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New York Times
14 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Watch Hiccup and Toothless Connect in ‘How to Train Your Dragon'
In 'Anatomy of a Scene,' we ask directors to reveal the secrets that go into making key scenes in their movies. See new episodes in the series on Fridays. You can also watch our collection of more than 150 videos on YouTube and subscribe to our YouTube channel. In the live-action version of 'How to Train Your Dragon,' expressions can speak louder than words. That's the case in this early scene from the film, in which Hiccup (Mason Thames) has caught a Night Fury dragon and is conflicted about what to do. He comes from a line of Vikings who kill dragons as part of their warrior tribe, but when Hiccup gets close to the Night Fury, he connects with the dragon (whom he later nicknames Toothless) and can't muster the will to kill the creature. Narrating the scene, the director Dean DeBlois (who also directed the 2010 animated film), said, 'This is one of the scenes that follows quite closely the animated movie. It's a handful of scenes that I wanted to recreate almost shot for shot. But in this case we realized we didn't need a lot of the dialogue that we gave Hiccup in the animated version. So much of it could be played on Mason Thames's face.' DeBlois said he spoke with his actor about the emotional way to play the scene. 'I remember on the day talking to Mason before we started rolling cameras, and I said, 'Don't forget, this is the moment you reference later in the movie when you looked into his eyes and you saw yourself.' It seems like a moment of weakness but this is that strength in disguise that causes Hiccup to be a new thinker that can usher in an era of peace that nobody saw coming.' Read the 'How to Train Your Dragon' review. Sign up for the Movies Update newsletter and get a roundup of reviews, news, Critics' Picks and more.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Where and When to Stream the ‘How Train Your Dragon' Live-Action Movie
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." It's time to take this story to new heights as How to Train Your Dragon is released in theaters, this time in a new live-action version that brings the iconic story to life. Surprisingly, it sticks pretty accurately to the original and also helps that they have the best cast to bring these characters to life. Pair it up with the familiar sounds of the original film and you're absolutely going to get emotional. Obviously, you're going to want to experience this for yourself! Here's everything you need to know about watching the How to Train Your Dragon live-action remake. The live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon was released on June 13, 2025, over 15 years after the original movie. Live the legend and see #HowToTrainYourDragon in theaters June 13 🔥⚔️ Get tickets now: — #HowToTrainYourDragon (@HTTYDragon) June 9, 2025 Luckily, it's pretty easy to catch How to Train Your Dragon on the big screen! Since it just came out, the film is now available to watch in theaters. Just make sure to grab some tickets beforehand or else you're screening might be sold out! at It's a little too early to catch it at home, especially since the remake was just released in theaters. However, you can always catch the lovely animated original at home! at peacocktv The live-action HTTYD will no doubt join Peacock after it leaves theaters. However, you're not subscribed or you have another favorite place to watch, you can still rent or buy it at home via online stores like Prime Video, iTunes, Fandango at Home, YouTube, or Google Play. Or if you're a huge fan, you'll also be able to buy it on Blu-ray and DVD!$39.99 at Might Also Like Here's What NOT to Wear to a Wedding Meet the Laziest, Easiest Acne Routine You'll Ever Try
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘How to Train Your Dragon' Star Nico Parker Says ‘I Just Don't Care' That People Are Upset Over Her Casting: ‘I Can't Value Your Opinion on My Hair'
Nico Parker is paying no mind to those who are upset about her casting in the live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon.' In a recent interview with The Times of London, Parker addressed the online backlash surrounding her casting as the young dragon butt kicker Astrid. Some were upset that Parker doesn't have blonde hair and blue eyes like the character in the original animated 'How to Train Your Dragon.' However, the 20-year-old British actress explained that she does not let those comments get to her head. More from Variety 'How to Train Your Dragon' Soars to Korea Box Office Crown 'How to Train Your Dragon' Review: DreamWorks Swoops Into the Remake Game With Respectful Cover From Co-Director of 2010 Toon Live-Action 'How To Train Your Dragon' Among Additions to Annecy Lineup 'There's some people that really love the animated movies and really want to see an exact play-by-play of that film, and I hope that you can watch [the new version] and find something that you love about it, regardless,' she said. 'But for the people that just hate inclusivity, hate change — when it comes to that side of things, I just don't care.' She continued, 'If I wouldn't value your opinion on most things in life, I can't value your opinion on my hair. If I did, I would go mad.' Parker comes from a family of filmmakers. Her father is director Ol Parker and her mother is actress Thandiwe Newton. She added that when she was younger, the representation in Hollywood of 'mixed race or Black icons' was 'really minimal,' but thinks it's 'really special' to see how far the industry has come. 'There's still a long way to go — for women in general, in terms of new parts, original material and female-led stories,' Parker added. 'But I think that everything's changing. I'd like to think that I could contribute to that change at some point.' The original 'How to Train Your Dragon,' loosely adapted from the 2003 children's book by Cressida Cowell, was released in 2010 and went on to gross a massive $495 million worldwide. Leading cast members included Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler and America Ferrera. In his review for the new live-action 'How to Train Your Dragon,' which hits theaters June 13, Variety film critic Peter Debruge praised Parker's performance, writing, 'The swaggering Astrid was always the film's most self-reliant character, and in Parker's hands, the romance between her and Hiccup takes on Clark Kent-Lois Lane vibes, especially when the two hit the skies.' Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘How to Train Your Dragon' Used Bagpipes, Sheep Fur and the Faroe Islands to Bring the Remake to Life
When Dreamworks released the animated feature 'How to Train Your Dragon' in 2010, it seemed almost inevitable that a live-action feature would come along. Cinematographer Roger Deakins gave the feature a stunning cinematic style that felt almost live-action, and composer John Powell added a sweeping score to the narrative. More from Variety Box Office: 'How to Train Your Dragon' Lifts Off With Fourth-Biggest Opening Day of 2025, 'Materialists' Serving Third Place Debut 'How to Train Your Dragon' Director on the Big Changes Made and the Storylines He Expanded for Live-Action Remake 'How to Train Your Dragon' Star Nico Parker Says Astrid Is a 'Boss Bitch' in New Live-Action Film Director Dean DeBlois heard a live-action movie was in the works, and he called Powell. The animated feature was not only beloved, but it had also become part of pop culture history. His first call asked Powell, 'Should we do a live-action?' Powell says, DeBlois next said, 'Well, if I do it, would you do it?' Powell said yes. After spending over a decade scoring all three films in the animated feature trilogy, Powell felt a sense of responsibility to the music of the franchise. And who better to do it than he to breathe new life into a beloved score? The new film follows Hiccup (Mason Thames), a young and scrawny Viking boy who refuses to follow his tribe's tradition of hunting dragons. This is much to the chagrin of his proudly traditional father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who happens to be the village leader and a legendary dragon slayer. The film also stars Nico Parker as Astrid, Julian Dennison as Fishlegs, Gabriel Howell as Snotlout, Bronwyn James as Ruffnut, Harry Trevaldwyn as Tuffnut and Nick Frost as Gobber. In his approach to breathing new life into the live-action score, Powell looked to make subtle changes in tempo, density and clarity. He says, 'There's some stuff that was made to be very much the same, and there are not many changes for 20-30 seconds, and then suddenly you might see something shift.' One noticeable change in scoring the live-action was the use of bagpipes. This time around, Powell was able to use a real bagpipe player, Lorne MacDougall, founder of the Red Hot Chili Pipers. With DeBlois expanding the story, Powell relied on the familiar, but he also found room to expand his score. In the father-son relationship between Stoick and Hiccup, Powell says that the theme did a lot of the heavy lifting. 'We called it 'He's Not That Boy,' which is funny because Marc Platt also produced this and 'Wicked.' During the end title, we have a song that is sung by a choir, and I said to Dean, 'Do you want to write some words?' and he did. It became this whole tune that threads through the movie.' Costume designer Lindsay Pugh wanted to keep the essence of the characters that had been established through the animation and be respectful of that. Still, she also needed to find a characterization that would work in real life. Says Pugh, 'It was trying to find that balance, but being respectful to what everybody wants to see.' Pugh maintained Hiccup's calmness from the original. 'I didn't want him to be very colorful,' she says behind her decision to anchor his palette in natural tones and green. 'It's very calming and a very gentle color.' However, she wanted to give his outfit texture, and so she took a dive into historical references of embroidery, needlework and weaving techniques. 'We found all of these different textures that we could use, and we wove all of the embroidery. So it gives us visual interest in what, from a distance, would be quite a simple garment,' but on closer inspection, that fine detail would reveal itself. Pugh also paid attention to Viking culture. Since DeBlois was extending this universe, Pugh's designs were 'specifically Viking, as we would automatically imagine, because that's sort of what the world was.' She draped them in sheepskin and explained, 'One of the very first scenes in the movie was the dragons going down and stealing or trying to steal these poor decoy sheep, so it's a really perfect setup of having that.' The film has environmental goals, and aside from using sustainable materials where possible, any fur was made from sheepskin. She adds, 'They have great fur, great wool and skins on that. Ecologically, they were not something that is as detrimental to the planet.' Butler has previously joked that his outfit weighed over 90 pounds. Pugh's response is, 'I just want to say Gerry, it was with the helmet, the cape, the sword and the shield.' She notes she wanted to give him weight and a foundation so he could push against it. 'We have Gerry on the inside, and then all of these layers. We have leather and layer upon layer of natural fabrics,' explains Pugh, who used 3D printing wherever she could; it wasn't always possible. 'The intricacy of the work in everything adds a little bit of weight.' Production designer Dominic Watkins wanted to make the world of dragons feel plausible. Watkins says, the world building was 'very challenging and we wanted to make it feel real so that people believed that these were characters involved with dragons.' During a location scout, Watkins felt the geography of the Faroe Islands lent itself how Berk should look. 'There was one island on the Faroe Islands that we decided we were going to mold the village on, and that was going to be the epicenter of all the action,' Watkins explains. That became the center point of where the dragons and the rest of the world were. He saw the colors of the building and was inspired by what palette to choose from. 'The rust, corn colors and greens were very specific, and we took that palette from there and brought that to the village.' He adds, 'A lot of the medieval stuff in reality was quite grim, so we wanted to make it more colorful.' Other real-world locations included Ireland and Scotland. Watkins also utilized the Belfast Titanic studios where he built out the rest of Berk on backlots and sounstages. 'We built the center of Berk, but it was extended from ther. We built 16 houses around the center square.' Elsewhere, he wanted to give the Vikings believability. Their purpose was to slay dragons, so Watkins carried that lore into his designs. 'We had lots of carvings of dragons and motifs on the pinnacles of the and the eaves of the houses to just show there was a hatred of them.' As for the film's dragon arena, Watkins built a chain dome, but needed beams to hold it upright. 'We found these ironwood beams that had sunk in Belfast harbor over 100 years ago, and coincidentally, they were pulling these 3040 foot beams out of Belfast Harbor. Our construction manager knew about them, and somehow he managed to get his hands on them.' The beams had become fossilized after being in the water for so long and needed heavy cranes to be moved. 'We were now repurposing them and putting in the arena, and it was pretty incredible.' Watkins adds, 'We used them in a few other places, but that was predominantly where all the spiked beams were in the set. They were beautifully aged, beautifully tarnished, and they worked out.' Best of Variety New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘How to Train Your Dragon' Star Mason Thames Explains How an In-Flight Screening of ‘The Black Phone' Changed His Life
In-flight entertainment has changed the course of Mason Thames' life. How to Train Your Dragon director Dean DeBlois was already in the process of casting a live-action version of his animated franchise hero, Hiccup, and while he was en route to London-based auditions, he decided to pass the time on his transatlantic flight by watching a movie. He opted for Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone, starring the aforementioned Thames. The Canadian filmmaker was so impressed by the then-13-year-old's performance that he just had to get him on the 'long list' of 15-year-old Viking candidates. More from The Hollywood Reporter 'How to Train Your Dragon' Star Nico Parker Reacts to Trolls About Her Casting: "I Can't Value Your Opinion on My Hair" 'How to Train Your Dragon' Review: DreamWorks Live-Action Remake Retains Charm but Plays It Safe What Sold Gerard Butler on Reprising His Role in the Live-Action 'How to Train Your Dragon' 'Apparently, they had been through a bunch of Hiccups. So Dean told me he watched The Black Phone on a plane, and then he was like, 'Why is this kid not auditioning for Hiccup? Let's get him in the room,'' Thames tells The Hollywood Reporter in support of How to Train Your Dragon's June 13 theatrical release. 'It truly does feel like destiny in a way, and it's so crazy that a little coincidence like that has changed my life.' Thames inherited the role that Jay Baruchel voiced in DeBlois' three animated films throughout the 2010s, and it couldn't have been a better fit for the Texas native. He still remembers his 7-year-old self's first glimpse of the Viking who would bridge generations' worth of conflict between Isle of Berk's Vikings and their neighboring dragons. That led to Halloween costumes and the like. 'I was like, 'I want to be that guy.' I related to Hiccup so much,' Thames says. 'God, I never thought that I'd be given the chance to step into his shoes and maybe affect kids the way Hiccup affected me [as a kid]. It's such an honor.' As for Thames' other Universal franchise that led him to Dragon, Black Phone 2 just released its chilling first trailer. The story takes place four years after the events of Derrickson's The Black Phone, and despite ending the first chapter on a more confident note after defeating Ethan Hawke's serial killer, The Grabber, the reality (and surreality) of what Thames' Finney Blake survived isn't finished with him or his sister, Gwen (Madeleine McGraw). 'What [co-writers Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill] have done with the character of Finney is truly incredible,' Thames shares. 'In a lot of horror movies, a character's friends and family will die in a horrible way, and then in the next movie, they're off at college, living a happy, fun life. But the reality of going through something that traumatic is that it will affect you. You will probably not be the same, especially when it's a kid who's dealing with that.' Below, during a recent conversation with THR, Thames also discusses how his mom made a key recommendation during his performance of Hiccup's first dragon-flying scene. *** Not many people can say they brought one of their favorite animated heroes to life. Has it sunk in yet? Not really. It's still so surreal to me. I never thought I could be one of my childhood heroes and step into this world. I'm still so honored and privileged, and I thank Dean [DeBlois] every single day and every time I see him for giving me this opportunity. At 7 years old, you remember saying to yourself that you want to be Hiccup? I remember watching the trailer for the second movie [2014's How to Train Your Dragon 2] where Hiccup takes his helmet off, and he's older. I then watched the movies, of course, and I put myself in his shoes. I was like, 'I want to be that guy.' I related to Hiccup so much. God, I never thought that I'd be given the chance to step into his shoes and maybe affect kids the way Hiccup affected me [as a kid]. It's such an honor. I do think it was predestined in a way based on a story that director Dean DeBlois told me. He was on his way to a Hiccup casting session in London, and he randomly watched e on the plane ride there, which got him thinking about you and how old you might've been at the time. Did he tell you this? Yeah, apparently, they had been through a bunch of hiccups. So Dean told me he watched The Black Phone on a plane, and then he was like, 'Why is this kid not auditioning for Hiccup? Let's get him in the room.' It truly does feel like destiny in a way, and it's so crazy that a little coincidence like that has changed my life. I am so grateful. I know it's hard to say for certain, but do you think you had an advantage during casting by having a hit movie for Universal already? Yeah, maybe. I've met a lot of amazing execs from Universal. Overall, when you have a good time and you work with good people, you'll make those connections. [NBCUniversal Chairman] Donna Langley is so incredible, and I love her so much. I think she vouched for me a good bit. During your casting video, you yelled, 'Mom, did you hear that?' Did she hear it? Did she catch on to the good news being shared? (Laughs.) She did! She was all the way downstairs, and I didn't know if she was listening, so I just yelled out for her. Her reply was, 'Yeah, I did!' I could hear she was crying, and it really just got me. That was one of the most special moments of my life. A couple of days before, my dad went to Kroger and got me a little dragon balloon for good luck. So she brought that upstairs and handed it to me. It was such a special moment that I'll cherish forever, and now it's on the internet forever. You were the last actor to read with Nico Parker. Did you feel a connection right away, or did you assume you were toast? I didn't really know. To be honest, I kind of blacked out. I was so nervous. I remember meeting with Nico, and she, out of everybody, just really stood out. She was so incredible to me. She saw how nervous I was, and so she messed up a line on purpose to make me feel better. That immediately just relieved a little bit of stress, which was everything to me. And ever since then, Nico has kept it up. She's such a caring person, and getting to be her Hiccup is such an honor. Had you already messed up a line of your own? Or did she just want to give you a second take of the scene? God, if I had flubbed a line, I would've passed out and died from the nerves. Luckily, I did not, but she just saw how nervous I was before we went in and started reading. I do not remember this, but I was pacing back and forth in some room. So she just saw that and did it on purpose to make me feel better. She'd been there for hours and was tired already, but she wanted to make me feel better. So, thank you, Nico. Between Nico Parker, Madeleine McGraw and Mckenna Grace, you've been spoiled with some great scene partners. Oh, I know. Does each one bring out a different side of you? Yeah, each movie that I've done with Nico, Mckenna and Madeleine is such a different genre. How to Train Your Dragon is this fantasy world, and getting to do that with Nico is so special. Black Phone 2 with Maddy is such a dark story with such a dark undertone, and getting to do that with her was amazing. And getting to do the romance movie [Regretting You] with Mckenna, she's so wonderful. Doing that type of movie with somebody you don't really know could be very uncomfortable, but me and McKenna, we've always just had this connection. So that made it very easy. Hiccup's hero's journey is very different from Finney's in . Finney had to slay the dragon, while Hiccup has to spare the dragon. But the characters definitely have some similarities when it comes to their single fathers who are both abusive in different ways. Did you find yourself comparing Hiccup and Finney at all? Not really. Finney is a character who I couldn't relate with at all. He has a lot of problems and a very tough life. So my inspiration for Finney came from watching a lot of old films, like The 400 Blows. With Hiccup, I obviously had a pretty good blueprint in the original, but I needed to do my own thing. So I would watch stuff like Spider-Man, and I also took experiences from my own life and put them into Hiccup. My guess would be the 'Test Drive' scene, but what scene were you most looking forward to recreating in live-action? You guessed correctly! I had no idea how they would do 'Test Drive' in live-action, and even while filming it, I had no idea how it was going to turn out. But seeing it in theaters, God, it really blows my mind. They did such an incredible job, and I'm so fortunate to have been a part of it. I heard they played John Powell's 'Test Drive' score on set. Did that do half the work for you? A hundred percent. That was actually my mom's idea. I remember sitting there on the dragon, and we started going. It was basically just me [shifting my shoulders back and forth], which was a little strange. But then my mom was like, 'You should put on the music for him.' And they were like, 'OK!' So they put on the music, and it immediately felt different. I was really in the scene and using my imagination as we were going through those mountains. It was a lot of fun. Dean did not tell me the part about it being your mom's idea, so I'm glad she's getting credit now. She's probably smiling right now. You had a puppet-like head to reference on set, but did you ever find yourself imagining the animated Toothless during a scene? Luckily, I have a very vivid imagination. They actually built the sets, so if I was with Toothless in the cove, the lighting and everything else was there even if Toothless wasn't. So it was easy to imagine Toothless being there and having a connection with a beast like that. It was a big learning curve, but it was a lot of fun. I saw footage of you talking to a Hiccup performer at Epic Universe, and he was doing this spot-on Jay Baruchel voice from the animated trilogy. I'm glad you did your own thing, don't get me wrong, but did you ever try that Hiccup voice on for size? I can do the impression, but if I did an impersonation like that for this film, it would feel rude. What Jay did is so incredible and so iconic, but I had to do my own thing. I still wanted to keep all the important characteristics that people love about Hiccup: his sarcasm and his wittiness. But I also wanted to explore something new about Hiccup — a darker, sadder and lonelier side. He's been cast out by his village, and his father doesn't accept him. Yet all he wants is to make his father proud and be accepted as a Viking. So getting the chance to explore a new side of Hiccup and show some new colors to the character was a lot of fun. Dean actually showed your reading to Jay? That's what Dean told me, and that means everything to me. When I started filming Dragon, Jay followed me on Instagram. I haven't got the chance to really speak with him yet, but hopefully I will soon. I would probably just thank him. His version of Hiccup is so iconic. and it was my childhood. It's inspired me so much. If all goes well, are you already committed to making the whole trilogy in live-action? Every time that question gets asked, I get nervous because I don't know what I can say. But I'm very excited, and If Dean is there, I'm there. So, yeah, I'm looking forward to whatever happens in the future. I spoke to Scott Derrickson not too long ago, and he told me that he purposefully waited to make so that you and Madeleine were high school age. Was it interesting to return to that character after growing up so much since then the first one? Yeah, Scott and [C. Robert] Cargill are such amazing writers, and what they've done with the character of Finney is truly incredible. I love it so much. In a lot of horror movies, a character's friends and family will die in a horrible way, and then in the next movie, they're off at college, living a happy, fun life. But the reality of going through something that traumatic is that it will affect you. You will probably not be the same, especially when it's a kid who's dealing with that. So fast forwarding four years from the first movie and seeing where Finney is at was a lot of fun and a challenging journey. We saw a couple teasers yesterday in the lead-up to the trailer release, but it sounds like Finney has another tough road ahead. For sure. That's all I can say, but for sure. You've accomplished one dream role, so what's the next one you want to manifest? I would love to do another superhero film — a DC film or a Marvel film. I used to go to the theater with my dad as a kid to watch all the Marvel movies, and that kind of feeling is pretty cool. So maybe I'll get to do one of those one day. Decades from now, when you're reminiscing about your experience, what day will you likely recall first? It will probably be that moment when I was told I got the job. That's where it all truly began, and since then, How to Train Your Dragon has been such a big part of my life. The movie comes out pretty soon, and we're about to share it with the world. So it's nerve-wracking, but going back to that moment will always be very special. ***How to Train Your Dragon opens in movie theaters nationwide on June 13. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
