Review of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) by Gingaail1994 — 02 Mar 2019

"How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," is the long awaited culmination to one of the most beloved series of all time. Set a year after the second film, Hiccup is now the chief of Berk, while his best friend, Toothless, is alpha of Berk's dragons. Hiccup, his friends and his mom keep rescuing dragons from trappers, leading to severe overcrowding issues, so the island is now a much bigger target for enemies. In order to solve this problem, Hiccup wants to find the Hidden World, a realm only known in myth, from where all dragons come, and move his people and dragons there. Problems escalate when Grimmel the Grisly, a cunning hunter responsible for killing off the Night Furies, has his eyes set on the last one - Toothless. Not only that, but a new female Fury turns up on the island, ruffling Toothless' wings. Hiccup and Toothless are faced with their most difficult trials yet; of growing up, facing adulthood and learning to let go of the things you treasure, so they can flourish.

Pros:

+ The animation is the best I've seen yet. The textures, the movement, the shot composition. It looks stunning. + The music is as good as always.

+ The character development of Hiccup, Toothless and Astrid is done brilliantly, through subtle animation and acts of selflessness and heart.

+ The film goes back to the roots of the series; it isn't as epic in scope as 2 was, but it still done well in its execution, making it feel big, but also very humble and sobering.

+ The film feels incredibly genuine. It comes from a place of passion, you can really see all the effort and love put into it.

+ Toothless is the star of the show, once again. Here, he's given even more of a spotlight, and it leads to some of the best moments in the series.

+ The scenes between Light Fury and Toothless are beautifully executed and feel very much like a nature documentary.

+ Gobber hitting on Eret is something I never knew I needed.

+ The whole film is amazing, but the last forty minutes is even more so. The ending and epilogue are just stellar.

+ The bond between Hiccup and Toothless is expanded on in subtle ways, and they are still the heart and soul of the franchise.

+ Keeps with the overarching themes of acceptance, love and friendship, as well as the nature between man and beast,and man and nature. It also expands upon the themes of growing up and responsibility, but also on having faith in yourself and others that you may take for granted, albeit unintentionally. Of course, there's also the issue of letting go, which is handled excellently.

+ The villain is impeccably voiced, and comes off as a type of serial killer, who derives a sick pleasure from his actions and the hunt. + it's really funny!

Cons:

- The pacing, as with 2, is for the most part great... except for one thing. Some parts go way too fast! This is the first time ever I wanted *more* from a film, not because I was unsatisfied, but because I liked everything of what I got.

- while the villain and his Death Gripper dragons are great, I did find him turning up on New Berk at the exact same time as the Furies to be very "screenwriter's wont." There is elements of this in 1 and 2, but they are done so in a way that the film feels almost aware, e.g. Hiccup saying "did *anyone* see that!" after shooting down Toothless. That, and the venom is kinda confusing in how it works.

This should be titled "How to End Your Trilogy." It goes without saying that "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" is a wonderful end to an amazing saga. It's sincere, heartwarming and bittersweet, with amazing animation, character relationships and a story that goes back to the roots of the original. It is an absolute must see, and one I can't wait to buy and watch over and over with the first two films. Pacing issues aside, this is an *excellent* film.

9.4/10.