Only a few weeks ago, we were somewhat lamenting that another animated film had been adapted into such a faithful live-action version — even while liking the box office hit that is “Lilo & Stitch,” the latest of Disney’s updates on one of its animated faves.

We should have similar reservations regarding the new take on “How to Train Your Dragon.”

In theaters this week, it is a live-action remake of the 2010 DreamWorks Animation hit, based on author Cressida Cowell’s book series. And as Disney typically does with its updates, DreamWorks has played it very safe. Even with a longer runtime than the original, this version is very similar.

Here’s the thing, though: As familiar as it may be, this is a rousing affair.

Like the original, it is an adventure that tugs on the heartstrings as it develops the relationship between a misunderstood young Viking and a legendarily feared dragon.

Plus, with its scale and scope, “How to Train Your Dragon” makes sense for live action in this post-”Game of Thrones” world, when the digital wizardry needed to bring dragons to life is more convincing than ever.

Just how safe has the studio played it? They hired Dean DeBlois — the co-director of the animated version, along with Chris Sanders, the tandem, coincidentally, that helmed 2002’s “Lilo & Stitch” — to direct the update. DeBlois, who also helmed 2014’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and 2019’s “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” — knows this universe like the back of his clawed dragon hand.

While Gerard Butler, who voiced the role of large-and-in-charge Viking leader Stoick the Vast, fills out the character nicely on the screen, franchise newcomer Mason Thames steps confidently into the not-so-confident shoes of our young hero and Stoick's son, Hiccup.

Not the warrior type, the scrawny Hiccup is the apprentice of lovingly goofy blacksmith Gobber (Nick Frost). However, because he wants to please Dad and because he’d love to impress a young, fierce female Viking, Astrid (Nico Parker), he’s convinced himself he wants to fight alongside the other Vikings who hunt dragons in the name of protecting their harsh island home, Berk.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, Hiccup, who has a gift for constructing contraptions, uses one to strike a dreaded Night Fury dragon, about which little is known because, it is said, no Viking who has encountered one has lived to tell of it. However, when Hiccup soon comes face to face with the beast … he befriends him, of course, naming him Toothless in the process.

Spending his free time at the secluded spot in which the winged Toothless is recovering from being hit, Hiccup works to earn his trust, soon developing a mount that enables him to ride on the jet-black creature’s back once he’s able to take to the sky again.

Meanwhile, Hiccup is engaged with Astrid and other young Vikings in training sessions designed to teach them how to take out various dragon types — Stoick granting his son this wish right at the moment Hiccup no longer had the slightest interest in hurting a dragon again. These scenes account for some of this movie’s extra minutes, giving the viewer a larger window into how Hiccup uses what he’s learned from his friend to defeat other dragons in the most gentle of ways.

While these sessions comprise a contest, the winner of which will be expected to kill a dragon in front of the residents of Berk, Hiccup has a more immediate problem: Astrid, who’s never paid him much attention, has become very interested in him — increasingly suspicious of him — and follows him to Toothless’ hideout.

It’s up to Hiccup and Toothless to convince her that the dragons shouldn’t be seen as the Vikings’ enemies, giving her the ride of a lifetime in the process.

Penned by DeBlois, the 2025 “Dragon” changes a few lines of dialogue here and there, not for for the better, and a couple of key supporting characters — young goofball Viking twins Ruffnut (Bronwyn James) and Tuffnut (Harry Trevaldwyn) — aren’t as funny as their animated counterparts (voiced by Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller).

Mostly, though, this is on par with the original, the new film getting all the important things right, including dynamics Hiccup shares with Toothless, Astrid and Stoick and the way his perceived weaknesses come to be seen as strengths.

It doesn’t hurt that Thames (“The Black Phone”) is a great choice for the easy-to-root-for Hiccup and that Parker (“Dumbo”) perfectly embodies Astrid — and that the actors enjoy an easy chemistry.

Oh, and that big climactic battle, the details of which we won’t reveal? Yeah, it’s done justice by the live-action and digital dragons.

Executives haven’t waited to see how this movie performs at the box office before green-lighting a live-action “How to Train Your Dragon 2,” set for 2027, and we look forward to soaring with this Hiccup and this Toothless again.

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‘HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON’

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG (for sequences of intense action, and peril)

Running time: 2:05

How to watch: In theaters June 13

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