15 years ago, I marveled at the astonishing animation of the plucky Hiccup and his dragon Toothless taking to the skies with their makeshift tail wing. 15 years later, I am watching that same scene on the big screen and feel nothing. It’s not that the live-action remake of How To Train Your Dragon is lifeless with its visuals or awkward with composited computer graphics. I feel nothing because there’s nothing new. It’s the same shots, same dragon, same dialogue, same music, and same direction from Dean DeBlois, once more helming the same film he directed 15 years ago. I have seen this all before. Why am I seeing it again?

I’m sure an easy defense for the film would be that it doesn’t retool in the same way Disney has with their live-action remakes. The story remains the same in every metric. The underdog Hiccup (Mason Thames) aspires to prove himself as a dragon slayer in a Viking village where that’s the most prestigious profession. Mason does alright in the role, but he’s constrained by a script that offers him little new to bring to the character. It’s a shame, considering his acting is strong enough that he shouldn’t have to replicate the line-for-line stammering and wry humor of Jay Baruchel. While Baruchel made that role his own, Thames can barely walk in this old armor of a character.

Every character is bound by a manner of never trying too hard to change line delivery, getting all dressed up to reprise rather than remark. Nico Parker doesn’t have the same spark as Astrid to make her a sly and stern warrior, where the only altercation is that she isn’t introduced with fire blazing behind her. That lack of flame is fitting, considering how she has been given no room to be presented as more fierce in her fighting or thoroughly attracted to Hiccup’s underdog ascent. Nick Frost doesn’t try to replicate Craig Ferguson’s sly Scottish deliveries for Gobber, but his expressions feel mostly muted behind that thick beard. There’s also a waste of strong casting choices, with Julian Dennison as the dragon geek, Fishlegs, and Peter Serafinowicz as the leader/father, Spitelout.

You can see just how little pop there is in this adaptation, with the only returning actor being Gerard Butler, reprising his role as Hiccup’s brave father, Stoick the Vast. He fits the role perfectly, matching his animated character’s look with the braided beard and burly presence. But all he’s doing is reciting the same lines and without the same vigor that voice acting allows. Just look at the scene where Stoick approaches Hiccup about accepting dragon-killer training. The animated version had some good overlap in action and dialogue, making the scene feel alive. The live-action version feels far too limp in its delivery and chemistry, making Butler’s inclusion a mistake that offers a direct comparison to the original.

The only positive thing that can be said of a film like this is that it looks good. The Viking island looks beautiful with its lush green mountains and detailed with its village. But much like the script, it’s a replication that exists more to recapture than play with. The dragon that Hiccup befriends, Toothless, maintains the big-eyed look, but there’s still something missing. He goes through all the same cat-like actions, and the magic is just gone. Just as with Butler, the faithful recreation of Toothless highlights the minor flaws, making the cracks inherent in the foundation of all live-action retreads stand out greater.

How To Train Your Dragon was much more fun to watch as a 2010 animated film than a 2025 recreation. Even if it’s been many years since you’ve seen the original movie, I can guarantee you’ll recall every scene when it’s replicated for live-action. As your memory returns, you’ll remember what made those animated scenes effective and why this live-action version falls short, despite being based on the same script. It’s a key piece of evidence in the case against evoking old animated properties for a live-action remake. All the faithfulness can’t conceal the fact that this is a pointless remake, instilling a greater urge to escape the theater and rewatch the computer-animated predecessor. Say what you will of Disney’s remakes, but at least they tried something new, be it as small as a casting choice or as large as an altered plotline. By comparison, Dragons is dull for never even trying to take a different route.