'How to Train Your Dragon' Expands on Message of Finding Common Ground in Live-Action Reboot

Sometimes, despite centuries filled with tradition and rules that may or may not cooperate with modern society, we need to seek change for the ultimate good for ourselves but more importantly the people around us. 

For example:

Telling time a via a mechanized clock rather than relying on the sun;

Driving a car instead of using a horse and buggy for our transportation needs;

And most importantly, the ability for various people groups to get along and live in unity.

In How to Train Your Dragon, releasing this weekend in theaters nationwide, three-time Oscar nominee and Golden Globe winning director Dean DeBlois, was not only challenged to create a live-action reimagining of the highly acclaimed animation trilogy but also tell a compelling story of ancient cultures colliding, torn by fear and misunderstanding.

While the thought of hate-filled tensions between a clan of Vikings and a rather aggressive flight of dragons seems pedestrian when compared to a host of similar issues currently bubbling in the world, it is important to note How to Train Your Dragon delivers an important message about navigating a delicate path toward peace.

I recently sat down with DuBlois to discuss the challenges he faced in converting a series of classic animated movies into a live action feature, the overarching themes he was trying to convey, and what character he identifies with the most.

For every director, writer, or producer, there always seems to be a moment where you say to yourself, I have to be part of this project! For How to Train Your Dragon, what was that moment for you?

It was the very first phone call that I received from Universal Studios. They were talking about kind of kicking the tires on whether or not a live action re-imagining of How to Train Your Dragon would be a good idea. And they called me to get my feelings on it. And I thought, well, if this is happening, then please consider me as the writer and director of it, because I know where the heart of it is. I know where the joy of this and the wonder of this story is, and I know this world and these characters very well. So even though I hadn't made a live action film, I said, please consider me for the role because I can protect that and I can migrate that wonder and that emotion from the animated trilogy into this live action medium.

Obviously, How To Train Your Dragon was a series of very popular animated kids films. This is live action. So for you, and you already have mentioned this, for you as the director, what were some of your greatest challenges of taking those computer generated characters and making them become real and come alive?

It was twofold, maybe threefold. We had to make the dragons feel convincing in the real world so that they could share the screen with human actors. We had to populate the movie with really strong actors who could embody the spirit of the roles, and take it from caricature, which is the language of animation, and turn them into something that was very nuanced, rich, and truthful. And then the third thing was to place the whole story into a grounded reality. We needed to find our world and sort of build it out in such a way that it feels like a place you could visit.

What were some of the overarching themes that you are trying to convey? I think of things like courage, hope, and faith in something bigger than yourself. What were the top themes that you were trying to push forward on the screen for viewers to see and absorb?

I think the core message is Hiccups’ (main character) compassion and empathy. He's able to defy tradition and traditional thinking and think for himself. He takes a chance on a perceived enemy in order to uncover a new solution. In the end, that puts to rest an age old conflict between these humans and creatures. So, I think it's the fact that he marches to the beat of a different drum and he has the courage to defy the expectation of his family and society. He is able to think beyond the traditional grooming to be a new voice, and a new leader to take his people forward.

Obviously these films are a major undertaking. They can consume your life in the process of making a film like this. Did you learn anything new about yourself that you never realized before?

I suppose in working on the trilogy, I did kind of map my own version of a story theme that I've always loved in other movies and books. And that is, I love stories where you have two characters from very disparate kinds of backgrounds and they collide for a moment in time. They have such a profound effect on one another that even though they must separate in the end of the story through death or other life circumstances, they remain forever changed because of that interaction. And there are so many stories that I could cite that play into that theme. The Black Stallion or Titanic could be other examples. But for me, How to Train Your Dragon became that. So there was a moment in time where this boy and this dragon interacted and they helped one another so that by the end, the boy became a man. He can stand on his own and he has the courage and wisdom to let the dragon that got him there also thrive on his own. And so, I feel good about being able to bring that sort of theme that was so important to me, forward in my own version.

How to Train Your Dragon stars Marcus Thames (Evel), Gerard Butler (300), Nicco Parker (Dumbo), and Nick Frost (Paul).

WATCH A TRAILER FOR HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: