For as hit or miss Dreamworks Animation has
been considered as a company, if one movie series gave the animation studio a
good name, it’s the How to Train Your Dragon Series. The
first How to Train Your Dragon was a
charming film, that was the essentially boy and his pet style story but done in
a way that made the concept fresh with some good characters and great
animation. The sequel is downright one of the best transitions from a small
first movie to a grand second film that not only improve elements of the
original but made the film stunning to watch which more character development,
stunning animation and one of the most epic movie scores to ever be composed.
Now with a decade of being around as the big animated franchise of the 2010s,
the third movie subtitled The Hidden World is set to end the series off with a high note. Fortunately
much like the end of Toy Story 3, How to Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World
ends the series with a bittersweet and satisfying ending to anyone who has
taken joy in seeing Hiccup and Toothless go on their incredible adventures.
Not
Toy Story 3 Tearjerker but Still
Bittersweet
The
Hidden World takes place in Berk, now a utopia for Vikings and dragons to
live in peace and harmony. Things go array however, when an evil Dragon hunter
comes to threaten to village, so the people and dragons of Berk have to find a
mysterious Hidden World the dragons for them to call a new home. As expected,
the film sounds like it would go the way most people would expect a finale like
this, and for the most part it does. The film’s basic plot doesn’t have too
many surprises of what fans may expect a finale like this would be, however it
doesn’t make it an unsatisfying one. At it’s core, the film is a love story
between Toothless and the LightFury he meets and it’s a very charming romance
done with very little dialogue and a lot of expressive moments. Yet the film
also remembers to maintain the heart and tone that was helmed with the first
two films and has a good balance between what made each installment prior to
this one good. It has the beloved heart and character growth of the first one
along with the epic scale and beauty of the second one. There is somewhat of a
major downside with the ending as it could have gone all the way with making it
a full blown tearjerker ending in the same vain as Toy Story 3, however the ending they do have is still very
heartwarming and just so touching to see after witnessing what these characters
go through. It makes for while not the most satisfying conclusion, it’s one
that definitely makes for a great ending to the series.
Hidden
World Brings Depth to Hiccup and Toothless
The
Hidden World still has the same characters from the previous few movies and
they’re still just as good as ever. Hiccup still manages to be a very engaging
character with the film showcasing more of a growth between how he manages to
become a leader. It is especially relevant when it flashes back to moments with
his father Stoic which adds to a lot of the emotion of this movie of Hiccup
trying to be the leader his dad was. The series is very consistent on making
their characters grow a lot and Hiccup definitely has the most growth in this
movie. As for the rest of the cast, many of them serve their purpose very well.
The only real issues with the side characters are although they having their
own funny moments, some of the comedic relief like RuffNut and TuffNut do get a
little over bearing when it comes their presence and some characters could have
more screen time like Valka. The biggest improvement with How to Train Your Dragon 3 when it comes to characters however is
how the film handles it’s main antagonist. While Drago Bludvist was a very entertaining
villain, the character was bogged down by being a bit underdeveloped and not
much to him outside of being a big baddie that Hiccup and friends have to
defeat. The main antagonist in this film, Grimmel is a major improvement, not only is he more
threatening and has more of a motivation for his goal, but is a villain the
perfectly compliments the protagonists. He’s everything that Hiccup is when it
comes to understanding Dragons but uses his means for his own selfish purposes
making him one of the best villains in an animated movie in recent memory.
Though it isn’t a How to Train Your
Dragon movie without the real star of the movie, Toothless and the other Dragons
and every moment with them is outstanding. They have all the animalistic
instincts you would be fascinated by while watching animals on screen, along
with all the great unique designs and fantastical elements of them being
mythical creatures. Add in a lot of expressive personality from Toothless alone
and How to Train Your Dragon 3 is a
great character piece with a lot of expressions from an animation standpoint. How to Train Your Dragon 3 beautifully
crafts its characters well with a good script and great animation.
Dreamworks Brings Their A-Game Animators to
This
While on the topic
of animation, a big compliment should be given to the animators for creating
another beautifully stunning movie from a visual perspective. The first movie
looked great, the second even better and this one looks jaw dropping gorgeous.
As mentioned earlier the designs and animation for the characters, namely the
dragons are unique, and expressive being one of the most consistent thing that
appears throughout the franchise. The backgrounds are also breathtaking,
looking as photorealistic as possible but maintaining some incredible colors
especially when visiting the Hidden World in the movie. It’s a stunning movie
to look at and needs to be seen on the biggest screen possible. Not only is it
a great looking movie but sound wise the film is incredible, with another
incredible score composed by John Powell. It doesn’t quite have as epic of a
feel as the second movie score, but there are so many amazing callbacks music
wise and grand musical moments that it is a soundtrack that heightens the
quality of this film. Dreamworks Animation brought their A-Game team to create
a movie that is outstanding from a technical level and makes fans wish they
would do these type of movies more often.
The End of a Trilogy Fans have Been Waiting For
How to
Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will be a treat for longtime fans of the Dreamworks series.
It is not quite as epic and fulfilling as a finale as it could have been, but
it’s every bit as satisfying as one would hope at the least. It ends Hiccup’s
and Toothless’ journey on a high note and certainly is one of the best ending
movies to an animated trilogy out there!
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