieces and wholesome CGI work. It feels great to revisit this world.

How To Train Your Dragon releases in theaters on June 13.