I go into live-action sequels with an atmosphere of despite and the lowest anticipation, and I normally walk out feeling like those feelings are justified. Cue the boring plot, insipid characters and uninteresting cinematography, and that is the mass of these money-making ploys. But the How to Teach Your Dragon remake from Studios, in cinemas then, certainly left me awestruck.

I went to see the live-action remake of this precious 2010 movie over the weekend and was troubled about whether it would keep the humor, laughter and charm of the active unique. I’m still reeling from how dead Disney’s live-action Lilo & Stitch was, especially since the initial is my all-time preferred animated movie. Just about every different Disney remake has even left me unimpressed. Do How to Train Your Dragon, another preferred animated picture of mine, also become a remake I’d hope not happened?

I’m happy, and rather surprised, to record that this adaptation was magnificent.

My biggest problem with live-action movies is that normally don’t have over the weirdness and creativity of the active counterparts, which are unrestrained by the bounds of reality. Worlds and characters can be as quirky and brilliant as the head allows, while gags may be beautifully exaggerated. Live-action films, on the other hand, tend to destroy that humor by flattening styles and personas into a real-world environment. Characters become firm, repeated jokes fall straight and lackluster computer-generated pictures makes the story feel even less believable.

But the How to Teach Your Dragon remake somehow makes a fictional world full of creatures feel yet more substantial, thanks to brilliant CGI, sweeping landscapes and a pleasant music once again composed by the famous John Powell. The actors maintain the crucial mannerisms of their active counterparts, from Hiccup’s frightened emotion to Astrid’s resolute courage and Stoick’s fierce perseverance.

This was all truly aided by the return of chairman Dean DeBlois, who artfully preserved figure remarks and habits along with the emotion of the story from start to finish. Instead of feeling like a rushed recounting, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon takes its time with world-building and scene-setting, allowing viewers to feel involved in the wonderful, magical landscape and as closely connected to the multi-dimensional characters as the original film.

Perhaps most critically, this remake holds firmly to the original movie’s plot, without making it feel like a hollow duplication devoid of soul and action. Rather, the dazzling sequences, from Hiccup’s epic first ride aboard Toothless the dragon ( goosebumps ) to the high-stakes battles, bring this story to life in ways no other live-action remake has.

This film not only lives up to the brilliance and wonder of the animated rendition but at times even rivals its thrill, thanks to the recharged score ( the addition of bagpipes is a welcome one ) and breathtaking cinematography. The remarkable detail on the dragons, from their colorful scales to Toothless’s vivid green eyes, and the gripping flight sequences seamlessly bridge the gap between real-world and fantasy, making the whole endeavor delightfully believable and immersive.          

There’s still reason to be wary of live-action remakes. No matter how good they are, they still come off as an undisguised tactic by studios to rake in dollars on titles they know you love. And yet I still make the effort to see every single one, despite my trepidation that yet another childhood classic is likely to be massacred by a drab retelling no one asked for. But How to Train Your Dragon has tempered my live-action skepticism and left me spellbound. It demonstrates what no other remake has before: That you really can pump life into a real-world retelling and maintain the wonder of the original. I hope other studios are taking notes.