- 6/14/2025
From enhanced character development to diverse casting choices, join us as we explore the key changes between the beloved animated classic and its live-action reimagining! While some elements remain faithful to the original, others have been thoughtfully expanded to create a fresh yet familiar experience.
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00:00The moment we've all been waiting for.
00:03I just gotta pick a spot for my statue.
00:05Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:07And today, we're looking at the most significant differences
00:10between the animated and live-action versions of How to Train Your Dragon.
00:14Spoilers for both films.
00:16Oh, it's amazing!
00:18The wind's in my...
00:20GG!
00:21Stop!
00:25Number 10.
00:26Sheeptrap.
00:27This is Burke.
00:30It's 12 days north of Hopeless and a few degrees south of Freezing to Death.
00:34It's located solidly on the meridian of misery.
00:38The remake opens pretty much like the animated film,
00:41but takes a little more time immersing us in Burke.
00:44The original sees a dragon swoop in, snatching a sheep grazing on grass.
00:49In the remake, the Vikings craft a trap that resembles a sheep.
00:53When the dragon takes the bait, it sets off an alarm,
00:56alerting Burke that the pests have arrived.
00:58Most people would leave, not us.
01:02We're Vikings.
01:03We have stubbornness issues.
01:06Although Burke is slightly more prepared,
01:08the swarm of dragons still make off with much of their livestock.
01:12Hiccup's narration provides a few additional details,
01:15noting that Astrid and her crew are Burke's fire brigade.
01:18If it wasn't obvious enough already,
01:20it's also stressed that Astrid is the one Hiccup is talking about
01:23when he expresses his desire to go on a date.
01:26So I guess we'll share?
01:28Reddit.
01:29Uh, all mine then.
01:30Wow.
01:31So, uh, okay.
01:32I'll see you, uh, tomorrow.
01:36Number 9.
01:38Stoic's Speech
01:39Gerard Butler returns as Stoic the Vast.
01:42Now I had the opportunity to live and breathe, Stoic.
01:45Stoic the Vast!
01:47Literally fill his boots to fight those dragons for real.
01:50While the scenes between Hiccup and his father essentially play out as you remember,
01:55we get to see Stoic interact more with fellow Burke residents.
01:58The most notable example is when he's rallying the other Vikings
02:01to search for the elusive dragon's nest.
02:04If we find the nest and destroy it, the dragons will leave.
02:07They'll find another hole.
02:09One more search.
02:10Before the ice sets in.
02:12Those ships never come back.
02:14We're Vikings.
02:14It's an occupational hazard.
02:17Now who's with me?
02:18In the original, Stoic gives two options.
02:21Join him in the search or stay behind and look after Hiccup.
02:25This immediately gets everyone on board.
02:28The remake sees Stoic deliver a longer speech,
02:30singling out individuals in the room as he convinces them to join him on the water.
02:35It highlights that Stoic isn't just a fierce warrior.
02:38He's a natural leader who connects with others,
02:41making them want to follow him.
02:43Well, I can show my face in public again.
02:46Hiccup's teenage friends have always been among the more underdeveloped aspects of the
02:54How to Train Your Dragon films.
02:55While the remake doesn't greatly expand upon their backgrounds,
02:59we are given some extra insight.
03:01Snotlout represents what a Viking should be.
03:04He's headfirst.
03:05He's brash.
03:06He's big.
03:07In his mind, the ultimate Viking.
03:09I'll take care of this!
03:10Snotlout is still Hiccup's rival.
03:12Although they share something in common here,
03:15both are trying to win their father's approval.
03:17Even if communication isn't their strong suit,
03:20at least Stoic acknowledges that Hiccup exists.
03:23That's more than can be said about Snotlout's father, Spitelout,
03:26who ignores his son around every turn.
03:29Could this day get any worse?
03:31Uh, let me see.
03:32We're gonna jump into freezing cold water and then die from drowning.
03:35Looks refreshing.
03:36Snotlout seems to be in denial,
03:38which explains why he overcompensates by acting like a hotshot.
03:42Snotlout finally gets his dad's attention during the climax as he rides a dragon,
03:47helping save Burke from the Red Death.
03:49Look at us!
03:49We're on a dragon!
03:50We're on dragons!
03:52All of us!
03:52Number 7, The Elder.
03:59Okay, quiet down.
04:01The Elder has decided.
04:02In the 2010 film,
04:03the village elder, Gauthie,
04:05singles out Hiccup to fight the monstrous nightmare for his final example.
04:09Gauthie's kind of randomly dropped into the plot before retreating to the background,
04:14although she receives a touch more development in the DreamWorks Dragons TV series.
04:18Gauthie, are you okay?
04:20What is it?
04:20Gauthie, her scar.
04:30It matches the keyhole.
04:31Yeah, and it looks like a dragon bite to me.
04:34Oh, it is.
04:35But she doesn't like to talk about it.
04:37The remake gives Gauthie more of a presence throughout the training sessions.
04:41Stoic introduces her early on,
04:43and we see Gauthie keeping track of each young Viking's progress.
04:46Although Astrid is initially out in front, Hiccup soon catches up.
04:51Like her animated counterpart, Gauthie is a woman of few words,
04:54but you can tell that she commands respect from everyone in the village.
04:58Even with little dialogue, actress Naomi Werthner brings gravitas to a small yet significant role.
05:04You don't need to talk to Mrs. Jones.
05:08You need to talk to me.
05:11But when we have our scheduled appointment.
05:14Number 6.
05:15More realistic dragons.
05:18Granted, Toothless more or less retains his cute toyetic design,
05:22although there are some tweaks to make him fit into a live-action environment.
05:26When we decided to reimagine Toothless,
05:28we thought we should probably make that dragon powerful and elegant.
05:35And also,
05:37kind of cuddly and cute.
05:40The other dragons are given more prominent CGI overhauls.
05:44While their designs aren't drastically changed,
05:46they are rendered to appear more realistic.
05:49Or at least as realistic as mystical creatures can be.
05:52Director Dean Deblois said in an interview,
05:54We started with that idea that even though we had some quite cartoonish designs in the animated films,
06:00we should work backward to the animal that inspired those designs.
06:04If we didn't believe that the dragons were real and credible and of this world,
06:09then the whole thing would fall apart.
06:11So I said,
06:12we will make you the promise that our dragons will feel as credible as any dinosaur in Jurassic Park.
06:18But we have to manage to retain the personalities and the design cues.
06:23But everything that we love about the dragons from the animated movie
06:26needs to somehow be migrated into reality.
06:28For inspiration,
06:30the team looked to real-life animals like birds, crocodiles, and walruses.
06:34The aim was to ground these characters in a live-action world,
06:37yet still preserve the animation's, quote,
06:39personality and whimsy.
06:41The hope was that as people watched the movie,
06:44they would realize,
06:44Oh, my cat does that.
06:48Guard, I've seen my dog do that exact same thing.
06:50Who's the good boy?
06:51Oh, who's the good boy?
06:52Oh, okay.
06:54Yeah?
06:55You itchy?
06:56Is that this boy?
06:58Number 5.
07:00How the Vikings get home.
07:01Toothless, stay here.
07:04Come on, guys, get ready.
07:05Hold outside here with you.
07:06The original ends with Hiccup emerging from his house,
07:09finding Vikings and dragons living together in harmony.
07:12The remake concludes on a similar note,
07:15although it provides one extra detail,
07:17how the Vikings returned to Burke.
07:19After all,
07:20the Red Death destroyed their ships in a fiery blaze.
07:23We've killed hundreds of us.
07:25And we've killed thousands of them.
07:27The remake reveals that the Vikings escaped the island
07:29by riding the dragons home.
07:31It's safe to assume that's what they did in the animated film as well.
07:34While the audience probably could have filled in the blanks on their own,
07:38it is satisfying seeing Hiccup light up
07:40when he learns that his father rode a dragon.
07:43It further emphasizes that Stoic has moved past his prejudice,
07:46accepting the dragons as part of his clan.
07:49We're a lot alike, he and I.
07:50We're both protectors.
07:52We're both leaders.
07:53And you're both hard-headed.
07:55Hard-headed, you say?
07:56Skull-crushing's more like it.
07:58Wait.
07:59That's what we'll call you.
08:00Skull-crusher.
08:03Number 4.
08:04The Alpha.
08:06What is that?
08:15Alright, bud.
08:15We gotta get out of here.
08:17Upon discovering the dragon's nest in the animated version,
08:20Astrid compares it to a beehive with the queen controlling her workers.
08:24This expositional line is in the remake as well,
08:27albeit with a modification.
08:29Astrid refers to the Red Death as an alpha.
08:31In the animated continuity,
08:34the concept of alphas isn't introduced until How to Train Your Dragon 2.
08:38Every nest has its queen, but this is the king of all dragons.
08:43With his icy breath,
08:45this graceful giant built our nest.
08:48A safe haven for dragons everywhere.
08:51With some exceptions like Toothless,
08:53the alpha is usually a massive beast that can send other dragons into a hypnotic trance.
08:59The first film doesn't spell out whether the Red Death is an alpha in the same vein as the Bewilderbeast,
09:04which our heroes encounter in the sequel.
09:06The live-action film makes it clearer that the queen is an alpha,
09:10bending other dragons' wills.
09:12No dragon can resist the alpha's command.
09:16So he who controls the alpha controls them all.
09:23Number 3.
09:24Hiccup and Astrid's Conversation
09:26The remake adds an exchange between Astrid and Hiccup shortly after the latter discovers Toothless.
09:39Hiccup throws out the idea that maybe there's more to dragons than they think,
09:43much to Astrid's confusion.
09:45She proceeds to condemn Hiccup,
09:47convinced he's had it easy as the chief's son.
09:49You got me!
09:50It's time everybody knew, just take me back!
09:52Ow!
09:53Ow!
09:54Why would you do that?
09:55That's for the lies.
09:57Ow!
09:58And that's for everything else.
10:01Astrid has aspirations to become a chief someday,
10:04working hard to prove herself.
10:06Hiccup can't argue with Astrid,
10:08believing Stoic would be prouder to have her as a kid than him.
10:11It shows that Astrid and Hiccup envy what the other has.
10:15While Hiccup hasn't won her respect yet,
10:17Astrid does begin to see that he's working through his own insecurities.
10:21Stoic casts a vast shadow,
10:23which Hiccup seems destined to live in until he forges his own path.
10:27When you carry this axe,
10:30you carry all of us with you.
10:32Which means you walk like us,
10:34you talk like us,
10:36you think like us.
10:38No more of...
10:39this.
10:41Number 2.
10:42Burke is more diverse.
10:44Burke is predominantly Caucasian in the animated universe.
10:47There were people of color behind some of the voices,
10:50including America Ferreira.
10:51Yet, the remake strives to have more representation on screen.
10:56Call me boring?
10:57Boring.
10:57But I'm just excited to see some real,
11:00live dragons up close,
11:01you know I could do without the permanent injuries.
11:04Oh, where's the glory in that?
11:05Yeah, it's only fun if you get a scar out of it.
11:07Not only are Astrid and fish legs played by actors of color,
11:11but Burke is comprised of different races and ethnicities.
11:14This isn't exactly colorblind casting,
11:16as historical research suggests,
11:18there were Vikings with darker skin.
11:21The remake also explains that Burke is composed of Vikings from around the world,
11:25who have joined forces to hunt dragons.
11:27We know that Vikings traveled far and wide,
11:30and what if dragons were a problem everywhere they went?
11:32And so they gathered the best dragon-fighting warriors from everywhere.
11:37Kind of a task force.
11:38And they came to this island because they knew it was within spitting distance of a key dragon's nest.
11:43But here they are generations later, and they still haven't found it.
11:46While race is never a plot point,
11:48the fact that Astrid pushes herself to be the best
11:50echoes how many people of color must often work twice as hard
11:54to achieve what's gift-wrapped to those born into privilege.
11:57In case you forgot, our parents' war is about to become ours.
12:01Figure out which side you're on.
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12:20Number 1. More about Hiccup's mother.
12:23How to Train Your Dragon is a father-son story.
12:25As such, the original doesn't delve too deep into Hiccup's mom outside of a breastplate gag.
12:31I brought you something to keep you safe in the ring.
12:37Wow. Thanks.
12:39Your mother would have wanted you to have it.
12:42It's half of her breastplate.
12:44Matching set.
12:47Keeps her close, you know.
12:50At the time, there were no guarantees the animated film would get a sequel
12:54that could explore what happened to Hiccup's mother, Valka.
12:57Since a live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is already in the works,
13:01it makes sense that the first remake would touch upon the mother more.
13:05Valka is name-dropped during an early conversation between Stoic and Gobber.
13:08That young man actually wants to make you proud.
13:11But he's got a mind of his own.
13:12Gets out from his mother.
13:15Look what happened to her.
13:16Yeah, because Valka was the snubberman.
13:18It's also mentioned that dragons took Valka,
13:21intensifying Stoic's hatred of them.
13:23Valka might not make an appearance,
13:25although since Butler got to reprise his role,
13:28we're holding out hope for a Cate Blanchett casting announcement.
13:30I have no use for rings of gold.
13:33I care not for your poetry.
13:35I only want your hand to hold.
13:38I only want you near me.
13:40How do you feel about these changes?
13:42Let us know in the comments.
13:44So much bigger from down here.
13:46Can you guys believe we're actually standing here?
13:48This is where Chief Braveheart will sue the Whispering Death.
13:51Yeah, and it's where Chief Toughknot will say everything else.
13:54Watch and learn.
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