The 2025 How To Train Your Dragon remake recreates much of what made the original animated film a modern classic, but it’s not an exact copy. Live-action remakes have been gold mines for Disney, so it’s no surprise that DreamWorks wants to dip its hand back into its extensive catalog. Selecting How To Train Your Dragon as its first remake is an excellent decision. The franchise has remained relevant since the first film debuted in 2010, spawning the renowned How to Train Your Dragon trilogy that grossed around $1.7 billion worldwide and a new theme park land at Epic Universe.

The remake mainly stays true to what audiences loved about the original, embodying the phrase “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” It has the same heart and humor, bringing the animated film to life through beautiful design, impressive dragon effects, and lively performances. However, it can get too familiar, and several moments are a bit stiffer since there’s no animation to make it more energetic. Still, there are enough changes that prevent it from being a lazy sH๏τ-for-sH๏τ remake, and several of these additions improve upon its predecessor.

How To Train Your Dragon Is Very Close To A SH๏τ-For-SH๏τ Remake

Many Scenes Are Almost Carbon Copies Of The Original

Audiences who are well-versed with the original will see what the remake’s going for from the very beginning. It opens with Hiccup’s narration as a battle between dragons and Vikings breaks out on the Isle of Berk. Most of his narration is the same as the original, with many moments from the animated opening recreated, including when Hiccup shoots down Toothless. Not every scene from the original is in this film, but when it is, it’s almost a carbon copy.

Similar moments include the iconic scene where Hiccup first touches Toothless, the scene where Astrid catches them, and the “Test Drive” sequence, which includes the famous score re-composed by John Powell. Many of the conversations between Hiccup and his father Stoick are the same and many of the best jokes also return to the script. All of it is recreated well by the filmmakers and cast, but How To Train Your Dragon first-timers will love seeing all of this for the first time.

How To Train Your Dragon’s Remake Adds A Few New Scenes

Astrid May Be A Better Character In This Version

While there are not many new scenes, there are several additions that either add necessary information that wasn’t in the original, tweak some dialogues, or deepen the story of certain characters. For example, when Hiccup wakes up to see the village full of dragons at the end of How to Train Your Dragon, Stoick mentions he rode a dragon, mainly to get home after the alpha destroyed all their boats. It’s a quick addition, but it does explain how the Vikings got home and adds to Stoick’s character arc. There’s also more development for the elder and Snotlout.

In the original, the elder only appears to select who will kill the dragon. In the remake, the elder is featured more prominently in this film, as she keeps track of the students’ training. Meanwhile, Snotlout has a funny but seemingly random storyline, where he tries to win over his father’s attention. The How to Train Your Dragon character who benefits most from the remake is Astrid. Astrid says she comes from nothing and resents Hiccup for the luxuries he takes for granted as the chief’s son. Their conflict makes more sense, but it’s also more rewarding when he eventually wins her over.

The Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Shows The Pros & Cons Of A SH๏τ-For-SH๏τ Remake

It’s Overly Familiar But Causes Less Division

How To Train Your Dragon currently holds a 77% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with many critics saying that it’s a good film, but is simply a recreation of the animated film. The film does many things right, but it’s hard not to constantly compare it to the original if the latter is still. Still, it hasn’t caused any uproar among audiences since it doesn’t make any drastic or unnecessary changes. That seems evident with the movie scoring a near-perfect 98% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes. The sH๏τ-for-sH๏τ strategy pleases many audiences, but it can also backfire.

For example, 2019’s The Lion King recreated many of the iconic scenes from the 1994 Disney classic. However, the realistic-looking lions weren’t expressive or energetic enough, resulting in lifeless versions of scenes that were much better in the animated film. On the other hand, Lilo & Sтιтch caused controversy because it changed too much. Nani giving Lilo up at the end upset many people, leading to divisive reactions from audiences. How To Train Your Dragon won’t upset anyone, but it may not win over a new generation when the animated version still exists.