How to Train Your Dragon (2025) review

Soaring Back to Berk: Why How to Train Your Dragon (2025) Rekindled My Obsession

As someone who has spent an embarrassing amount of hours dissecting the flight physics of animated dragons and ranking fictional fire-breathers by personality, How to Train Your Dragon (2025) felt less like a movie premiere and more like a long-overdue reunion with old friends. Yes, I’m biased. Yes, I have a Toothless figurine on my desk. And yes — I approached this fourth entry in DreamWorks’ beloved saga with equal parts excitement and dread. Could they recapture the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of the original trilogy? Would my favorite Night Fury get the screen time he deserves? The short answer: mostly.

The Story: Familiar Winds, Fresh Faces

Set years after Hiccup and Toothless bid their bittersweet farewell in The Hidden World, this installment finds Berk at peace — or so it seems. A new threat rises from beyond the archipelago, forcing Hiccup to don the chieftain’s mantle once more while also introducing a new generation of dragon-riders-in-training (read: the future face of the franchise).

While the central conflict of protecting dragons from human greed isn’t exactly breaking new ground, it’s handled with care and warmth. There’s a comforting familiarity in the way the film echoes classic beats — discovery, danger, daring escapes — yet it manages to thread enough new character dynamics and world-building to keep things engaging. The younger cast members add a spark of youthful defiance and humor that balances Hiccup’s matured, sometimes weary leadership.

Is it formulaic? Occasionally. But when you love something this much, it’s less about reinventing the wheel and more about seeing how beautifully it still spins.

Animation: An Absolute Visual Feast

Let’s get this out of the way: How to Train Your Dragon (2025) might be DreamWorks’ best-looking animated film to date. The textures on dragon scales shimmer with life, and the lighting during nighttime sequences — particularly a mid-film storm battle — is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. Water effects, cloud physics, and subtle environmental details make the world of Berk feel more tangible than ever.

And the dragons. Oh, the dragons. From familiar faces like Stormfly and Meatlug to newly introduced species with bioluminescent wings and crystalline horns, each creature is rendered with loving detail and unique movement patterns. I could’ve watched an entire film of these beasts just soaring through mountain canyons and across misty seas.

Sound and Score: The Heartbeat of the Franchise

John Powell’s score once again delivers those soaring orchestral swells that punch you right in the heart. Themes from earlier films weave effortlessly with new compositions, creating a sense of continuity while marking this chapter as distinct. The music enhances every emotional moment without drowning it in sentiment, and those signature flight sequences wouldn’t be half as affecting without Powell’s strings guiding them.

Voice performances remain solid across the board. Jay Baruchel’s Hiccup has aged convincingly, with a gravelly earnestness replacing his youthful awkwardness. America Ferrera’s Astrid is sharp and steady, while the younger voice actors bring energy and humor to the mix. No one phones it in — and thank Odin for that.

Themes: Still Soaring with Meaning

Thematically, the film continues to explore the tension between freedom and safety, leadership and legacy. What does it mean to protect something you love without caging it? How do you prepare the next generation to face dangers you can’t predict? These ideas aren’t exactly new territory for the franchise, but How to Train Your Dragon (2025) handles them with tenderness and a refreshing lack of cynicism.

There’s also a lovely, if subtle, commentary on the temptation to exploit what’s beautiful and rare, framed through the villain’s schemes to harness dragon power for personal gain. The film reminds us — as it always has — that understanding and compassion are far mightier forces than control.

Is How to Train Your Dragon (2025) the strongest entry in the series? No. Does it rekindle the childlike awe of flying alongside dragons? Absolutely. It’s a film made with care, reverence, and a genuine understanding of why these stories matter to so many of us. For fellow dragon obsessives and animation enthusiasts alike, this return to Berk is well worth the flight.

I left the theater smiling like a fool, already craving a rewatch. If that’s not the mark of a successful sequel, I don’t know what is.