It’s not even just that which made this good – the characters' mannerisms were there, the dragons were there – Toothless looked so good, and I literally felt tears come to my eyes when John Powell’s score swelled as he and Hiccup took their first real flight together. It was like a blast to the past.

"How to Train Your Dragon" artisans on using sheep fur, bagpipe and locations including the Faroe Islands to help bring remake to life.

As Hiccup, the 17-year-old actor is shouldering the weight of Universal’s new live-action franchise — and living out his childhood fantasy.

On the set of the live-action movie, Toothless and the other dragons existed as large puppets with simple functions, operated by a team of master puppeteers led by Tom Wilton, a performer who had worked on the “War Horse” stage play.

Universal/DreamWorks’ “ How to Train Your Dragon ” remake has taken off at the box office with a strong $82.5 million domestic opening weekend and $200 million worldwide.

Relax, dear readers, your eyes don’t deceive you with that headline. Just as Universal/DreamWorks have remade the 2010 fan favorite How to Train Your Dragon, the studio has given its well regarded franchise another premium format finish. Which means it’s time to ask an old question that gets new answers each time: To 3D or Not To 3D?

The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon has only just soared into theaters, and a sequel is already underway. In fact, it was announced back in April at CinemaCon 2025, well before the film,

In an era of skepticism around live-action remakes, Universal believes audiences will take flight with Hiccup and Toothless again.