In 2025, DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures bring the beloved animated classic “How to Train Your Dragon” to life in a visually stunning and emotionally rich live-action remake. Set on the rugged, wind-swept isle of Berk, the film tells the story of Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the inventive but overlooked son of Chief Stoick the Vast.
For generations, Vikings and dragons have been bitter enemies, locked in a cycle of fear and violence. Hiccup, small and unskilled in battle, struggles to meet his father’s expectations and the warrior culture of his people. Everything changes when Hiccup injures and then befriends Toothless, a mysterious and feared Night Fury dragon.
Their unlikely bond challenges the traditions of Berk, revealing the true nature of dragons and offering hope for a new future where humans and dragons can coexist. As an ancient threat emerges, the friendship between Hiccup and Toothless becomes the key to saving both species.
With breathtaking visual effects, a sweeping musical score, and a cast that brings both heart and humor, this live-action adaptation captures the spirit of the original while introducing the story to a new generation. Themes of courage, empathy, and breaking from tradition resonate throughout, making “How to Train Your Dragon” not just a fantasy adventure, but a timeless tale of friendship and acceptance.
How to Train Your Dragon 2025
- ヒックとドラゴン | 드래곤 길들이기 2025
- Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Family
- Director: Dean DeBlois | Screenplay: Dean DeBlois
- Based on: Cressida Cowell’s “How to Train Your Dragon”
- Producers: Marc Platt, Dean DeBlois, Adam Siegel
- Cinematography: Bill Pope
- Music: John Powell
- Stunt Coordination: Not announced
- Filming Period: January 15, 2024 – May 16, 2024 (Belfast, Northern Ireland)
- Production Companies: DreamWorks Animation, Marc Platt Productions
- Distributor: Universal Pictures (US), Toho-Towa (Japan)
- Release Dates: June 13, 2025 (US), June 6, 2025 (South Korea), September 5, 2025 (Japan)
- Running Time: 125 minutes
- Production Budget: $150 million (estimated)
- Break-even Point: Not announced
- Box Office: $523,386,685
Table of Contents
How To Train Your Dragon rating
The live-action “How to Train Your Dragon” has received widespread acclaim from both critics and audiences. Early reviews praise its visual splendor, emotional depth, and faithfulness to the original. Rotten Tomatoes: 95% (critics), 98% (audience, projected). Critics highlight the film’s ability to capture the heart and spectacle of the animated classic, with standout performances and breathtaking dragon effects. Some note minor issues with costume design and new elements, but overall, it is considered one of the best live-action remakes to date.
How To Train Your Dragon starring 2025
Mason Thames: Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III – The inventive, kind-hearted but awkward son of the Viking chief, who dreams of proving himself and ultimately forges a new path for his people.
Nico Parker: Astrid Hofferson – A brave and talented young Viking, Hiccup’s peer and eventual ally, who initially doubts him but comes to respect his courage.
Gerard Butler: Stoick the Vast – The formidable chief of Berk and Hiccup’s father, a traditionalist who wants his son to follow in his footsteps as a dragon slayer.
Nick Frost: Gobber the Belch – The village blacksmith and dragon training instructor, providing comic relief and wisdom to the young Vikings.
Julian Dennison: Fishlegs Ingerman – Hiccup’s loyal and knowledgeable friend, passionate about dragons.
Gabriel Howell: Snotlout Jorgenson – Hiccup’s competitive rival, eager to prove his own strength.
Bronwyn James: Ruffnut Thorston – One half of the mischievous Thorston twins.
Harry Trevaldwyn: Tuffnut Thorston – The other half of the Thorston twins, always up for chaos.
Ruth Codd: Phlegma – A member of the Viking village, supporting the young heroes.
Dragon Collection
The Night Fury is a dragon species, and one of the dragons that attacks the village in the early part of the story. It is considered one of the rarest and most intelligent dragons, capable of firing powerful plasma blasts. Before releasing its breath attack, it emits a high-pitched, sharp sound, believed to be the sound of plasma building up. When flying at night, it is almost impossible to spot. Its speed is extremely fast and it is highly agile. The Night Fury is very intelligent, able to grasp and understand complex human intentions.
Despite its many cute behaviors, expressive face, and various other endearing traits, the Night Fury is the strongest in combat among all dragons. While it is relatively small compared to other dragons in the story and gives a nimble impression, the species’ traits grant it overwhelming flight capabilities and the unique, immense firepower of its plasma blasts. Because of this, the Night Fury can hold its own against gigantic dragons over 100 meters long, such as the Bewilderbeast or Red Death.
It appears that Night Furies may be easily intimidated by opponents immune to their breath attacks, which allows them to become the alpha dragon and receive the reverence of all other dragons. However, when Toothless fought the Bewilderbeast, the Bewilderbeast continued to attack fiercely even after realizing its breath was ineffective against Toothless, only fleeing after its horn was broken by Toothless’s blast. This shows that Toothless won not just because the opponent was immune to breath attacks, but because of his own strength.
Another notable trait, revealed in Riders of Berk, is that the Night Fury’s saliva has detoxifying properties. When Snotlout ignored Hiccup’s warning about possible poison and ate some berries he picked, his tongue became numb and he had trouble speaking. Toothless then spat out saliva and had Snotlout dip his numb tongue in it, curing the paralysis.
Some people mistakenly think Toothless is female, but he is male. He is always referred to with male third-person pronouns (he-his-him). After the third film introduced his mate, the Light Fury, this misunderstanding has decreased.
Contrary to popular belief, Toothless is gentle and curious, with a childlike side that makes him sulk easily, but he quickly forgives if someone apologizes. He also displays strong leadership qualities, making him well-suited to be the alpha.
A dragon with an appearance reminiscent of both a crocodile and a pterosaur, this species can ignite its entire body in flames. However, when Snotlout is riding, it usually does not set itself on fire. Snotlout often claims that Hookfang does not listen to him, but in reality, Hookfang generally goes along with what Snotlout wants. Like people, Hookfang only disobeys when something particularly annoys him.
Their dragon is a Hideous Zippleback, a species with two snake-like heads and thus two names and two tails. You can tell them apart because the right head, with shorter teeth, is Barf, while the left head, with longer teeth, is Belch. Barf releases gas, and Belch creates sparks. Ruffnut rides on Barf’s side, and Tuffnut rides on Belch’s side.
While it’s not as disobedient as Hookfang, Barf and Belch often get into arguments about direction while flying, sometimes crashing into cliffs or rocks. There are also many cases where the riders give conflicting commands to each head at the same time, causing confusion.
Meatlug is a female Gronckle of the Boulder Class and is Fishlegs’ dragon. Fishlegs did not realize Meatlug was female until the “Gift of the Night Fury” episode. Meatlug is extremely affectionate toward Fishlegs and follows him loyally. Fishlegs treats Meatlug almost like his own daughter, and their bond is considered even closer than that of Hiccup and Toothless. They enjoy playing sheep-tossing games together, and Meatlug is known to lick Fishlegs’ feet while he sleeps, showing her affection.
As a Gronckle, Meatlug has smaller wings compared to other dragons, making her flight slow and her wingbeats rapid. This trait is featured in the second episode of “Defenders of Berk,” where it becomes a plot point. Meatlug eats rocks, a common trait of her species, and she is a heavy eater, often consuming large amounts of stone, just like her owner. Her breath is not fire but molten lava, another Gronckle specialty. In “Defenders of Berk,” she produces a large amount of lava, which cools to create Gronckle Iron.
Meatlug also appears to suffer from motion sickness, as revealed in the “Dawn of the Dragon Racers” special from “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” She weighs 2.5 tons, making her heavier than Hookfang, who weighs 2.3 tons, despite Hookfang’s larger size. Meatlug is affectionate, loyal, and gentle, with a strong, almost familial bond with Fishlegs. She stands out for her small wings, slow flight, voracious appetite for rocks, lava breath, and her tendency to get motion sickness.
Astrid Hofferson’s female dragon is a Deadly Nadder, and unlike the other Dragon Riders’ dragons, she is exceptionally well-trained.
She attacks by firing spines, and if the area around her nose ridge is struck, she may fire her spines involuntarily out of surprise—this spot appears to be a kind of Achilles’ heel. For Deadly Nadder dragons, the area directly in front of the nose is a blind spot and a weakness; if this area is touched suddenly, they seem to become startled or frightened.
Among the five main dragons in the How to Train Your Dragon series, she is the only one that possesses venom.
The final boss of How to Train Your Dragon. Among all the final bosses in the How to Train Your Dragon series, Red Death is the only one that is actually a dragon species. Its appearance resembles a mix of various dinosaurs and dragons. Matching its massive, heavy build, Red Death is an enormous dragon with a body length reaching 121.9 meters, making it the second largest dragon in the series after the Bewilderbeast.
Red Death’s personality is extremely violent, fitting its intimidating appearance. With its gigantic size and overwhelming strength, it reigns as the leader of all dragons. On the island where the dragons live, it forced the other dragons to bring it food, and if the amount was insufficient, it would eat the other dragons. While not as absolute as the Bewilderbeast, Red Death also has a similar ability to hypnotize and control other dragons. The reason dragons attacked humans and raided villages for food was to offer it as tribute to Red Death.
Skrill: Briefly mentioned during the initial Berk raid scene, and appears as two dragons standing on a rock when the Vikings of Berk go out to hunt dragons.
Rumblehorn: Seen briefly during the initial Berk raid scene, and appears for a moment entering a hole beneath Toothless when Toothless takes Hiccup and Astrid to the dragon nest.
How to Train Your Dragon Plot Summary
Hiccup is the son of the Viking chief living on Berk, the island of the Hooligan Vikings who have been at war with dragons for seven generations. On this island, battles between Vikings and terrifying dragons never cease. One day, when dragons attack the village, the Vikings fight with all their might.
The main character, Hiccup, is the only son of Chief Stoick, but because he is small and skinny and can’t handle weapons properly, he is always causing trouble and is considered the village’s problem child.
Nevertheless, he cannot give up his desire to catch a dragon and be recognized by his father and the villagers. Hiccup, a weak teenage boy with no talent for dragon hunting, wants to fight dragons, but the adults are against it.
One day, as dragons attack the village as usual, Hiccup uses a ballista he made himself to shoot down the mysterious and most feared dragon, the “Night Fury.” However, no one believes him, and even his father scolds him for coming out and causing trouble.
The next day, Hiccup searches for the spot where the Night Fury might have crashed, and finally discovers the Night Fury tangled in ropes and unable to move. He draws his dagger to kill the dragon, but seeing his own reflection in the dragon’s frightened eyes, he cuts the ropes instead of killing it. The freed Night Fury immediately charges at Hiccup but does not kill him and disappears.
Soon, Hiccup joins the other kids in dragon training, but he is not enthusiastic. He realizes that what he has learned about dragons is very different from his own experiences, and once again seeks out the Night Fury. He finds it by a lake and discovers it cannot fly because it is missing part of its tail fin. From the next day, Hiccup visits the lakeside after every training session, feeds the Night Fury, gives it the name “Toothless,” and gradually becomes closer to it.
After making a new tail fin for Toothless, they fly together and spend a lot of time together, during which Hiccup learns more about dragon behavior. Using this knowledge, Hiccup tames various species of dragons without using force, achieving outstanding results among the trainees and finally being recognized as the top trainee. However, Hiccup cannot be happy, as the top trainee must kill a dragon in front of the villagers.
Hiccup manages to capture the most feared dragon, the Night Fury, but cannot bring himself to kill it. Moreover, Hiccup helps the injured Night Fury and even gives it the name “Toothless.”
Secretly caring for Toothless without anyone in the village knowing, they become friends.
Through Toothless, Hiccup gains new knowledge about dragons, and when he discovers Toothless is missing part of his tail, he makes an artificial tail and attaches it. With the new tail, Toothless, who could not fly before, is able to fly, and as Hiccup flies with him, their friendship grows even stronger.
Meanwhile, Astrid, who was the elite trainee until now, is both upset that Hiccup has taken her position and suspicious of his sudden change, especially since he used to be terrified of dragons.
She follows him, discovers Toothless, and tries to run away. However, when she sees Hiccup taming Toothless like a pet, she is shocked and runs back to the village, but Hiccup kidnaps her by taking her on Toothless and flies through the sky. Astrid is initially scared but soon admits it was an amazing experience.
On the way back to Berk, Toothless suddenly changes direction and flies off somewhere, and Hiccup and Astrid see many dragons heading in the same direction, each carrying food like sheep or fish.
The dragons enter a cave filled with lava and drop the food into the lava.
The cave is home to the ferocious giant dragon “Red Death,” and the other dragons are being forced to offer food to Red Death.
Back in Berk, Astrid wants to tell the chief what they saw, but Hiccup asks for time, fearing Toothless might be caught and killed.
Meanwhile, Gobber persuades Hiccup’s father, and Hiccup is allowed to join the other teenagers in dragon-killer training, striving to be recognized as a Viking warrior.
The next day, Hiccup faces the final test of killing a dragon in the training arena. However, in front of everyone, he throws down his weapon and tries to tame the dragon as he did with Toothless. Just as he is about to succeed, Stoick, in his excitement, provokes the dragon, causing it to attack Hiccup. Hearing Hiccup’s screams from afar, Toothless rushes in to save him but is captured by the villagers.
Stoick, furious that his son deceived him, puts Toothless on a ship and heads to Red Death’s nest. Astrid comforts the despairing Hiccup, and with her encouragement, Hiccup frees the dragons in the training arena and, along with the other trainees, chases after Red Death’s nest.
How to Train Your Dragon Ending
Those who arrive first are unable to stand against Red Death’s overwhelming power and are in chaos. The trainees arrive in time and begin a coordinated attack on Red Death. Hiccup tries to rescue the tied-up Toothless, but the ship is destroyed and he falls into the water. Stoick saves both Hiccup and Toothless, apologizes for everything, and confesses that he is proud to have Hiccup as his son. Hiccup and Toothless lure Red Death up above the clouds, use their wits to make Red Death fall and explode, and succeed in defeating it. In the process, Hiccup is also put in danger, but Toothless manages to save him.
Afterward, the dragons are freed from Red Death’s oppression and live together with the people of Berk.
Hiccup loses a leg in the battle with Red Death and is fitted with a prosthetic. The sight of Toothless, with a torn tail fin, and Hiccup, who has lost a leg, walking side by side shows how their friendship has grown even stronger after overcoming life-and-death crises. The story ends with Hiccup, Astrid, and their friends riding their dragons high into the sky.
How to Train Your Dragon ending explained
The film is a masterpiece that deals with themes of “difference,” “inclusion,” and “overcoming disability.” Hiccup does not meet the expectations of his society or family, but he changes the world in his own way. The story of the disabled dragon, Toothless, goes beyond simple entertainment and delivers a powerful message about overcoming prejudice.
How to Train Your Dragon 2025 Review
This is the first live-action adaptation among DreamWorks Animation films, and thanks to director Dean DeBlois—who also directed the original How to Train Your Dragon animated series—the film maintains a high level of fidelity to the source material. The storytelling is considered top-notch, and while characters like Toothless, who were cute in the original, now appear a bit more intimidating as dragons, this is one of the notable changes. It is highly recommended as the best family-friendly fantasy film of 2025.
(For reference, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is scheduled to be released in 2027.)
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