First, you need to know that How To Train Your Dragon is one of my favorite animated movies. It's one of those movies that isn't just for kids. It's real emotion, real people, real problems (if we were cartoons and dragons exist that is) so when I heard they were doing a remake I was… ok let's be honest, at first I was super excited. Then I was hesitantly hopeful. Then I was downright nervous there would be something that would ruin the whole movie for me like there has been with several of the last Disney remakes. Well. I’ve watched it twice with the original sandwiched in the middle and boy do I have some thoughts! Let me start by saying this review is going to be very short compared to my others, and it’s not for the reason you might think! So let’s go!
No Spoilers Review
So, I don’t have much to say and that’s not because it was a bad remake, quite the opposite! So much was exactly the same that there’s very little to compare! Same lines, same feel, same music, same characters, same scenery, same dragons, even most of the same camera angles! It was a true live action remake of the cartoon we love so dearly. THIS. This movie just set the bar for a live action remake and, honestly, I don’t know that anyone can ever reach it. It is the absolute best remake I have ever seen. And that includes the Disney ones I actually like. And that’s really saying something because I love the original so much that if they changed the wrong thing I would be extremely disappointed. Now, that’s not to say it was absolutely perfect. There were a couple characters who didn’t look quite right and that bugged me. However, they made up for it with their acting. The best part was that my parents (who had never seen the cartoon) liked the movie and I (someone who loves the cartoon) loved the movie. So, there’s your no spoiler's version. Go watch it because oh my goodness it’ll make you think dragons are real and you’ll want to go live in Berk with them!
SPOILERS BEYOND THIS POINT
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Alright. Let’s start with a breakdown of the characters.
Hiccup - Hiccup was pretty perfect. You know right from the start who he is, he sounds right, looks right, and says all Hiccups lines almost identically. The only thing was that he’s not quite as awkward as the cartoon, but there were definitely still some iconic awkward Hiccup moments. And most importantly, his relationship with Toothless was just as special.
Astrid - Ok. Going in I was a bit annoyed because, come on, why does every single one of my favorite blonde characters not get to be blonde in the remake? In fact, all the blonde main characters in this movie got different hair colors. Clearly this character change bugged me the most, but looks are where that stopped. Her personality was perfect and her chemistry with Hiccup was there. The changes they made were well integrated. I liked that she was critical of everyone not taking things seriously instead of just Hiccup. She wants to be chief, which you get that impression in the original, but she never says it. She had more depth without damaging the original story. So, even though I wish she was blonde, she made a good Astrid.
Stoic - Perfection, he was even the original voice actor!
Gobber - pretty much exactly the same. No notes.
Twins - Tuffnut was right even though he's a redhead instead of blonde. Ruffnut looked nothing like the cartoon and didn’t really act right either. They were both redheads, so at least they looked related, but they didn’t look identical. There was a joke about their mom not being able to tell them apart, I don’t feel that was entirely necessary. Neither were quite as annoying as in the cartoon and they didn’t bicker enough. However, none of this ruined the movie by any means, it's just a comparison that should be made.
Fishlegs - He didn’t have the right hair color and wasn’t the same nationality. However, his character was perfect. He was still the chubby kid who knew the dragon stats by heart.
Snotlout - yup, exactly the same. They actually gave him a little more depth by sharing more of his relationship with his father, or lack thereof. This was a nice addition since it explains why he’s such a showoff, he’s trying to get his dads attention.
Toothless - Huge! But just as cute and full of personality as in the original. I now want to meet him. Not that I didn’t want to before, but now it feels possible because he looked so real!
The cgi and scenery were breathtaking. Seamless. We kept asking each other “how did they do that?” It seriously looked like they were living amongst the dragons. Huge, beautiful, actually flying dragons. It didn't feel fake at all. Like I said before, there was all the same music and even many of the same camera angles. It was perfect.
The only things they changed story wise was more background on why they were hunting the dragons and one missing scene where Hiccup and Toothless eat lunch with the little dragons. The only reason I even noticed was because that's the scene where he realizes dragons aren’t fireproof on the inside and that’s how he ultimately defeats the monster of a dragon at the end. Perhaps it didn’t make sense that the little dragon survived but the big dragon didn’t? I’m sure there was a reason they left it out and, honestly, with the exception of watching Toothless tolerate the little ones, it wasn’t missed. They also changed the grass that works like catnip on the dragons to dandelions that make them sneeze. I didn’t mind that change either. In the grand scheme of the movie the changes were so miniscule that I felt like I was just watching the same movie. It still bugs me that a few of the characters, mainly Astrid, didn’t look quite right, but they made up for it by being pretty spot on live action representations of their well loved animated counterparts.
The story was nearly identical, scene for scene, to the original. I could quote it even though I had never seen it. I went to watch the original and kept feeling like I had just watched it! And isn't that really what we want from a live action remake? Sure, some of the things Disney added to their remakes added depth to the characters and story, but was it at the cost of what we love about the originals? You don't mess with a masterpiece. And this one didn't, it simply brought it to life. Move over Disney, DreamWorks just raised the bar!
Overall, no remake is going to be perfection, but this one comes pretty close. We needed more of this *gestures to the whole movie* in the live action remake craze.
No comments:
Post a Comment