How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD

 When the first How to Train Your Dragon film came out in 2010, it was something of a surprise. By that time, DreamWorks Animation had garnered the reputation for being the studio of obnoxious celebrity voiceovers and annoying pop culture references – a reputation that gets increasingly unfair the more I read Callum Petch’s wonderful DreamWorks Animation retrospective which you can find right here (https://callumpetch.com/category/the-dreamworks-animation-retrospective/). Anyway, audiences and critics were blown away by just how visually beautiful and character-driven the first film was, turning it into a smash hit for DreamWorks. So obviously, a sequel was released four years later, and received critical praise for its unpredictable story and emotional center. And now, here we are at Movie #3 with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

 Set one year after the events of How to Train Your Dragon 2, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless – along with his Vikings Astrid (America Ferrera), Snoutlout (Jonah Hill), Ruffnut and Tuffnut (Kristen Wiig and Justin Rupple), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and his mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) - have been spending their time rescuing dragons from ruthless trappers and bringing them back to the island of Berk. But matters are complicated when a trapper named Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham) threatens to destroy Berk and its dragons, Hiccup and the rest of Berk pack up and try to find a new home in the legendary Hidden World, a mythical refuge for dragons. Along the way, Toothless meets a white Night Fury – or Light Fury as Astrid names it – thus waking Hiccup to the fact that he may have to let go of Toothless eventually.

 I’m gonna be upfront about this, folks: this film did not move me as much as the first two. That’s not to say it’s bad; it’s actually very good, in fact. But I think my main problem is that it probably moves a little too fast, especially when transitioning from the end of Act II to the climax in Act III. This is a problem I have with a lot of modern animated features, where the filmmakers probably don’t have confidence that kids won’t pay attention if an animated film runs more than 90 minutes. So, an arc like Hiccup learning to stand on his own without Toothless’s help feels sort of rushed and resolved very quickly.

 Another reason for my emotions may also be the villain. Grimmel may be the weakest villain out of this entire trilogy. I mean, yeah, Drago from the last movie wasn’t the greatest villain either, but at least he had some presence and served as an evil version of Hiccup, i.e. someone being negatively affected by a crippling loss as opposed to being motivated by it. Grimmel on the other hand comes off as a pretentious fop who’s trying to be threatening but also funny at the same time. In fact, I kind of wish Drago would have come back as originally planned – no, seriously, look it up. Drago was originally gonna come back for a redemption arc.

 Honestly, though, those are my only major problems with the film. Everything else is great. The animation is a pure standout here. I’m always impressed how modern animation is able to simulate real-life and nature; the scenes involving water especially dazzle me. It almost looks real! The voice cast is still topnotch with Jay Baruchel taking the cake as Hiccup as we see him through his final progression. Returning players like Kit Harrington as Eret and Craig Ferguson as Gobber give their all, and Cate Blanchett is still having tons of fun of Valka. John Powell’s musical score is still the tops, making him one of my favorite modern film composers.

 And yes, the ending is something of a tearjerker. Even though it does suffer from the rushed pace and doesn’t land with the emotional thud I though it would, it still managed to get me somewhat misty-eyed. And for people who are more religious devotees to this series than I, it will probably serve as another Toy Story 3 ending.

 Bottom line: it’s good. Even though it’s not the epic Return of the King-esque trilogy capper I thought it would be, it’s still a nice way for the series to end (and please let this be the end, don’t Toy Story 4 us!). And in terms of trilogy cappers, I would rather take this over the disappointing Kung Fu Panda 3 any day.

Well, that's all for now, folks. Be on the lookout for more material at 433 Films!