How to Train Your Dragon is nothing new
Right out of the gate, let it be known that How to Train Your Dragon is one of my favorite animated features of all time. The entire trilogy is excellent. Definitely high on the annual watch list. It may be a perfect movie. And when I saw they were doing a live-action remake of HtTYD, I was gonna see it. No question about it.
And don’t even get me started on Snow White
It should also be known that The Average Dude has, in fact, only ever seen one live action remake. Aladin starred possibly the only actor (at the time) that could come close to touching the excellence of Robin Williams in the role of Genie. Genie is iconic, and now I know the performance is never going to be equalled, even by an actor with as much talent and charisma as Will Smith (again, at the time). I was, to my surprise, sumarily unimpressed.
When Lion King came out with a LAR (live action remake), I passed. Beauty and the Beast, pass. Jungle Book, pass. I could have maybe gone to see The Little Mermaid. But the whole race-swap thing left me cold. So again, hard pass.
But How to Train Your Dragon? The visuals alone were enough to get me psyched. So yeah, Average Dude was IN.
LARs are a bad idea. Here’s why.
I think this review is going to be pretty short. Anyone who has seen the animated original already knows the story. You already know you love it. Nothing I could say here is going to spoil anything. And anyone who HASN’T seen the original – released 15 years ago – you had time to avoid spoilers. Because here’s the thing…How to Train Your Dragon is nearly scene for scene, line for line, a remake of the animated classic. Literally, the only conceivable attraction of this movie is seeing a real Hiccup, a real Stoick the Vast. And of course…a real Toothless. Or so you would think.
The reality didn’t live up to the fantasy
And this is my biggest takeaway from How to Train Your Dragon…Toothless is like your family dog. Your dog has emotions. Your pooch has personality. They all have subtle facial expresions and mannerisms that you can interpret. And those expresions were masterfully captured in the animated movie. Not so much in the live action feature. I didn’t see that coming and, to be honest, I am surprised at how hard it hit me. It absolutely turned what I thought would be an enhancement of a beloved animated tale and just made it…meh. Not bad, per se. Just not what I expected.
And in movies, we are trained to have expectations. Literally, that’s what trailers are for.
apparently, it’s still bringing in the bucks
I might be forgiven for not knowing that a verbatim LAR of a well-loved animated classic might evoke that kind of disappointment (having only one other experience with them). The movie industry cigar-chompers must be fully knowledgeable of this by now. Even so, they still do them. They must be making money. We keep going to see them. Will we ever learn? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I have taken the lesson to heart. Truly I have.
So, did ! enjoy it or not?
That’s the big question, isn’t it? How to Train Your Dragon – the whole trilogy – is on the annual watch list. And since the LAR was nearly an exact retelling, the answer, I guess, is ‘yes’.
BUT…
…and it’s a really BIG BUT…it’s not much different than rewatching the cartoon. And in many ways, it’s a poorer experience. Next year, I’ll watch the cartoon, not the LAR. No contest. If the LAR is your first time watching How to Train Your Dragon I’m confident that you’ll enjoy it. I’m betting there aren’t many of you in that category. For those few, I’ll give it a 4.5. For the overwhelming majority of viewers, I’ll give it a 3.5. Nothing has been enhanced, nothing new was added. And it’s a giant head’s up that the Average Dude is out on any future LARs.
Oh, and because it was hilariously unscripted and unintended…I asked (as I always do) what Mrs Average Dude thought of HtTYD. She said, and I quote: ‘I liked it. But is was draggin’ in the middle a bit.’ That really happened. I love her so much.
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