Summary
DreamWorksis soaring into the live-action remake world this week with the release ofHow to Train Your Dragon, taking fans back to the Isle of Berk in a whole new way.With a stellar cast featuring the likes of Gerard Butler, Nick Frost, Mason Thames, and Gabriel Howell, among others, there is plenty of excitement about what the movie will entail.
The live-action version ofHow to Train Your Dragonis re-telling the same story as the 2010 original animation, which proved to be a massive success for DreamWorks. However, that doesn’t mean everything will be the same, as the new movie will have some subtle differences.
One of those will bein the form of Frost’s portrayalof Gobber the Belch. He’s one of the most popular characters from the animated movie and is certainly memorable because he only has one leg.In the animated version, it is his right leg that’s missing, but in the newHow to Train Your Dragon, keen-eyed viewers will notice it will be Frost’s left leg. However, this wasn’t done intentionally to provide a slight difference, as there’s a rather painful reason for this tweak as he explained toBBC Radio 2.
“In the animated version of this, Gobber’s right leg is the one he lost to a dragon. Now in our film it’s Gobber’s left leg. And I know there is a Reddit subpost somewhere saying, ‘Well, why, why? Why have you changed legs? That’s because I needed my knee replaced, and I was due to have it done a week before I got this gig. And Dean the director said, ‘So, which leg is it?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s my left knee that needs to be replaced.‘He said, ‘So, let’s not do the operation, let’s do the film and use that agony.‘Then, as soon as we wrapped, like two weeks later, I had my knee replaced.”
Gobber the Belch is one of the most experienced warriors on the Isle of Berk, and he certainly has the battle scars to show for it. While he’s a keen fighter, Gobber is also a talented blacksmith, which is something that proves to be vital. He’s also much more than just a warrior, as his close friendship with Stoick makes him an essential character in enhancing the relationship between the chief and his son Hiccup. That father-and-son bond is ultimately at theheart ofHow to Train Your Dragon. Therefore, Frost’s performance will be important in making that feel just as special in the live action. That’s where the audience’s focus will primarily be spent when it comes to Gobber, as opposed to which leg is missing.
Universal has placed a lot of expectations on theHow to Train Your Dragonlive-action because they have already confirmed thatHow to Train Your Dragon 2will also be getting a live-action adaptation. The company revealed that news before the first movie had even been released. While that showcases a level of confidence in this movie, it does add a lot of pressure to succeed from both a commercial and critical perspective to justify the sequel.
Fans will be heading into this movie being well aware of the story and what will happen, but seeing the dragons and this unique Viking world be brought to life in live-actiondoes have a lot of promiseto be entertaining. The trailers have looked fun, with the family-friendly tone of the animation seemingly being captured. Adding in some minor tweaks to make this version different from the original will also help it, as fans are being given new details and fresh takes on familiar subject matter. Even if it’s something that couldn’t be helped due to Frost’s injury, the subtle change will make his version ofHow to Train Your Dragonmemorable.
