Tag: How to Train Your Dragon

Film Review: “How to Train Your Dragon”

Dragon’s nearly identical retelling lacks freshness

Hiccup and Toothless, bonding again.

It would be hard to fault writer/director Dean DeBlois (2002’s Lilo & Stitch), who directed the original How to Train Your Dragon animated trilogy, for choosing to return to direct the live-action remake. After all, the original HTTYD is a near-perfect film, with a gigantic brand and fan-base. DeBlois and his team decided that the best way to capture the magic of the original was to “transfer” it to live-action– nearly shot-for-shot, and line for line. Well, Mr. DeBlois, not all the dialogue and shot-for-shot sequences are as effective with a new cast and without the colorful emotive freedom of animation. Dragon-riding is still exhilarating in the live-action version, but the rest of the film lacks the script re-tuning necessary for a new narrative tone and visual palette. The new How to Train Your Dragon will be a grand scale adventure for those unfamiliar with the original film, and certainly a blast for young kids, but for the previously Dragon-trained audiences, the new live-action version will fail to match the original’s transportive wonder and wit. Continue reading “Film Review: “How to Train Your Dragon””

Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2

A worthy return to Berk, where the kids are all grown up now.

'Night fury in the sky, I can fly twice as high'
‘Night fury in the sky, I can fly twice as high’

In 2010, How to Train Your Dragon surprised audiences with its incredible cinematography and emotionally resonant central relationship between a young nerdy Viking, Hiccup, and Toothless, the elusive and dangerous Night Fury dragon.  Nearly 4.5 years later we are treated to the follow-up, How to Train Your Dragon 2 (the second installment of an intended trilogy), which thankfully has Dean DeBlois (Lilo & Stitch, How to Train Your Dragon) returning as director.  DeBlois successfully incorporates the same sense of discovery, wonder, and emotional gravitas into the sequel that were so prevalent in the first film.  How to Train Your Dragon 2 gets just about everything right — it expands the story’s universe without overreaching, lets the characters mature without forcing the issue, and keeps the focus on the powerful central storyline in a way that remains fun and engaging.

Continue reading “Film Review: How to Train Your Dragon 2”