The live-action remake of animated classics has been a trend for a while now, but it’s hitting another level this blockbuster movie season, as moviegoers have the choice between two live-action remakes playing in movie theaters at the same time — How to Train Your Dragon, which releases everywhere on June 13, and Lilo & Stitch, which is playing in movie theaters right now.
Lilo & Stitch is the latest in Disney’s slate of live-action remakes, this one for the 2002 animated movie about a mischievous alien who is befriended by a young girl in Hawaii. Meanwhile, the live-action of 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon about a young Viking who becomes the first in his village to befriend a dragon instead of hunt one, is one of the first live-action remakes of a DreamWorks Animation movie.
Because of their proximity in release and the fact that they’re targeting the same primary audiences (both young kids and even a number of adults who are nostalgic for the animated movies), How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch are going to be compared to each other a lot, including with what so many movies are based on these days, their Rotten Tomatoes scores.
With reviews for How to Train Your Dragon now available, we’re making it easy for you to compare the two with a breakdown of how both movies are scoring on Rotten Tomatoes as of publication (we’ll update this post as How to Train Your Dragon gets more reviews in).
How to Train Your Dragon Rotten Tomatoes score
As of the morning on Monday, June 9, How to Train Your Dragon has an 84% “Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The early takeaway from critics is that the movie is a faithful adaptation of the original animated movie, maybe too much so.
Helen O’Hara of Empire Magazine wrote, “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.”
Slant Magazine’s Justin Clark adds, “As heartwarming as this story remains at its core, it’s hard to shake that you already know how it will play out.”
However, a number of critics praised what the live-action remake brought to the table.
Brian Truitt of USA Today called How to Train Your Dragon “a heartwarming, meaty adventure perfect for a new generation of young film fan (sic) but doesn’t forget to entertain the older movie kids, either.”
The Associated Press’ Lindsey Bahr wrote, “It’s the kind of immersive sensation and giddy wish fulfillment that might just have you forgetting momentarily to breathe and, maybe more importantly, that you’re still in a movie theater.”
At this time, there are no fan reactions or scores for the movie.
For comparison, the original How to Train Your Dragon has a 99% “Certified Fresh” score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Lilo & Stitch Rotten Tomatoes score
The bar that How to Train Your Dragon will have to clear with critics on Rotten Tomatoes is Lilo & Stitch's 72% “Fresh” score. However, it’s worth noting that the Disney live-action remake has a “Verified Hot” score of 93% from general moviegoers. The original Lilo & Stitch animated movie earned an 86% “Certified Fresh” score.
The critic consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is reminiscent of How to Train Your Dragon — the remake recaptures a lot of what movie fans loved about the original, though critiques revolve it either not quite living up to the original. Still, at 72% “Fresh,” Lilo & Stitch has one of the better scores for a Disney live-action remake (ahead of 2017’s Beauty and the Beast and 2023’s The Little Mermaid).
While the critical consensus can sum up the general feelings about a movie, the biggest factor for whether a movie is a hit or not is how it performs at the box office. And in that regard, Lilo & Stitch is a bonafide hit. The movie has made $335.7 million as of publication in the US, and $772.5 million worldwide. Those numbers make it the second highest-grossing movie of 2025 in the US to date, and the third highest-grossing in the world.
You can watch Lilo & Stitch in movie theaters right now, while How to Train Your Dragon premieres worldwide on June 13.
If you want to rewatch the animated movies as well, Lilo & Stitch is streaming exclusively on Disney Plus, while How to Train Your Dragon is streaming on Peacock and Max.
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