When Dreamworks first announced that they were planning on making a live action remake of the classic animation How To Train Your Dragons many fans were confused. Why would they want to remake a film that many people already class as a classic.
Of course the usual cries of ‘they’ll ruin it’ and ‘the new team won’t understand what fans love about the original’ were heard right around the internet. But then came an even bigger surprise when it was announced that writer/director of the original film, Dean DeBlois, would once again be at the helm. That was quickly followed by news that actor Gerard Butler would once again play one of the leads – the fearless Stoick.
Recently we were lucky enough to be able sit down with DeBlois and Butler to talk about not only why they decided to be involved with the reimagining but also what it was like working on it.
“The time it took to convince me was immediate,” says DeBlois with a laugh when asked how long it took him to decide to work on the remake. “The moment that Universal floated the idea that they might want to make a live-action version of How to Train Your Dragon, my gut response was a defensive one. I just wanted to protect the world, and the characters, and the heart of the story that I knew so well. And very selfishly, I didn’t want to see somebody else’s version of it. So, I volunteered, despite my general dislike ofremakes of animated films. Coming from the world of animation, being an animator, it’s just something that I feel like often generates a lesser-than version of the animated source. In this case, I was determined that, if we were gonna do it, we were gonna do it right and protect the wonder, and the heart and just the wish fulfillment of what this story promises.”
That leads to an obvious question – did he find anything he could do with this being a live action film that he wasn’t able to do with the animation.
“Yes, I think the most surprising thing for meand the biggest education I had going into thisas a rookie, live-action film director, was the magic that happens when you do all of the prep work and you answer as many questions as you can about the sets and the costumes and the logistics. Once you’re there on the day, despite the fact that you have so many shots you have to get done, there’s a magic that happens when you hand it over to the actors. And if the actors really do embody their characters, you can sit back and actually be ready to pivot camera, and to pivot lights, and pivot your ideas around what happens naturally – the cadence, the silences, the gestures, the blocking. It all changes once you have actors in there playing it with truth. And that’s really what you’re looking for, that’s something that Bill Pope, our cinematographer, was quick to educate me on, just say, ignore the 300 people around you, this is what you’re looking at. You’re looking for the truth in this exchange.”
The attention then turns to Butler with the question what was it like bringing a character he has voiced so many times to the screen in-person.
“Hm, well, I had a lot of love for this character, for this franchise,” he explains. “You know, obviously it performed very well, and resonated deeply, and I feel like Dean has allowed me to bring this BIG energy. But it was only my voice, so, suddenly having a chance to bring that energy to set, I kind of felt like the, kind of a custodian like Dean, you know, to kind of come in with thatpower and when I got a chance to, you know, wear that costume, wear that beard and live like that, you’re spending all day like that. Not only a couple of hours at a time in the recording booth, but now I was kind of living and breathing it, Stoick, and making that kind of physical commitment and that transformation, not to throw it off, but he (DeBlois) did it so brilliantly, that, that commitment to a character.”
“AndI’ve done a lot of that in my life,” he continues. “But I think this one was much more interesting cause I had a chance to go much deeper with this. I think that… that in the live action with Stoick, that, you get to see those contradictions, you get to see those quiet moments, you get to see the pain, a man, you know, kind of bound by, by traditions. Those, you know, it’s almost like a held breath with him. And then, a vulnerability and an unraveling that I don’t think I could give as much to in the movie, but I could definitely do that here.”
“So it felt like there was a lot more ability to give a lot more nuance in the bigger parts of Stoick,” adds Butler. “But especially inhis inner struggles and workings. And, ultimately, that’s what grabs an audience. We love the visual feast, and he (DeBlois) did such an incredible job. But it’s those moments, you know, between Gobber and Hiccup, or me and Hiccup, they are the ones that grab an audience, so they’re the ones that were beautiful to examine and work with Dean, and he created so beautifully as well.”
As we delve further into what made this film such an emotional journey for Butler he admitted that while playing the role on-set and off-set life came together in a very strong way.
“Know, what helped me? Costumes,” he says strongly while we talk about how he got to the emotional core of Stoick. “I’m not gonna lie, I struggled a lot in this because the costume was so heavy. And being in that for, you know, hours and hours in hair and makeup and in that costume, and then going into those emotional scenes. It was a tough, and I don’t know how I did get rid of it. I… I, my, my mom was very, very ill in the middle of this movie. And I was in Belfast, so I would go back a lot of weekends to see her. That was very emotional, and it brought a lot of stuff up for me as Stoick. And she passed away shortly after the movie. And, yeah, and I want to thank Dean, cause he put at the very end of the movie a dedication to my mom. And I was watching myself up there on the screen the other night going, that’s not even me, that’s my mom. Like, part of the transformation that I was able to have because of the incredible costume. But I’m watching that. Normally, I’m watching me and I’m criticizing me, but I was like, “is that even me?” I almost saw more of my mom in there.”
“But I feel like the more the movie went on, the more I became Stoick,” he continues. “The more I went home on my own kind of, and went just, get away from me. And I was very quiet, I was very tired. And then afterwards I went on holiday, cause I had to kind of shake it all off. Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing time, too. But the big discovery for me was the deeper, darker emotional of this man clinging on to so much. And they were my favorite scenes working, working with this young man (Mason Thames), who’s a phenomenal, phenomenal actor. Cause it feels like, you know, it’s all on Stoick’s shoulders and he has to cover up. And, and I said, there was like a held breath. He’s holding on, there’s this crack in his arm and he’s holding on with big, you know, pontificating here, there. But really he’s… he’s grappling with so much, and then in the end he just unwinds. And that was very powerful experience, but it was also very emotional and very exhausting.”
How To Train Your Dragon is in cinemas right now.
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