How To Train Your Dragon has been an enormous success for DreamWorks both critically and commercially, so it’s easy to imagine that its triumph will inspire many more live-action remakes from the acclaimed studio. DreamWorks has been responsible for some of the most beloved and warmly regarded animated films of the past three decades, and many of these brilliant stories could easily be translated into a live-action format without too much difficulty. 2025 has been a particularly strong year for DreamWorks, and the success of How To Train Your Dragon could certainly keep this momentum moving into the future.

Although How To Train Your Dragon makes some important changes to the original story, it’s still a largely authentic and loyal adaptation that’s been praised by long-time audiences of the franchise for staying true to the spirit of the animated film. This is a very important lesson to learn when making live-action remakes, and it could be the factor that separates DreamWorks from more monopolized studios like Disney in this regard. How To Train Your Dragon may just be the beginning of a more general trend towards these kinds of faithful live-action adaptations.

10

Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

Directed By Rob Minkoff

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is admittedly one of DreamWorks’ lesser-known movies, but it’s still a very underrated one that deserves more praise for its creative storytelling, fun characters, and unique animation.

The story centers around a young boy named Sherman who uses his father’s time-travel device to disastrous consequences, triggering an unlikely quest to save the space-time continuum. Despite not being DreamWorks’ most popular movie, Mr. Peabody & Sherman could facilitate a very fun and stylish live-action remake thanks to its wacky locations and compelling characters.

9

Rise Of The Guardians (2012)

Directed By Peter Ramsey

Since the first movie was released over a decade ago, audiences have been desperate for a sequel to Rise of the Guardians. Although that seems unlikely given the amount of time since the first movie, it’s still the perfect candidate for the studio’s next live-action remake.

The movie follows a group of folklore-inspired guardians, including Jack Frost and the Tooth Fairy, who team up when an evil spirit named Pitch Black emerges and threatens the children of Earth. The movie stars Jude Law, Hugh Jackman, and Alec Baldwin, all of whom would be warmly welcomed back to these iconic roles in a live-action remake.

8

Shrek (2001)

Directed By Andrew Adamson & Vicky Jenson

Although it’s hard to imagine Shrek making the transition to live-action, DreamWorks will certainly be looking at the studio’s most profitable franchises when considering which ones are going to be remade. Shrek definitely falls into this category; it’s still just as popular today as it was two decades ago, and Shrek 5 is just around the corner.

This level of popularity makes it the perfect candidate for DreamWorks’ next live-action remake, even though it would certainly be a controversial one. The movie centers around the тιтular ogre, who teams up with a talking donkey to rescue the mysterious Princess Fiona from the clutches of a dragon’s lair.

7

The Wild Robot (2024)

Directed By Chris Sanders

While some of DreamWorks’ older movies seem like better candidates for the live-action treatment, there’s also an argument to be made that their newer, more trendy projects would be even more successful since they’re fresher in the audience’s minds. The Wild Robot is a perfect example, coming H๏τ off the trail of its Academy Award nominations.

Starring Pedro Pascal, Kit Connor, and Mark Hamill, this heartwarming movie tells the story of an intelligent robot who finds himself stranded on a deserted island, where he’s forced to make friends with the local population of animals to find his way home. Though it’s only been a year since the original’s release, it would be fascinating to see how this unique animation style would translate to real life.

6

Shark Tale (2004)

Directed By Rob Letterman, Bibo Bergeron, and Vicky Jenson

Although Shark Tale 2 never happened, the original film is still one of DreamWorks’ most popular original movies. It’s the kind of family classic that audiences are still revisiting on a regular basis, and that’s exactly the level of popularity a movie needs to ensure a live-action remake would be profitable.

Shark Tale follows a wise-talking fish named Oscar, who becomes famous overnight when he claims to have killed a dangerous shark. The film offers one of Will Smith’s most entertaining performances, and a live-action remake would give the actor a perfect excuse to return to this beloved character.

5

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

Directed By Mark Osborne & John Stevenson

Kung Fu Panda is undeniably one of DreamWorks’ most expansive and far-reaching properties to date, with three sequels, an animated series, and plenty of tie-in books building the foundation of this series.

This beloved franchise seems like the most obvious choice to follow in the footsteps of How To Train Your Dragon. The only reason it’s not the best option is that it would be almost impossible without animation to recapture the stylish, dynamic visual language that makes Kung Fu Panda so exciting.

4

The Croods (2013)

Directed By Chris Sanders & Kirk DeMicco

Another of DreamWorks’ lesser-known projects, The Croods would be a solid underdog pick for the studio’s next live-action remake for several reasons. Firstly, The Croods is rarely considered among DreamWorks’ best movies, so remaking it would be a great opportunity to breathe new life into the story and fix some of the original’s flaws.

Secondly, The Croods has a brilliant cast who could all feasibly return for the live-action remake. Actors like Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone, and Ryan Reynolds are just as popular today as they were upon the original film’s release in 2013, so their involvement in a potential remake would be a huge sell.

3

Penguins Of Madagascar (2014)

Directed By Eric Darnell & Simon J. Smith

Penguins of Madagascar is one of the few DreamWorks spinoffs that’s arguably just as popular as the main series it was inspired by. The charming dynamic between these characters is exactly what makes this movie work, and it’s easy to imagine these quirky penguins being brought to life through CGI and interacting with the real world.

Practically, Penguins of Madagascar is one of the most logical DreamWorks movies to remake in live-action. All the locations are real and could be sH๏τ practically, while the characters themselves are real animals that wouldn’t be too difficult to design. This is what sets it apart from movies like Shrek or Rise of the Guardians, which would require a lot more work.

2

Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas (2003)

Directed By Tim Johnson & Patrick Gilmore

There are several reasons why How To Train Your Dragon’s live-action remake has been successful, but the most obvious is that its main characters are humans and its principal locations are rooted in reality. There are not too many DreamWorks movies where this is the case, but Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas ticks all the boxes.

Additionally, it’s been over twenty years since Sinbad was released, so much of the target audience for a live-action remake won’t even have been alive when it was in theaters. This is the perfect amount of time to wait before re-telling this story, which has all the excitement and adventure necessary to attract new audiences too.

1

The Prince Of Egypt (1998)

Directed By Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells

For very similar reasons, The Prince of Egypt is the most exciting candidate for DreamWorks’ next live-action remake. The human characters and grounded narrative mean it wouldn’t be too difficult to translate, and its status as one of the studio’s very first movies means it’s been a long time since audiences had the chance to watch it in theaters.

The Prince of Egypt tells the biblical story of Moses (with a few entertaining twists) as he travels from his homeland and encounters God, who instructs him to free the Hebrew slaves and lead them to Canaan. It’s a sprawling epic that has all the rich character work and exciting set pieces of How To Train Your Dragon, making it the perfect candidate for DreamWorks to modernize next.