Note: How to Train Your Dragon is screening in both original English-language and (more predominantly) Czech-dubbed versions in Prague cinemas; check showtimes before heading out to the cinema.
A young Viking discovers that the key to ending a centuries-old conflict with dragons is to befriend them in How to Train Your Dragon, a new live-action remake of the 2010 animated film opening in Prague and cinemas worldwide this weekend. Compared to recent live-action Disney takes on their animated classics, this one hews closer to the original in both story and design—and fully recaptures its magic, resulting in a better update than anything the mouse house has delivered since 2016’s The Jungle Book.
That’s no surprise, given that director and co-writer Dean DeBlois, who made the original film as well as its two sequels, is back at the helm for this version. His latest How to Train Your Dragon is so reminiscent of the earlier film that questions of necessity arise, but thanks to some beautiful widescreen cinematography across Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the forests of Northern Ireland—combined with terrific performances and an evocative score by returning composer John Powell, building on his earlier work—this one vividly justifies its existence.
One important note: converting this story about fighting dragons from the world of animation to live-action also results in a shift in tone. While the cartoonishly over-the-top sets and costume design help keep things light, scenes of fire-breathing dragons attacking live actors can evoke Game of Thrones more than the animated film. The climax, in particular, turns into a Godzilla-style monster movie, and may prove too frightening for the youngest of viewers.
And this take on How to Train Your Dragon is dark in more ways than one: it can often be difficult to see what’s happening on the screen. Interior scenes feel as if cinematographer Bill Pope took a page from Barry Lyndon and lit only by candlelight; exteriors, especially the action scenes, are often set in the midst of dragon-breath, fog, and smoke, or under the cover of night. The murky look helps blend the live-action footage with CGI dragons, but results in unappealing and sometimes eye-straining visuals.
That’s especially true of the opening scene, set during a nighttime dragon attack in a Viking village on the isle of Berk. Young Hiccup (Mason Thames) recounts through narration how the Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, and how he very nearly captures a feared Night Fury dragon during this latest encounter—but we’ll have to take his word for it, because we can barely see what’s happening.
Thankfully, the visuals pick up after this The Long Night-inspired opening. Hiccup happens to be the son of rugged Viking leader Stoick (Gerard Butler), who is embarrassed by his son’s ineptitude but nevertheless signs him up for dragon-fighting training under Gobber (Nick Frost) as he embarks on his latest expedition to locate the dragons’ nest and rid his village of their persistent threat.
But Hiccup really did nearly capture a Night Fury dragon, and soon finds the beast caught up in a net deep within the forest. Freeing and secretly forming a bond with the creature he names Toothless, he also learns a lot about dragons along the way—knowledge he displays during his training to peacefully subdue the beasts, much to the chagrin of his fellow students Astrid (Nico Parker), Snotlout (Gabriel Howell), Fishlegs (Julian Dennison), Ruffnut (Bronwyn James), and Tuffnut (Harry Trevaldwyn).
There’s a wonderful message in How to Train Your Dragon, taken from the book by Cressida Cowell, about using knowledge and empathy to win battles instead of strength or aggression—and about defeating the real enemy within yourself in the process. It goes back as far as Sun Tzu (“Know your enemy and know yourself”) and through Nelson Mandela (“Your enemy is not our enemy”) and resonates today just as strong as it ever has.
2025’s How to Train Your Dragon translates this message just as well as the previous movie, and if nothing else, deserves praise for not screwing up the heart of this story. There are a lot of other things this story does well, too, but especially the character growth of Hiccup: his journey from pitiful sadsack to beloved leader feels genuine and earned, and Thames (The Black Phone) flashes some real movie-star charm in what should be a breakout role.
He’s matched by some terrific support that includes a perfectly-cast Butler, irresistible as the stoic Viking chief who slowly comes to appreciate his son (with just a couple lines, Peter Serafinowicz also nicely summarizes this journey as Snotlout’s father). Led by Parker’s Astrid, Hiccup’s peers are also charmingly portrayed, though the Dennison’s Fishlegs never gets the full redemption he deserves.
Despite a darker tone and some even darker visuals, 2025’s How to Train Your Dragon soars thanks to heartfelt storytelling, strong performances, and an unshakable emotional core that honors what made the original so beloved. It’s a rare live-action remake that not only respects its source material but expands on it with sincerity and style. The result is just as spellbinding as the animated film—proof you can still teach an old dragon new tricks.
