鈥淗ow to Train Your Dragon鈥� filmmaker Dean DeBlois has heard the 鈥渞emake fatigue鈥� concerns. In Hollywood鈥檚 quest to get family audiences to movie theaters, the industry has often opted to re-package something familiar, lately in the form of a live-action, or hybrid remake. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn鈥檛.
That鈥檚 part of the reason why DeBlois, who directed the animated movies, wanted to also be the person behind the live action remake, . He knew how to do it, and how to do it well.
鈥淲e were careful,鈥� DeBlois said. 鈥淲e wanted to make sure that if we were going to do it, we wanted to do with a lot of integrity and love and make sure there鈥檚 nothing cynical about it.鈥�
Several of this summer鈥檚 family friendly options have come from a personal place including the 鈥淪murfs鈥� (July 18) and the Hawaii-shot 鈥淟ilo & Stitch鈥� (May 23). And a lot of them are PG-rated, including 鈥淭he Bad Guys 2鈥� (Aug. 1); 鈥淔reakier Friday鈥� (Aug. 8); And the new Pixar movie 鈥淓lio鈥� (June 20), about a space fanatic kid whose dream of being abducted by aliens comes true.
The PG rating is having a bit of a resurgence in box office cred after years of being the 鈥渦ncool鈥� little sibling to PG-13. Last year PG movies made up , led by 鈥淚nside Out 2.鈥�
Smurfs nostalgia and Rihanna
might seem like an odd match, but the Grammy-winning megastar is 鈥渟teeped in Smurfs knowledge,鈥� according to director Chris Miller. She told Miller that growing up in Barbados, her family鈥檚 television had one channel, and that channel played the Hanna-Barbera show constantly.
It鈥檚 why she wanted to produce and star as Smurfette in 鈥淪murfs,鈥� a hybrid reboot that takes the little blue creatures on a rescue mission to save Papa Smurf. There have been other attempts (including two with Neil Patrick Harris), but for this one Miller wanted to do something different that drew on the original comics by Belgian artist Peyo.
鈥淚 thought, let鈥檚 make a contemporary version and a real immersive visual experience but reference those drawings,鈥� Miller said.
They also had a sharp, witty script from Pam Brady, best known for her collaborations with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. Plus, Rihanna would contribute music too. This, Miller thought, could be really fun.
鈥淩ihanna鈥檚 performance is so great,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 really funny and gets to the heart and soul of everything.鈥�
Practically everyone in the starry voice cast (which includes Kurt Russell, John Goodman, Nick Offerman, Octavia Spencer, Amy Sedaris and Dan Levy) had some nostalgia for the Hanna-Barbera show. But no one needs a degree in 鈥渟murfology鈥� to take a chance on the film. Offerman said it reminds him of 鈥淭he Lego Movie.鈥�
鈥淚t has a freshness and a sass that I think makes it appealing and kind of imperative for everybody to see,鈥� Offerman said.
Making the dragons real
The already leaned into a live-action sensibility, but DeBlois took it to the next level for the new version, creating an immersive world where the dragons felt credible, and mythology that went deeper in telling this story of the unlikely friendship between a Viking boy Hiccup (Mason Thames) and a dragon named Toothless.
鈥淚t aspires to be and does deliver on the promise of being a crowd pleaser,鈥� DeBlois said. 鈥淚t has thrills and it has adventure and it has wonder, which I think is kind of rare and important.鈥�
Nico Parker, who plays the aspiring dragon hunter Astrid, was in awe of the level of detail the production put into the sets and atmosphere in making the isle of Berk feel real, from actual fire to 鈥渉orrible鈥� ambient fish smells. The dragons too all have animal kingdom counterparts to add to the authenticity 鈥� with the exception of Toothless, who they kept a little more fantastical.
鈥淓ven though Toothless鈥� eyes are huge and there鈥檚 no animal on earth, not even a blue whale that has eyes that big, we went with it because the smaller we made the eyes, the less Toothless-like he was,鈥� DeBlois said. 鈥淲e had to make sure that we weren鈥檛 just creating photoreal dragons, but we were maintaining the personalities.鈥�
For as popular as the books and films (which have made over $1.6 billion) are, there are also plenty of people who aren鈥檛 familiar with the stories. This version might be the thing that draws newcomers in (they've already announced a sequel).
鈥淔or those who do know the stories and have seen the animated films, it is a bit of nostalgia,鈥� DeBlois said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of returning to that world and seeing it through a new lens and maybe sharing that experience, perhaps with their own kids now.鈥�
Finding something for the whole family
The struggle to find something the whole family wants to watch is real.
, who reunited with her on-screen daughter for 鈥淔reakier Friday,鈥� wrote in an email that theirs is a 鈥渂ig spectacle film鈥� with 鈥渁ll the bells and whistles that a big comedy should have鈥� and 鈥渄eep emotional resonance.鈥�
鈥淓lio鈥� filmmaker also promised a blend of a wacky sci-fi adventure and 鈥渁lso a deep and poignant story about loneliness, looking for connection, and finding it where you least expect.鈥�
And no matter how many options are available for kids to watch on streaming services and YouTube, out of the home options remain a compelling draw. The box office backs it up: Last year PG movies outgrossed PG-13 movies for the first time in many years.
鈥淧G movies really punch above their weight," said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. "These films could represent a huge part of the summer box office,鈥�
鈥淟ilo & Stich鈥� director thinks the big screen experience remains important for young moviegoers.
鈥淚 fell in love with the movies, seeing them in theaters as a kid,鈥� he said. "I don鈥檛 think there鈥檚 yet any substitute for it.
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For more coverage of this summer鈥檚 upcoming films, visit:
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
