By Mallory Mattingly
According to director Dean DeBlois, reconciliation soars throughout the new live action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON.
“Hiccup is a character who isn’t cut of the same cloth, and so he has a father who’s very traditional and has always sort of followed the Viking way,” DeBlois explained in an interview with Movieguide®’s Jeremy Carroll. “The fact that Hiccup can’t quite seem to fall into step and is quirky and has his own tenacity just means that they can’t quite see one another.”
The director continued: “Hiccup — by leading with his compassion and his heart, by defying Viking tradition and actually helping a dragon, nursing him back to life and bonding with him — at first, that’s seen as such a defiance and such a betrayal of the Viking way.”
But by the end of the film, Hiccup “ushers in this air of peace,” which causes his father to have “the humility to see that his kid, who he had seen as kind of a disappointment, acting on a weakness, is actually acting on a strength in disguise.”
Hiccup’s father “comes to see him in this enlightened way as a leader for a new generation.”
Mason Thames, who played Hiccup, joined Seventeen for an exclusive interview to talk about his new film.
“HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is my dream. Those animated movies were my dream, so that’s all I needed — 8-year-old me would be bouncing off the walls,” Thames said of the opportunity.
But knowing how much he and others his age loved the animated HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON made stepping into the live-action version intimidating.
Related: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2025)
“Because of how much this movie means to people, including myself, there wasn’t pressure given to me, just pressure I gave myself because I wanted to do the character as much justice as possible,” Thames revealed. “It’s the biggest production I’ve ever been a part of, which was terrifying but also super exciting.”
Unfortunately, due to some thematic issues, Movieguide® advises caution. Part of the review reads:
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is a live action remake about a scrawny but brainy Viking teenager named Hiccup. Young Hiccup wants to be a powerful dragon slayer like his father, Stoick, but Stoick fears for his scrawny, klutzy son. Stoick leaves with the other Vikings to find the dragons’ lair once and for all but lets Hiccup train with the blacksmith who teaches the children how to fight dragons. Meanwhile, Hiccup befriends a new dragon he injured. He also discovers the dragons aren’t what they seem, but how can he tell his father and the rest of the Vikings?
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is too focused on turning the wonderful animated movie into a live action spectacle. In the process, there’s more focus on frenetic violence, which omits some emotional connections. There’s also an expanded role for the pagan witch-like priestess. Some of the supporting acting is mediocre. Some of the fights are silly. Finally, the last battle in HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON is too frenetic. The movie is still fun and entertaining, but MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for older children.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON takes viewers on a wild ride of disappointment, challenges and dragon flights. But the overarching story of a father reconciling with his son is something anyone can relate to.
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