Toothless and Hiccup (Mason Thames) in “How to Train Your Dragon.”
The family adventure How to Train Your Dragon, starring Gerard Butler, Mason Thames and Nico Parker, is new in theaters. Do critics think you should hit a ride with the live-action remake of the 2010 animated hit?
Rated PG, How to Train Your Dragon opens in theaters everywhere on Friday. The official summary for the film reads, “On the rugged isle of Berk, where Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies for generations, Hiccup (Thames) stands apart. The inventive yet overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Butler, reprising his voice role from the animated franchise), Hiccup defies centuries of tradition when he befriends Toothless, a feared Night Fury dragon. Their unlikely bond reveals the true nature of dragons, challenging the very foundations of Viking society.
“With the fierce and ambitious Astrid (Parker) and the village’s quirky blacksmith Gobber (Nick Frost) by his side, Hiccup confronts a world torn by fear and misunderstanding. As an ancient threat emerges, endangering both Vikings and dragons, Hiccup’s friendship with Toothless becomes the key to forging a new future. Together, they must navigate the delicate path toward peace, soaring beyond the boundaries of their worlds and redefining what it means to be a hero and a leader.”
As of Thursday, How to Train Your Dragon has earned a 78% “fresh” rating from Rotten Tomatoes critics based on 139 reviews.
The RT Critics Consensus for the film reads, “Crafted with loving fidelity to the animated classic by original co-director Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon doesn’t best the first iteration but still reaches enchanting heights of its own.”
The RT Popcornmeter score voted on verified users is still pending.
What Are Individual Critics Saying About ‘How To Train Your Dragon’?
Brandon Yu of The New York Times is among the top critics on RT who gives How to Train Your Dragon a “fresh” rating, writing in his review summary, “To be sure, this new iteration is entertaining, bears a sense of heart and brings a tight script of fantasy and friendship to life.”
Bob Mondello of NPR also gives the film a “fresh” review on RT, writing in his summary, “Toothless is as charismatic as ever; the flying sequences and natural landscapes are appropriately breathtaking, and if the film is overly enamored of lesser dragons belching fire at incoherently bellowing Norsemen, well, so was the original.”
In addition, Helen O’Hara of Empire Magazine gives How to Train Your Dragon a “fresh” review, although she has some reservations, noting in her RT summary, “It’s clearly made with real love and care, but shows far too much deference to its progenitor. Even in a remake, we need more originality and less playing the hits.”
Robbie Collin of the UK’s Daily Telegraph is among the top critics on RT who gives How to Train Your Dragon a “rotten” review, writing, “It somehow elongates its predecessor’s running time by 27 minutes without adding a single atom of noticeably fresh material. Perhaps all the dragons are just flying around a bit more slowly this time, or the vikings have to walk further between huts.”
Liz Shannon Miller of Consequence also notes the film’s similarities and run-time discrepancy in her review summary on RT, writing, “There are no major new storylines, or characters, or twists, yet somehow the same amount of plot has been stretched from 98 minutes to 125 minutes. HOW? It’s truly a mystery.”
Also giving How to Train Your Dragon a “rotten” review on RT is David Fear of Rolling Stone, who writes, “What this movie is actually trying to accomplish, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is how to train their audiences to keep buying the same thing over, and over, and over again.”
Directed by 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon filmmaker Dean DeBlois and also starring Julian Dennison, Gabriel Howell, Bronwyn James, Harry Trevaldwyn, Ruth Codd, Peter Serafinowicz and Murray McArthur, How to Train Your Dragon is new in theaters everywhere on Friday.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timlammers/2025/06/12/how-to-train-your-dragon-reviews-does-remake-breathe-fire-with-critics/