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Fans of How to Train Your Dragon are undoubtedly excited for the upcoming live-action film from DreamWorks. After all, everyone loves seeing their beloved animated favorites turned into live-action, right? While we certainly miss the stylized character designs for the humans and some moments having some uncanny valley from the dragons, the new live-action How to Train Your Dragon film stays remarkably close to the first film in both its content and pacing.

When we say that the live-action How to Train Your Dragon is very similar to the original animated movie, we mean it. Most of it feels like a shot-for-shot recreation, including the way that characters are framed on screen and the way that dialogue is delivered. There are some minor differences in timelines, but the story beats all happen when you might expect them.

Obviously, we’ll be discussing some spoilers for the live-action How to Train Your Dragon film ahead.

Live-action How to Change Your Dragon: every change made for the big screen

Like we said, there are a couple of very small changes to the story of How to Train Your Dragon for the live-action film. Most are incredibly minor, such as changing the dragon’s reaction to dandelions to sneezing rather than rolling in them like catnip or shifting the conversation between Astrid and Hiccup just before the assault on the Dragon Nest to the daytime rather than night. However, there are a couple of changes that are worth pointing out.

Live-action How to Train Your Dragon: Berk is now a melting pot of Viking culture

When you picture Vikings a specific (and probably very white) image probably fills your head. However, the residents of Berk have been changed to a multicultural mix of Viking cultures around the world, brought together specifically to hunt down and kill dragons. Stoick, the chief of Berk, explains this quite blatantly in an early scene as he is trying to rally the warriors for one more assault on the Dragon Next before winter.

In the original animated movie, he threatens them with having to look after Hiccup while they are away should they choose not to take part in the raid. In the live-action film, Stoick gives a rousing speech about their legacy as great warriors instead. This fleshes out Berk’s history a bit more (and is a bit less depressing for Hiccup).

Live-action How to Train Your Dragon: We see the failed assault on the Dragon’s Nest

In the original How to Train Your Dragon animated movie, the Vikings of Berk travel to Helheim's Gate in search of the Dragon’s Nest. After they enter the fog, we get a brief glimpse of fire in the fog and screams of men, but we aren’t shown the battle that follows. This is changed in the live-action version, where we see Stoick and his crew fighting against dragons on their boats. It adds a level of danger to their later encounter with the Dragon Nest in the final act but otherwise doesn’t change much.

Life-action How to Train Your Dragon: Hiccup doesn’t befriend other dragons before the finale   

With the addition of the scene in the fog, something had to be cut to maintain a tight runtime. The scene that got cut is just after Hiccup and Toothless have a successful flight together. In the animated version, they have fish on a ledge overlooking the ocean, only to be joined by smaller dragons. Here, Hiccup gives the new dragons some fish and befriends them. Importantly, he discovers the trick of igniting their internal gases just before they do, which is how the two eventually beat the Dragon Queen at the end.

This scene is not present in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon. While it isn’t a huge change to the pacing, it does cause a slight problem with how Hiccup knew to attack the Dragon Queen at that moment. However, it is a minor issue that can be fairly easily handwaved.

Live-action How to Train Your Dragon: We find out why Snotlout is like that

One of the themes of the original animated film was the impact that parents can have on their children, sometimes without realizing it. The live-action How to Train Your Dragon shows a bit more of this, particularly with Snotlout. In the animated version, he is a braggart obsessed with impressing Astrid and the rest of the village, but we don’t see why. The 2025 film fleshes this out – he is really trying to impress his father who doesn’t want anything to do with him. His borderline toxic behavior stems from a need for his father’s approval.

Live-action How to Train Your Dragon: The Elder is present more – but still doesn’t speak

This is another small change, but the Village Elder of Berk has an expanded role in the live-action How to Train Your Dragon film. Instead of only appearing a few times, she is shown throughout the first two acts of the movie. First, she divines that the Vikings have a chance of finding the Dragon Next before the next winter during an early scene. Then she is shown keeping score for the Trial of Fire combatants before ultimately selecting Hiccup as the winner.

Interestingly, she is still a non-speaking role for the 2025 film, just like in the original animated How to Train Your Dragon. She is played by Naomi Wirthner now but still does not speak.

Learn about the big improvement the new How to Train Your Dragon movie made from the original, as well as the key differences between the original animated movie and the live-action remake. Finally, here's how to watch the How to Train Your Dragon movies and TV series in order.