Butler was the only cast member from the original animated film to reprise his role for the live-action film. Parker plays the role of Astrid with precision that calls to the source character. Astrid is Hiccup’s love interest and a fellow student at the dragon-fighting training. Parker’s acting brings out the fierceness of Astrid, also capturing how she is conflicted when she wants to help Hiccup but also wants to make her parents proud of her. Parker’s fighting techniques during the dragon-training scenes show that she was working hard and was well trained for those scenes, along with the rest of the cast.

Capturing the Dragons: The Production

The production aspect of the live-action How to Train Your Dragon was stunning. The cinematography was one of the best in live-action remake history. The emotion captured through the camera work was on the same level as the animated film. During the scenes with Hiccup and Toothless, specifically when they first meet, the camera zooms closer to Hiccup to catch his original fear and curiosity once he realizes that Toothless is not going to hurt him. The visual storytelling through the camera work, acting, and score is what brings the film together. From zooming into the characters to show their emotions, to an astounding score that captures the magic of each scene, the cinematography spares no detail. The camera work is an element that is much appreciated in the film. The production took some inspiration from the animated film to create a magical experience for the viewers by using long takes and camera motion that was more fluid for the flight scenes. The film also used wide angles to show the location of the Isle of Berk, which was filmed in Belfast, Northern Ireland, while also using a scale and isolation technique to contrast the characters with the world around them. It was filmed using practical sets and made specifically for an IMAX format. Many of the scenes between Hiccup and Toothless were re-created shot-by-shot from the animated film to the live-action film.

The score of the film, composed by John Powell, was beautiful. The orchestral score was used to capture each scene to create emotions like sadness, fear, and anger in the audience and the characters. The ending credits should have an ending song by a popular artist instead of just using the score. For the next movie, they should use the song Bloodlines by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll because it captures the essence of Hiccup’s journey with Toothless, showing how he is not following in his bloodline. An interesting aspect of production is how, during the filming, they wanted a real connection between the actors and the dragons, so puppets were used, and then the CGI dragons were added during post-production.

Time to Fly on a Dragon to the Theater

Overall, How to Train Your Dragon was an excellent film. From an outstanding plot to casting to production, this film took everything and ran with it. It is a very close adaptation of the animated film. It is a film that is worth watching in theaters or even to see at the drive-in theater. The film was released on June 13, so there is still time to see it in theaters. Take flight on a dragon to the theaters to watch How to Train Your Dragon today!