How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is the third and final installment of the trilogy, and focuses on Hiccup and Toothless gather more dragons to bring home to Berk under sanctuary. However, when they cross paths with Grimmel, the Night Fury hunter, Hiccup must now live up to his father’s legacy as a chief, searching for the Dragon’s home so his people and dragons can live in peace, all while Toothless becomes smitten by a Light Fury.
It’s hard to believe it’s been almost a decade since the first How to Train Your Dragon came to theaters, as it ended up being the starting point for when Dreamworks Animation was taking a dramatic turn for the better. While nothing new storywise, it was Chris Sanders and Dean DeBois’s execution that made it somehow more impactful that it should have been, because they made these characters so enticing and the animation at the time was top-notch for the studio.
Four years later, we got the sequel; while Sanders was unable to return, as he was working on The Croods prior, DeBois as sole writer/director managed to bring nearly everything that worked about the first film to the next level, but also improves certain elements that didn’t seem to work as well, particularly with Hiccup’s parents. The animation looked a lot more polished, with the details in the dragon scales and armor on the vikings looks a lot clearer than the previous film.
When Universal acquired DreamWorks Animation, there was some anguish about how they were going to handle their films; considering Universal also owns Illumination, which most of their films consist of either Despicable Me or films that are trying to be that franchise, it does leave the sense of quality control up to question. And with their first film under the banner being How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, that sense of worry was present; thankfully, the film managed to put my worries to rest, and delivered what I predicted would be the strongest third installment that DreamWorks has put out yet.
Once again, the animation is incredible; this series truly benefits with time, as much like with the Toy Story trilogy, you can definitely feel progress of improvement with each installment (ironic, since the first film came out the same year as Toy Story 3). Along with perfecting the use of 3D in this trilogy, the visuals and depth are absolutely astonishing; the flying scenes, especially through the titular Hidden World, the action scenes with dragons crawling on the walls, and even the shot of Hiccup in his dragon armor walking through fire, tells that Dean DeBois truly wanted this to be a striking looking finale.
Hiccup and Toothless are still very likable, and it’s nice to see another sense of growth come to these two. This series has carried the theme of growing up and taking responsibility as a leader, something that’s been handled surprisingly well. Hiccup’s biggest challenge has always been whether or not he can be the strong and dependable leader his dad was, as well as maintain the order and traditions of Berk; even his relationship with Astrid, there’s a sense of growth between the two that felt natural and mature, resulting in one of the better developed relationships of any animated couple. Mirroring that is Toothless and the Light Fury, who also have the endangered species dilemma brought about them.
Where the film does falter is in repeating some elements from the previous film, such as with the villain who hunts/captures dragons; his design is striking and F. Murray Abraham’s vocal performance is enjoyable, but he does feel like another Drago from the second film. There’s also the fear I had with Universal overseeing the movie, in which they shove unnecessary comedy for the kids; there’s one scene in which they do the “annoying prisoner” trope, and while the jokes aren’t bad, they do overstay their welcome a little bit.
For a final chapter of a trilogy, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World delivered a very welcoming and satisfying end, that I was surprised to have been growing up along with; the first film came out the year I graduated middle school, the second one was the year I graduated high school, and 2019 is the year I’m graduating from college. While I may not think it’s as good as the previous film due to the comedy and a couple repeated trends, the amount of effort put into everything else is executed to its best. There haven’t been talks about a fourth film being in the works, and that’s probably for the best; considering Disney is putting out Toy Story 4 this summer, it might be best for DreamWorks to either just leave their franchise as is, or wait it out to see if this is worth it. Besides, I’d prefer what we got, as opposed to Universal milking the franchise for a year. It truly was the strongest third film in a franchise DreamWorks has put out.
Rating: A-
