The live-action adaptation of the hit animated film How to Train Your Dragon has kept one iconic element of Toothless' design, despite how unrealistic it is. Loosely based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Cressida Cowell, the animated film turned into a major success, which then spawned two sequels. The live-action film, which is also directed by Dean DeBlois, is set to release this year, with a trailer already teasing looks at Toothless, Hiccup, and the remaining characters.

Speaking with NBC, DeBlois shared an intriguing detail about the live-action adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon by keeping Toothless' otherworldly big eyes. The director revealed that they did try to decrease the size of the dragon's iconic eyes, but he found that doing so made him less of the dragon fans have come to love. They found a compromise by making other elements surrounding the eyes more convincing. Read what he had to say in full:

Toothless is an interesting example because the size of his eyes, that doesn't exist in nature, not even on a whale. But the smaller we made them, the less appealing and the less Toothless he became, very quickly. So, we had to find this balance where we're cheating with nature by making his eyes bigger, but we can lean into the rippling muscles over the skeleton, the believable scales, the believable textures, the wetness of the gums and the teeth and everything else, and hopefully get away with the big green eyes. I hope that's the end result. Maybe I'm too close to it, but I hope in the end, you watch it and say, 'I believe it. I believe that character could exist alongside the other animals and the humans.'

What This Means For The Live-Action Version Of How To Train Your Dragon

Keeping Toothless' Big Eyes Bodes Well

Before the first trailer dropped for How to Train Your Dragon, there were a lot of questions as to how much the live-action version would replicate the animated original. Many viewers were curious about the eyes, in particular, since those were Toothless' most memorable and key features, as he looked cute. Despite initial reservations, the trailers have seemingly illustrated this design well, without diluting any of the crucial physical characteristics of Toothless.

The How to Train Your Dragon franchise also has a huge fanbase, which meant nailing the design was crucial to bringing the live-action movie to fruition. DeBlois and his creative team managed to balance the realistic depiction with the distinguishing quirkiness from the animated film. Considering that DeBlois also directed the original trilogy, it makes sense that a lot of time was dedicated to experimenting with the designs and finding the right texture and size. It's worth noting that the director has experience as a story and layout artist for animated movies like The Lion King and Atlantis: The Lost Empire, which makes him an expert in this field.

Our Take On Keeping Toothless' Big Eyes

Fans May Not Have Liked A Toothless With Normal Eyes

Considering the strong fanbase, it was probably the best decision to keep Toothless' eyes big. I can't imagine what Toothless would look like with normally-sized eyes. As DeBlois found, it would have resulted in a diluted version of Toothless. Keeping in mind that the film is in the fantasy genre, big eyes on a dragon is ultimately acceptable. Based on the trailers so far, DeBlois and his creative team made a solid live-action version of Toothless for How to Train Your Dragon.

Source: NBC