Image courtesy of hdqwalls.com
It’s all come to this. We have reached the end of a very special journey. Most trilogies cap off on a disappointing note, but this is a very rare case where not only does every installment end on a satisfying note, but so does the entire trilogy itself. It’s an equally rare occasion when said trilogy happens to also be animated, and now we have come to the moment of truth, the movie that might just have stuck the landing, and that is How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
The story picks up one year after the events of the second movie. Hiccup, Toothless and the gang have been rescuing dragons for some time to bring them back to Berk. However, there is an unfortunate consequence to this: It’s led to dragon overpopulation.
Hiccup then realizes that there is a solution. He remembers being told as a child by his father Stoick the Vast about the Hidden World, a place where dragons can live in peace and be safe from those hunting them.
During their quest, they encounter a white dragon, a female known as a Light Fury, and Toothless instantly falls for her.
In order to find the Hidden World, and ensure the dragons are safe, though, they have to stop a notorious dragon hunter known as Grimmel the Grisly, who has a particular interest in the two Furies.
What Worked: The voice acting is the first of many things that are the best the trilogy has to offer here.* By this point, you really feel that the cast have grown into these characters. The core cast members are excellent across the board.
There are two returning actors from the previous movie who also give great performances. The one I mentioned in that review was Kit Harington as Eret, and he’s still an awesome character whose part in the series makes him one of its most interesting by the end of this movie due to his backstory alone.
Now for the character I can mention in this review that I couldn’t in that one, and that is Valka, voiced by Cate Blanchett. The reason why I couldn’t mention her there is because of who she is. In the last movie, she was revealed to be Hiccup’s long-lost mother, and there was an emotional moment between the two of them and Stoick upon discovering his wife was still alive.
Her reveal in the previous movie was so impactful because it was built up so well. Hiccup encountered a mysterious dragon rider and it was intriguing to both him and the audience. Then she found him and revealed herself to him, and it turned out she was trying to do what Hiccup managed to do in her absence: convince Stoick and everyone else that they could live in peace with dragons. Her good-hearted demeanor and compassion towards the dragons came through perfectly in Cate Blanchett’s performance, and it carries over into this movie.
Then there’s the villain, Grimmel the Grisly. He’s the baddest dragon hunter there is, and how he earned that reputation makes him the best villain in the trilogy, both of which are even more well-realized in a fantastic performance by F. Murray Abraham.
What makes him a better villain than Djimon Hounsou’s character from the last movie, Drago Bludvist, is his motivation. Drago’s motivation was a little bit personal, but more out of madness. With Grimmel, it’s very much personal because he made a name for himself with his methods of dragon hunting, which involves an important plot point established in the first movie. I thought that was a nice touch, as I appreciate when trilogies or even franchises bring something full circle.
There are other references to the previous movies, and a few of them are part of the humor here. This movie is actually really funny at times, and might have some of the best jokes in the series.
At other times, the moments of downtime in between the action sequences can be outright charming. The scenes with Toothless trying to woo the Light Fury are genuinely sweet and his failed attempts are hilarious. The relationship between the two of them is a great addition to the story.
When the action does come in, it delivers on every level. Some of the sequences here are the most intense in the series. However, they’re not as dark as a few in the second one were, but for a story like this following that up, they don’t need to be. They have some of the intensity, but also more of the exciting feel of the ones from the first movie.
Where this movie really shines, though, is in the animation. It’s the best looking the series has ever been. It shows in the character designs as well. The characters have evolved over the course of all three movies, and their designs having gotten progressively better reflects that.
The animation is so outstanding and so gorgeous here that I would go so far as to say that this is the best animation DreamWorks has done this side of Pixar. The looks of the Hidden World and the Light Fury alone are worth the price of admission.
It’s all encompassed in the best type of story that could be given to something like this. For every exciting moment, there’s a calm one, and for every sweet or funny moment, there’s a moment that’s just gut wrenching. It hits all the right notes in terms of great storytelling, which is also evident in what is easily John Powell’s best score for the series.
One more thing before I close out this review: If you thought the second movie had emotional moments, just wait until you get to the ending of this movie. When all is said and done, it’ll probably go down as one of the best endings of the decade.
Overall: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is the perfect ending to DreamWorks’s franchise masterpiece. It makes the journey with all of these characters that you’ve come to know and love throughout these movies having been well worth taking. It ends the trilogy on an ultimately very satisfying note, bringing everything together and tying up any loose ends in the best way possible. This movie has stuck the landing, and with it, in terms of great trilogies, we have been given something truly special.
*It’s so flawless that there was a recasting in this movie, and I didn’t even notice it.