The live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake has been a hit with audiences, but has struggled a little bit with critics. Just like the recently releasedLilo & Stitchremake, the live-action version ofHow to Train Your Dragonwill definitely be one of the most profitable movies of the summer. During its opening weekend,How to Train Your Dragongrossed $83 millionat the domestic box office, and its dominance won’t stop anytime soon.Reviews forHow to Train Your Dragonhave been quite good, with Screen Rant’s own Sarah Moran giving it an 8 out of 10.
Overall, most critics have enjoyed theHow to Train Your Dragonremake. However, its 78% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes proves that some reviewers haven’t been huge fans of the live-action film. This critics score is notable, especially when compared to its near-perfect audience score of 98% (viaRotten Tomatoes).How to Train Your Dragon’saudience scoreactually set a new record for the franchise, surpassing the original movie’s 91%. Therefore,let’s take a look at why critics and audiences are slightly divided when it comes to the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake.
What Critics Liked & Disliked About How To Train Your Dragon
Is The New Remake Too Similar To The Original Animated Movie?
Even though the critics score for the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake is much lower than any of the animated movies, it is still quite solid. Currently, the remake is “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, which suggests it has been a significant critical success. Overall, critics have applauded the live-action film for remaining faithful to the original animated movie, and also being just as fun to watch. However,some critics have pointed out that theHow to Train Your Dragonremake is perhaps too faithful to the original.
For instance,ScreenCrush’sMatt Singer claimed that the movie “plays like cinematic déjà vu.” Additionally,Rolling Stone’sDavid Fear wrote, “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.” Therefore, it’s clear thatsome critics have argued that the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake has no artistic merit since it is basically an exact copy of the original movie. This is precisely why the film’s Rotten Tomatoes critics score is significantly lower.
Why How To Train Your Dragon’s Audience Score Is Near-Perfect
How To Train Your Dragon Is A Fun Time At The Theaters
While some reviewers may criticize the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake for being a copy of the original movie, that is what a lot of general audiences love about the film. Typically, fans do not like it when major changes are made to the original movie in live-action remakes. For example, the aforementionedLilo & Stitchfaced some backlash for making significant changes to Jumba. Therefore,the audience score forHow to Train Your Dragonis likely so high because it evoked the same emotions from fans as the original animated movie.
Fans have also praised the acting, production and costume design, and visual effects in the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonfilm.
When considering thatthe live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake was directed by Dean DeBlois, who also co-directed the 2010 animated film, it makes sense that there weren’t a lot of major changes made to the story. In addition to appreciating the movie’s respect for the original animated film, fans have also praised the acting, production and costume design, and visual effects in the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonfilm. Specifically, audiences love how great all the dragons look in the new movie.
How To Train Your Dragon’s RT Audience Score Is Great For The Franchise
Another Live-Action How To Train Your Dragon Movie Is On The Way
Overall, while some critics may strongly believe that the live-actionHow to Train Your Dragonremake was unnecessary since it barely makes any changes to the original, general audiences have still been having a great time at the theaters. It’s Rotten Tomatoes critics score may be slightly lower than expected, but the remake was graded an A on CinemaScore. Therefore,the newHow to Train Your Dragonmovie is undoubtedly a huge success and will continue to perform well at the box office.
This bodes well for the future of the franchise. Even before the release of the remake, it was announced that asequel toHow to Train Your Dragonhas been greenlit. The secondHow to Train Your Dragonlive-action movie is currently slated to be released on June 19, 2025. Since it will once again be directed by DeBlois, the sequel will likely remain very faithful to the second animated movie. Therefore, despite some criticisms of the first live-action film, the future of theHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise seems very bright.
