How to Train Your Dragon

Welcome to Berk! It’s an island home to some of the most fiercest Vikings that ever sailed the sea. While some Vikings raid villages, burn towns to the ground, battle other clans, these Vikings are not your average Vikings? Oh no! They fight something much, much worse…dragons!

Yes, dragons exist, and they come in all shapes and sizes, some have two heads on one body, some are skinny and some are heavy, some breathe fire and some breathe fire AND gas. Most everyone in Berk has fought against these horrifying creatures. Everyone except, well… Hiccup.

You see, Hiccup is the Chieftain’s son. Hiccup isn’t really a full fledged Viking though. He’s a little bit different from the other Vikings, he’s a bit awkward, he’s not super strong or really a fighter, though he tells his father he really, really wants to fight a dragon.

One night, while Berk is being attacked by a swarm of dragons, Hiccup defies his father’s orders to shelter in place and heads outside to try and help take down the dragons. He approaches his cannon and shoots a Night Fury (a dragon that cannot be visually seen at night), dragging the Night Fury to the ground.

Hiccup goes to investigate and as he approaches the creature he realizes he’s injured and captured the Night Fury. The Night Fury is unable to fly, and Hiccup realizes this is his chance to kill a legendary dragon. Just then though, the Night Fury (who Hiccup names Toothless) looks into Hiccup’s eyes in desperation and despair and Hiccup finds himself unable to kill Toothless. Over time, Toothless and Hiccup become very good friends.

You know what’s scarier than dragons? Having to keep secret that you actually like dragons from the rest of the clan, including your father. Oh Hiccup!

When I first saw the trailer for “How To Train Your Dragon” (2025), I screamed in my head, “Another remake?” and “It’s a shot for shot remake of the original!” I was right, of course, because, yes, it IS a shot for shot, word for word remake of the original in a LOT of ways, but not in every way.

I walked into the theater with a predetermined mindset of how I was going to feel during the movie. “There’s no way I’m going to like it as well as I liked the original?” “What are they possibly going to do to make this any different than the original?” But…

As my friend and I finished screening the film, we compared notes on what we noticed that was different from the original animated film. One of the things he and I agreed on was because these were actual people on screen (fictionalized characters, sure, but real human beings interacting with each other), the emotional weight that comes from certain interactions, especially the ones between Hiccup and the Chieftain feel more genuine. If you’re anything like me, you watch a confrontation between Hiccup and his father toward the middle and end of the film and you’re giving a thumbs down at the father for being completely unreasonable (for reasons I won’t get into lest I spoil it).

Another thing I noted was that the other characters (Astrid, etc.) all have far more developed backgrounds and backstories that the original didn’t have. For example, in the remake, Astrid is the only female Viking among the young Vikings crew and has to fight twice as hard to gain their respect. Her jealousy toward Hiccup, while not entirely fair, is somewhat understandable.

I think this is what impressed me the most. Sure the animation and how they seamlessly blended the CGI with the live action aspects is impressive (it was sometimes hard to remember that Toothless isn’t actually a real animal), but it’s the actual genuine connections between Hiccup and his friends, Hiccup and his father, and the message of wanting to be accepted for who you are, not what others want you to be, is genuine and can spark some healthy conversations between families. Having said all this, there is still some content to be aware of…

Content of Concern

VIOLENCE: As this is a live-action remake, the violent moments feel more intense. For example, in the first scene and in others, dragons are seen shooting fire and burning the ground and buildings of Berk. Someone suggests that they want to “pop the head off a baby dragon.” Someone, or something, hits and knocks down a Viking. Hiccup takes down Toothless with a net (we can hear some wails from Toothless as he falls to the ground). A character is hit by a branch (minor).

While the young teens are training to become real Vikings, they have to fight actual dragons and are seen dodging fireballs. In another scene, dragons are seen attacking a ship and one character reports back to the village that “not every ship made it back.” Vikings talk about how they want to lose all their limbs in the glory of battling a dragon.

Hiccup and Toothless begin to fall during a flight test over the ocean but recover just in time. When toothless brings Hiccup to the Island of Dragons, a smaller dragon is seen being eaten by a much, much larger one. A trapped Nightmare (a dragon that is one fire throughout it’s whole body) breaks free during a match and burns many of the spectators. The Nightmare and Toothless fight each other, and the Vikings capture Toothless, hoping Toothless will lead them to the Island of Dragons.

In one massive fight scene, the Alpha Dragon (a mountain-sized one) is seen burning ships with people on them and attacking Vikings on the ground (including some younger Vikings). The Alpha Dragon is cut by a Viking’s knife. Young Vikings are seen in massive peril. Characters are burned by The Alpha.

One character falls from the sky and wakes up later with a missing leg and a new prosthetic one. There are also quite a few jump-scares. We learn that a character’s mother was killed by a dragon. A Viking describes some very gruesome facts about how dragons operate and how they kill Vikings.

LANGUAGE: H*ll (the place), G*d (1), gods (1), Bloody (1), characters call Hiccup many names like timid, small, slim pickings.

SEXUAL CONTENT: One of the characters states that an item “is like the size of my…” but the sentence is cut off (sexual innuendo is implied). Hiccup and another character flirt with Astrid (Hiccup has a massive crush on her). The Chieftain gives Hiccup a Viking hat and says both the Chieftain and Hiccup’s helmets are made from Hiccup’s mother’s breastplate. Two characters share two kisses.

ALCOHOL: Some Vikings are seen drinking inside a hall during an event.

OCCULT: The Chieftain, Stoick, throws out a couple Norse gods’ names as he talks, saying things like, “Odin, it was rough!” or “Thor almighty!” A book describes the Night Fury as the “unholy offspring of lightning and death itself.” In one notable addition to the first movie, the Vikings go to Gothi, the village elder, to see if they should go forth with a voyage. In a form of pagan divination, Gothi throws a handful of bones onto a table, consults the pattern that they make and nods. Stoick makes a brief prayer to Odin (the king of the Viking gods).

OTHER: The Nightmare dragon is absolutely terrifying. A dragon regurgitates fish and a character eats the regurgitated fish. Someone makes a fat joke. The Chieftain is an awful father throughout most of the film. He tells Hiccup at one point he’ll never be a real Viking, he mocks and ridicules him behind his back, he never trusts Hiccup to do anything, and even states to him, “I don’t like what’s inside of you” (meaning his personality and who he is), and “No more of…this” (gesturing to Hiccup from head to toe), and even “You’re not a Viking, you’re not my son.” We witness some serious scars on the stomach of a dragon. In the beginning of the film, Toothless is 100 percent terrifying. A child tells his father that another teen Viking was what the father wanted, not the child that the father currently has.

Morals

Hiccup struggles, like many of us, to find his place in the world. He knows what his father wants him to be, but he realizes he can’t be what his father wants and just wishes his father would love him for who he is. Perhaps, this is why he keeps secrets from his father about how he’s changed and doesn’t want to hurt dragons anymore.

Hiccup’s father is flawed like any other character (he’s overly proud, loud, obnoxious occasionally, and not a great father figure). Hiccup’s father is nothing, thankfully, like our Heavenly Father.

If we have become children of God, our Heavenly Father loves us unconditionally. God the Father is in our corner, cheering for us in our success, sharing in our sorrow, and giving us strength in times of trouble and tribulation. The Bible tells us this…

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” —1 John 1:3

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” —Romans 8:28

And in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he states…

“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.” —Ephesians 3:18-19

Closing Thoughts

I didn’t want to like this film, but in the end I REALLY did. Sure, it’s a shot for shot remake, but there are moments that made you stop and either say “Wow, that was deep” or “Wow, that was different,” and perhaps we that grew up with the original aren’t the target audience to begin with. Perhaps it’s the generations after us that are the primary audience in an attempt bring children find a new found interest in some of these animated classics (even the “Lilo & Stitch” remake I suppose).

There is a lot more heart to this version of “How To Train Your Dragon” than in the original. There is also, however, a greater sense of gravitas in how the real people on screen (playing fictitious characters) interact and engage with each other and the environment. This includes the perilous fighting that occurs between the Vikings and the dragons, which at times can be intense for little children. Additionally, there are moments where the grown Vikings seem to be the real villains, not the dragons, which is a discussion I’m not sure parents want to have with their children.

I can appreciate what this film offers, which is acceptance and understanding, which are at the core of the film (no social or political messaging involved). I believe this film emphasizes these themes throughout the story, and it is for this reason I recommend this remake of “How to Train Your Dragon.” However, I only recommend this for older children, teens and adults as the violence feels more intense this time around. Ultimately the decision is yours…

• Violence: Moderate
• Profane language: Moderate
• Vulgar/Crude language: Mild
• Sex: Mild
• Occult: Mild
• Drugs/Alcohol: Minor
• Nudity: None
• Wokeism: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.