I’ll give you five reasons to watch the upcoming live action adaptation of the beloved 2010 animated film, which opens in US theaters on June 13th.
In a time before time, on the isle of Berk, there lived a Viking civilization that fought battles each day, against the dragons which also claimed the land as their own. In this “us vs. them” environment, a young boy was born, losing his mom to a dragon early on in life. This boy’s name? Hiccup (Mason Thames), the son of Chief Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) although the legacy does little to help Hiccup. He’s overlooked and bullied by the other Viking boys, and girls, and then one day, he makes a discovery that will change his life. And the life of everyone on Berk. Because, and this is the clincher of the story of How to Train Your Dragon, being different is a good thing. As well as being the one who knows that bridges are a lot better than bombs, and you catch a lot more flies with honey than with a swatter. Or rather, you can catch more dragons with fish, than with eels. You’ll have to watch the film to get that one… Aided by the adorable, yet fierce Astrid (Nico Parker), Hiccup soars to an adventure that will not only change the landscape of Berk but also the boy’s life forever.
If you still haven’t been hooked by the story, and the idea of watching Butler in full Viking garb, while making it look as effortlessly as if he was wearing sheer musseline, here are five more reasons to watch the new live action version of a beloved animated film — in IMAX if possible!
No lesser-than version and with artistic commitment
During a recent press conference, it was fascinating to hear Dean DeBlois utter the following, regarding when “Universal floated the idea that they might want to make a live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon, my gut response was a defensive one. I just wanted to protect the world, and the characters, and the heart of the story that I knew so well.” It made sense, in a world where so many remakes are not standing up to the original, animated works. The Canadian filmmaker and writer, who has been at the helm of all the animated How to Train Your Dragon films, but also executive produced one of my fave films ever The Wild Robot, went on by explaining that “very selfishly, I didn't want to see somebody else's version of it. So, I volunteered, despite my general dislike of remakes of animated films. Coming from the world of animation, being an animator, it's just something that I feel like often generates a lesser-than version of the animated source.” This was in response to a question about how quickly he agreed to come on board for this live action remake of the beloved 2010 film, which hits the cinemas in the US on June 13th, but is in UK cinemas now.
For a film that didn’t win any of the major awards when it was released but conquered a top spot in the heart of everyone who watched it, How to Train Your Dragon requires this kind of commitment from its top helmer, but also from the cast. The inimitable Gerard Butler reprises his role as Stoick the Vast, Hiccup’s father and the formidable leader of Berk, giving the film an extra dose of cool.
“In this case, I was determined that, if we were gonna do it, we were gonna do it right and protect the wonder, and the heart and just the wish fulfillment of what this story promises,” DeBlois concluded. Mission accomplished, I’d say.
From a magical world to a real life wonder-set
For Butler, the experience of walking onto a set that he’d only inhabited with his voice so far, proved magical in that he got to finally play his scenes full on, alongside a talented cast to back it up. “I had a lot of love for this character, for this franchise, you know, obviously it performed very well, and resonated deeply, and I feel like Dean has allowed me to bring this BIG energy.” The Scottish actor and film producer continued “but it was only my voice, so, suddenly having a chance to bring that energy to set, I kind of felt like the, kind of a custodian, you know, to kind of come in with that power and when I got a chance to, you know, wear that costume, wear that beard and live like that, you're spending all day like that. Not only a couple of hours at a time in the recording booth, but now I was kind of living and breathing it, Stoick, and making that kind of physical commitment and that transformation.”
Butler also pointed out “I've done a lot of that in my life,” regarding his transformation, which included a gigantic costume complete with buffalo fur that looks like it weighs a ton. Yet the actor manages to make it all look effortless and he confessed that “I think this one was much more interesting, ‘cause I had a chance to go much deeper with this. I think that... that in the live action with Stoick, that, you get to see those contradictions, you get to see those quiet moments, you get to see the pain, a man, you know, kind of bound by traditions. Those, you know, it's almost like a held breath with him. And then, a vulnerability and an unraveling that I don't think I could give as much to in the movie, but I could definitely do that here. “
You’re more than a green screen to me…
Typically, in these kind of live-action fantasy films which will be taken through the CGI and VFX treatment later, the actors play against a green screen, a backdrop that then allows for the backgrounds and special effects to be added later. But actor Mason Thames, who plays the kindhearted Hiccup, an unconventional Viking, son of Stoick the Vast and the character at the emotional core of How to Train Your Dragon, explained things were different on this set.
“I didn't know what I was gonna be working with, it was just gonna be more green screens, or like, three tennis balls. But, luckily we had an amazing puppeteering team, led by Tom Wilton, and many more,” the American actor explained. “We had this foam head that I could touch and look at, and even improv with, which was a lot of fun. Because, you know, my co-star for a lot of the movie is a dragon, so they made it very easy and I had a lot of fun with that aspect.”
Nico Parker, who plays the absolutely luminous Astrid in the film, added that “initially, going into it, you don't really know what they're gonna have, cause, you know, some people do just have it as a tennis ball and a stick. But I think we were really fortunate that the puppeteering team was so... you know, like I remember the first exercise me and Mason ever did with them. They had a piece of paper and they made us crumple it up and they left it on the floor. And then they were like, “what do you see?” We were like, “absolutely nothing.” And then they started touching it and moving it and making it kind of breathe and move and interact with you.”
The British actress, who is the mirror image of her famous mom Thandiwe Newton, explained further, “there's something about the way that they kind of embrace physicality, and they're so fluid and free with movement, that really would make these, on their own, completely inanimate objects feel incredibly real. And, you know, it made it much, much easier to be able to interact with something like that. But truly, I mean, Mason was absolutely the master at it. I just, kind of copied what he did.” Whatever it was, between these two and the dragons, the magic is real.
Sometimes it’s good to play your heroes
Both Parker and Thames admitted they immediately bonded with their on-screen personas. “There's so many things I love about Hiccup and that character, which is his humor, his sarcasm, and that's all the things that, why everybody fell in love with Hiccup, including myself,” Thames said, continuing “those were a lot of things that I wanted to keep the same, but also things I wanted to try different. Cause Dean and I had a lot of time in pre-production to talk about the character and where we wanted him to start and end. And all the time we had to figure that out was a lot of fun, because I really wanted to explore a little bit of a darker side of Hiccup, a sadder side.” In his village, Hiccup is a bit of a cast-out, he’s not accepted because he doesn’t play the game the same way, so he’s bullied and shunned, an interesting angle for his character and for the lessons the film bestows on its audience.
The actor added that for Hiccup, “all he wants, is to make his dad proud and live up to that name and be a Viking. And to do that, he has to kill a dragon. And once he realizes, in private, that he can do that, is when he finds out he's different and he accepts that. And that's what I think is what makes Hiccup so special, especially to me. “
For Parker, whose character the actress herself describes as “an absolute badass,” and I agree, admitted part of her attraction to Astrid is exactly that. “I love her for those reasons,’ she said “but I also, you know, it's interesting cause, I think I speak for Mason as well, but we were both such huge fans of the animated movies as kids, that I think to be able to kind of play your childhood hero is a cathartic experience that not that many people get to do. And, I think that what was really brilliant about Dean is that, even with him acknowledging how wonderful those animated movies are, he was also completely open and willing for change and development.”
Pack a little voice and carry a big bag
English comedian and writer Nick Frost portrays Gobber, who is described in the film’s press notes as “Berk’s master blacksmith and dragon trainer, whose life is a testament to resilience, resourcefulness and sharp wit.” One legged and with one arm fitted with a huge hammer-like contraption, the better to hit dragons with, Gobber is at once fearless and funny.
Frost admitted, during the press conference that “one of the beauties of my job, and I've been lucky enough to work for 23 years, is you kind of, you have a little voice and it kind of gives you the right to say, “Could we try this?” Or, “Hey, I’m thinking about this line, and is this funnier, or is this better, or...” And Dean, from the get-go was like, “Yeah, great, let's try it.” You know?”
The talented actor added that “having a voice and being allowed to work with a group of people where they're not like, “No, no, just do this,” is a real treat for me, you know? And... and it, personally, it makes me want to work harder. And I think if you have a dog in the fight, so to speak, I'm happy working to get to work with Mason, and the kids and Nico and Joe. And you get up with a sprint in your step, and you're like, “Let's, let's go and do this,” you know? And that's just a really amazing... way to live for 90 days or however...”
As a charming behind-the-scene fact, Frost also disclosed one of his working rituals, when he loves the people he’s working with. “I have a thing where I always get my bag ready for work the night before I go, so, you know, I get all my script ready and my pens, and I'll be like, “Right, well let's go,” you know?” He concluded “and that doesn't happen in every job. So, I'm lucky that it did. “
Next time I’m enthusiastically packing my bag for a trip, more than a few days in advance in anticipation of where I’m going, I’ll think of Frost and his How to Train Your Dragon preparation. And smile.
How to Train Your Dragon is in UK cinemas on June 9th and will release in the US on lucky Friday, June 13th. The film is distributed by Universal Pictures.
Images courtesy of Universal Pictures, used with permission.