How To Train Your Dragon (2025) (Collector’s Edition) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Dean DeBlois

Cast: Mason Thames, Nico Parker, Gerard Butler

Release Date: August 12, 2025

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

Synopsis:

On the isle of Berk, Vikings and dragons have battled for generations, but that won’t stop Hiccup from building an unlikely bond with the feared dragon, Toothless. With an ancient evil threatening their worlds, it’s up to Hiccup, Toothless, and their courageous companion Astrid to prove they’re stronger together, and through friendship and bravery they can overcome any challenges.

The live-action adaptation of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ invites you to Berk where Vikings and dragons have done battle and served as each other’s nemesis for ages. When young Viking-to-be Hiccup finally captures a dragon and a legendary dragon at that, he initially believes that it’s the first step to becoming the man his father wants. But what Hiccup never expected was to find his new best friend in the creature who he lovingly names Toothless. But when his father and others uncover the presence of Toothless it changes everything, leaving it up to Hiccup and his new friends to try and change the town’s opinion of dragons and uncover a way to save the day.

Directed by Dean DeBlois (How to Train Your Dragon 2010, Lilo and Stitch 2002) from his own screenplay and based on the book by Cressida Cowell, DeBlois does a great job at the helm of the new ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ guiding along the live-action movie with heart, humor and wonder throughout. The new film’s cast includes Mason Thames (The Black Phone), Nico Parker (Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy), Gabriel Howell (TV’s Nightsleeper), Julian Dennison (Godzilla vs. Kong), Bronwyn James (Wicked), Harry Trevaldwyn (TV’s The Acolyte), Peter Serafinowicz (Guardians of the Galaxy), Nick Frost (TV’s The Nevers) and Gerard Butler (Greenland), with the majority doing a capable and fitting job of stepping into these roles, or in Butler’s case reprising.

The new live-action take on ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ offers a gorgeous, exciting and heartfelt recreation of the beloved animated film, with this new film directed and written for the screen by the original film’s co-director and writer Dean DeBlois as well. It largely serves as a shot by shot remake in many respects while adding a few minor tidbits throughout (as well as removing a few moments included as deleted scenes which I honestly felt a little torn about removing considering they play into the larger story later on) and while it doesn’t necessarily offer anything notably new or different from the tale fans of the animated film are familiar with, it does do a tremendous and visually stunning job of bringing the magic to life in a rewarding fashion.

I realize that some may be hesitant about this one due to many fans of the original animated gem that have been oddly negative about this film simply because of the fact it stays so true to the original and largely serves as a shot for shot remake but in this world that shouldn’t cause anyone that’s interested to be deterred since they would surely have been just as negative if numerous elements had been changed. It’s a beautifully done, emotional and massively entertaining new adaptation that definitely hits most of the right marks and rarely disappoints so definitely don’t hesitate to check it out if you’re interested.

Overall, the live-action adaptation of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ serves up a visually marvelous, heartfelt and thrilling journey that may not bring anything new or exceptional to the beloved tale but does a truly magnificent job of bringing it to stunning life and adding a new level to the tension and action as a result of the live stars this time around. The guidance of franchise co-creator Dean DeBlois at the helm certainly helps it stay true to the animated movie and a solid cast led by Mason Thames only further complements it. If you’re a fan of the original animated DreamWorks film or if you’re merely intrigued by this new film then ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ is definitely recommended. Filled with all of the humor, beauty and heart of the original merely brought to life in a unique manner; it’s certainly worth your time and the price of a rental for anyone that’s interested in giving it a shot.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10, presented in its original varying Aspect Ratio of 2.39:1 with 1.90:1 for the IMAX sequences. The video presentation looks outstanding altogether and delivers a sharp, clean and gorgeously detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any issues or faults to be uncovered. Detail is marvelous throughout and characters (human and dragon) along with the isle of Berk, landscapes and everything else on display shine and look stellar. The Dolby Vision HDR enhances numerous colors throughout including the green eyes of Toothless, the coloring of homes, landscapes and more, while black levels are deep, clean and absent of any problems. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that impresses at every turn.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite a treat itself and it offers a clean, crisp and hard hitting audio presentation throughout. It repeatedly takes full advantage of all seven available channels in order to send a whirlwind of activity zipping throughout the various speakers including flying dragons, action effects, music and plenty more whenever appropriate, all while making certain that any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously remain clean and fully audible. Overall, this is a tremendous Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers spectacularly throughout and shouldn’t disappoint in the slightest.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ offers a very nice collection of bonus material that fans should appreciate. Included on the release is an ‘Audio Commentary with Director/Writer Dean DeBlois’, along with a couple ‘Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Dean DeBlois’ (running approximately 5 minutes altogether) and a ‘Gag Reel’ (running approximately 3 minutes). Also included is the in-depth look at the making of the film in ‘Love and Legacy: Making How to Train Your Dragon’ (approximately 46 minutes), plus various Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘Building Berk’ (8 minutes), ‘Dreaming up the Dragons’ (8 minutes), ‘Fit for a Viking’ (5 minutes), ‘Forbidden Friendship’ (7 minutes) and ‘Test Drive’ (3 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Film Rating: 8/10
Disc Rating: 9/10

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The Live-Action Adaptation of ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD & Digital from DreamWorks & Universal Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘How To Train Your Dragon (2025)’ on 4K UHD at Amazon HERE!

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