How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Voices of: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, F. Murray Abraham, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harington, Justin Ripple, David Tennant
Directed by: Dean DeBlois
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Action
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless face their greatest threat yet from a dragon hunter, so they venture to discover a hidden world where all the dragons can live in peace and safety.

Review:

Tim: This franchise continues to impress and surprise me. Even though How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World inexplicably gives up title numbering for a subtitle, this is a worthy conclusion to the trilogy (and perhaps the whole franchise). Although I'd probably rank this a little lower than the second film, the difference in negligible. This continues to be an effective, entertaining franchise. I enjoyed the continuation of the characters' stories in this film.

I felt like the animation was jaw dropping in the original. It's improved with each film, although the amount of shock and awe it's generated has decreased as well. That's the issue with continually raising the bar- expectations climb as well. There were only a few moments when I marveled at the colors and the scope of this film. That's not a bad thing, it's just become expected for these films. Once again, the animation is top notch and it does deliver some breathtakingly beautiful scenes- often involving Toothless and his lady friend high above the clouds.

The story in this movie was good, but not quite great. It did continue the character arcs of Hiccup and Toothless- that was the most important thing to achieve. It felt like both got worthwhile sendoffs (if indeed this is the final film). I loved the introduction of the "Light Fury" and what that meant for Toothless, as well as his relationship with Hiccup. This movie is at its best when it explores their relationship. It felt appropriate that as both got older, their thoughts turn more and more to the female of their species. It created worthwhile drama while being relatable to real-life relationships. That's still the heart of the movie and a big reason it works so well. The story of the hidden world, the infamous dragon hunter, and all that felt fine. I can't say it felt tremendously exciting or different from previous films. I didn't have any issues with it and it made logical sense, even if it didn't often wow us.

The voice cast was once again strong. It's fun hearing Jay Baruchel in his role. America Ferrera was fine, although I don't find her voice distinct enough to remember much about it. I loved the addition of F. Murray Abraham, and Cate Blanchett is always wonderful to hear. David Tennant was a good addition, and we got the usual strong performances from Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig, and Kit Harington. We obviously didn't get to hear Gerard Butler much, but I appreciated his smaller contribution. As a whole, the cast works well together and I enjoy the diversity of their voices.

It always surprises me how much I enjoyed all three films in this franchise. The first is still the best and blew me away, but the second and third films are both quite solid. There's not a lot of animated trilogies that maintain this level of quality across all three films (Toy Story is probably the best example). I'd actually place this as the second best animated trilogy of all time (unless I'm forgetting something- I did not do comprehensive research before making this claim). That's a huge win for Dreamworks. I really did enjoy How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World and am impressed this trilogy ended on such a strong note.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5


If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Kung Fu Panda, Shrek, Toy Story