'How to Train a Dragon': An Unnecessary Remake or an Uplifting Adventure?

In a new and disturbing milestone of capitalist voracity, DreamWorks can boast of having surpassed Disney in its urgency to bring one of its golden goose to the realm of live action. If it has taken twenty-three years to see the characters of Lilo & Stitch turned into creatures of flesh, bones and pixels, we only had to wait fifteen minutes to see Hiccup and Esdentegat –the heroes of How to train a dragon– a stream and a flyer through the lush natural landscapes of Northern Ireland. The new adaptation of Cressida Cowell's book of the same name, directed again by Dean DeBlois (one of the authors of Lilo & Stitch!), looks like an effective cultural updating and financial calculation. Racial. Vikings of Polynesian and African origin? Why not? How to train a dragon thrills again with the epic tale of friendship between a young Viking who is too ñicris and a feline-looking dragon who wants to be a pet. Fans of the animated series may miss the dynamism and conciseness of the 2010 film – which was almost half an hour shorter than the original. remake–, but the relationship between the real Hiccup and the digital Esdentegat is charged with emotion and tenderness. And of course, the film's anti-war and anti-intolerance message is just as relevant today, if not more so, than it was fifteen years ago.

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