Live-action adaptations of beloved animated movies are nothing new.
Disney has been creating such films for three decades.
However, they didnt hit their stride until the last 10 years or so.
So, why are devotees championing DreamWorks first attempt while simultaneously pessimistic about every Disney live-action adaptation?
So the blue speedster feels relevant enough for this analogy.
In 2019, Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for the live-actionSonic the Hedgehogmovie.
To say reception was negative would be an understatement.
Paramount was ridiculed by online fans for the movies radical design of Sonic.
Aficionados of the video game character felt like they massacred their boy.
They were rewarded with a box office hit.
Which brings us back toHow to Train Your Dragon.
Now compare this with how Disney has over-designed their animated characters when making the transition to photorealism.
The lions in the 2019The Lion Kingremake just look like normal lions.
Gone are the expressions of the revered animated picture, replaced with ironically lifeless interpretations of the quadrupedal characters.
The Little Mermaid(2023) remake faced a similar issue.
This looked especially awkward during musical numbers, making viewers feel detached from the source.
For DreamWorks foray into live-action to succeed, they must dodge this.
Even with just one brief teaser released,How to Train Your Dragonis avoiding this predicament.
Toothless looks like Toothless.
But ultimately its undeniably Toothless, and fans are embracing the accuracy with open arms.
