section_path: Reception/Critical response
section_name: Critical response
paragraph_text: Critical response
  
  On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 209 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Crafted with loving fidelity to the animated classic by original co-director Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon doesn't best the first iteration but still reaches enchanting heights on its own." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same as the original animated film, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 94% overall positive score, with 83% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
  
  Brandon Yu of The New York Times gave the film a positive review and said, "This live action remake of the 2010 animated film is religiously faithful to the original. The result is exhilarating at times, if somewhat mechanical." Dessi Gomez of Deadline Hollywood also gave the film a positive review and said, "While certain details in specific scenes were modified and some dialogue subtly shifted to enhance the story, the new version follows the original plot’s three-act structure to a tee." Helen O'Hara of Empire Magazine gave the film three stars out of five and said, "It’s clearly made with real love and care, but shows far too much deference to its progenitor. Even in a remake, we need more originality and less playing the hits."
  
  Radheyan Simonpillai of The Guardian gave the film two stars out of five and said, "DreamWorks tries to find success with the Disney live-action remake template but falls short." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "the new version of How to Train Your Dragon doesn't do a single thing better than the original. It's not quite as soulless as the worst of these live-action remakes."
  
  On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 209 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Crafted with loving fidelity to the animated classic by original co-director Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon doesn't best the first iteration but still reaches enchanting heights on its own." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 61 out of 100, based on 43 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, the same as the original animated film, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it a 94% overall positive score, with 83% saying they would definitely recommend the film.
  
  Brandon Yu of The New York Times gave the film a positive review and said, "This live action remake of the 2010 animated film is religiously faithful to the original. The result is exhilarating at times, if somewhat mechanical." Dessi Gomez of Deadline Hollywood also gave the film a positive review and said, "While certain details in specific scenes were modified and some dialogue subtly shifted to enhance the story, the new version follows the original plot’s three-act structure to a tee." Helen O'Hara of Empire Magazine gave the film three stars out of five and said, "It’s clearly made with real love and care, but shows far too much deference to its progenitor. Even in a remake, we need more originality and less playing the hits."
  
  Radheyan Simonpillai of The Guardian gave the film two stars out of five and said, "DreamWorks tries to find success with the Disney live-action remake template but falls short." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com gave the film two stars out of four and wrote, "the new version of How to Train Your Dragon doesn't do a single thing better than the original. It's not quite as soulless as the worst of these live-action remakes."