The article discusses the effectiveness of the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon, highlighting its use of real locations in Northern Ireland, which enhances the experience. Unlike many recent animated remakes that feel unnecessary, this film stays true to its source material while adding a fresh perspective. The characters, though similar to their animated counterparts, embody both physical and emotional depth, drawing audiences into their fantastical journeys. Ultimately, the movie achieves a balance between nostalgia and innovation, making it a standout in the genre.
It's amazing what a difference shooting on location can make. If one thing has defined most of the live-action remakes of animated classics we've gotten over the past decade, it's been a general sense of pointlessness.
How to Train Your Dragon, the live-action version, is the rare remake that makes sense with human actors and actual locations. Swooping over the inlets and forests and thundering cliffs of Northern Ireland, we're reminded that there's value in the real.
The new film, directed again by DeBlois, scrupulously sticks to the narrative formula. At times it feels like a virtual shot-for-shot remake, complete with identical dialogue exchanges.
...giving its characters enough physical and emotional heft that their fantastical perils felt palpable. And because we were involved in their fates, we could imagine ourselves in their shoes.
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