'Hidden World' Emotionally Sends Both Vikings And Dragons Flying Off Into The Sunset
Starring Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Kit Harington, Kristen Wiig, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, America Ferrera
Rated PG
Animation, Adventure
Run time: 1 hr, 44 min
Directed by Dean DeBlois
In theaters February 22, 2019
Normally I would say that to view the third movie in a trilogy, it’s extremely necessary to have seen the previous ones in order to enjoy it properly. And yet, when it comes to the How To Train Your Dragon series, I don’t think that’s the case. I’m partially saying this because I just want everyone in the world to be exposed to how freaking cute Toothless (precious black dragon pictured both above and below) is, and partially because I feel like they do a good job of cluing you in on important plot points that have already happened to get them to this point (not a bad idea since the previous installment came out in 2014).
The plot of this final chapter in the story of dragons and vikings is pretty simplistic and predictable. But in a way, that’s kind of perfect. They aren’t trying to leave you with a cliffhanger or set up the next movie. They want you to walk away feeling satisfied with the story of Hiccup (voiced by Baruchel) and Toothless. The story even seems a bit similar to the last one: Hiccup is determined to find the Hidden World of dragons, which is a bit of a utopia for the giant creatures, and along the way they are interrupted by an evil dragon hunter (with no true motivation other than to be a jerk). A beautiful new white dragon is introduced (behold, the light fury) and it’s unclear whether she’s an asset, a hindrance, a trap or all of the above.
Hidden World focuses on what makes the series great in the first place: relationships. We get to see how Toothless and Hiccup still balance each other out perfectly yet may need to gain independence to ‘find’ themselves along the way. They’re both growing up, as is this franchise, and it seems important to show how their personalities can exist away from one another. There are a lot of heartfelt moments that foreshadow the outcome, but let’s be real, it didn’t stop me from tearing up fairly consistently for the last fifth of the film.
The most joyous moments of all the movies are obviously centered around Toothless, the dragon that inexplicably is just like your own dog or cat. The interactions among the Vikings (many of whom are now reaching ‘marriageable age’ and are having to consider that in their lives) are enjoyable as always. But there’s something about watching a giant fictional creature prance around imitating the behavior of a kitten about to pounce that is impossible not to laugh at. While I’ll miss seeing the new antics of these characters, I think they do a great job of all but literally sending this story off into the sunset when all is said and done.