Live Animation! (DOUBLE FEATURE): “How to Train Your Dragon” (2025) / “Lilo & Stitch” (2025)

(Source: TeePee Drive-In) 

WRITER’S NOTE: The following is based on notes I made between May and July of 2025, during each film’s initial release. 

How to Train Your Dragon (2025) 

It’s interesting that, in the early months of the summer of 2025, we got two live-action remakes of animated films from the last twenty-five years that were helmed by filmmaking duo Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders. The former made his directorial debut in live-action with (what turned out to be) a shot-for-shot remake of DreamWorks’ 2010 animated take on Cressida Cowell’s beloved children’s book, How to Train Your Dragon. It was also a first for a live-action version of a DreamWorks Animation entry (released by parent company Universal). 

The same premise and story are present: Hiccup, a young outcast in a colony of Vikings, befriends a mysterious dragon and discovers that everything they’ve been taught about the beasts may not be all it seems. The main difference with this Dragon is its amped-up action and violence, with select sequences filmed for IMAX. Ditto its roster of actors, with an engaging young cast—each with unique personalities and portrayals—headed by up-and-comers Mason Thames (who makes a good Hiccup) and Nico Parker (determined as Astrid). In fact, there are more female Vikings in this take. While Edgar Wright regular Nick Frost fills in for Craig Ferguson as dragon trainer Gobber, Gerard Butler is the only actor from the original voice cast to reprise his role (in the flesh) as Stoic. And he does so with such passion and gravitas. (The man is from Scotland, after all.) Meanwhile, Toothless and the other dragons have more details yet are not too far from their iconic CG designs. Still, if you’ve seen the original, you’ll know what to expect here. Mostly. Plus, the flying sequences feel kind of dizzy in flesh and blood. 

Ironically, many critics and audience members have considered this an exceptional live-action take, compared with most cinematic remakes nowadays (particularly from Disney). Perhaps its greatest strength in that area is the fact that much of the original team behind the animated trilogy returned for this variation (including composer John Powell, whose compositions are, once again, endearing and ethereal). As such, this Dragon maintains the heart, entertainment, and cinematic value of its predecessor while expanding the world and character arcs. It also runs 30-minutes longer. “You’d have to be crazy to stay here,” Hiccup tells us, regarding Berk. 

Both the father-son story and the boy-and-his-pet arc guide this epic fantasy-adventure, going arguably more depth with Hiccup (including his self-awareness), Astrid (her tenacity) and Snotlout (his eagerness to please), and their respective ancestries, heritages, and legacies. Ditto expectations they set for themselves—or which others set for them. In Hiccup's case, while he starts out as an outcast, he sees what nobody else sees and makes changes that nobody else has ever made. As such, he develops wits and smarts more than brawn. Not to mention some exceptional engineering skills. 

Sure, it’s a beast of a different color, if you will. One that goes big, for sure. Yet, it's filled with moments that are just as (if not more) powerful and emotional, maintaining the nostalgia, excitement, and magic of the original while working on its own, even if it doesn’t quite reach the same heights. 

Lilo & Stitch (2025) 

Former Disney artist Chris Sanders reprised his most well-known voiceover work in a story about a malevolent blue alien who crash lands on the islands of Hawaii and befriends a lonely little girl. This new take on the beloved, hand-drawn Disney classic, Lilo & Stitch, looked like it had more originality, especially when compared with most of the live-action remakes that the Mouse House had been turning out since 2010. (Is that a coincidence or what?) And it turns out, that was true. Mostly. 

Filmed in Hawaii on a bigger scope, director Dean Fleischer-Camp (Marcel the Shell With Shoes On) embraces the culture as the original did. Newcomer Maia Keloha (adorable as Lilo) and Sydney Elizabeth Ahodong (as older sister Nani) lead an authentic cast as siblings, whose relationship is complicated (since both tragically lost their parents) but genuine. Sanders is one of the few cast members from an animated feature to reprise his signature role in a remake (after Jim Cummings, Frank Welker, and James Earl Jones before him). And it's nice to see appearances by Tia Carrere and Jason Scott Lee (the original voices of Nani and David, respectively), and screen veteran Amy Hill (as a family neighbor). “We’re not just neighbors," the latter tells us, "We are ohana.” 

The familiar plot adds new details and twists to characters like Nani (who has college aspirations) and Cobra Bubbles (who works with the CIA from the get-go). On the other hand, Jumba (voiced by Zack Galifianakis) is more antagonistic (amusing but unlikable), while the ferocious Gantu from the original is nowhere in this iteration. We do, however, get the maintained character designs of the Grand Council Woman (voiced by Hannah Waddington), Pleakley (voiced by a scene-stealing Billy Magnussen), and, of course, certainly Stitch. Plus, both Jumba and Pleakley take on human disguises of their respective voice actors. 

It’s amazing how many people love Stitch. (And I mean LOVE him.) Since his debut over two decades prior, he’s crossed demographics and cultures as much as—and arguably more so—than Jack Skellington and the cast of The Nightmare Before Christmas. While this billion-dollar hit is nostalgic for millennials who grew up with the original (the “Hawaiian Roller-Coaster Ride” scene is a standout, while the end credits have some extra fun), it misses some of the warmth and sincerity of its predecessor. 

Still, its story of familial bonds (particularly the theme of “ohana" and not leaving anybody behind, including oneself) is sweet and heartwarming. It decently manages to present the difficult and sad realities of Lilo and Nani's situation and their determination to stay a family. Plus, the redemptive arc of Stitch has Lilo seeing, believing in, and bringing out the best in him and others, including ourselves.