My Movie Review on How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Greetings, my good lads and lasses.
This is your jolly film, TV show, and episode reporter here with another review.
Today, for my 240th film analysis, I'm gonna give you guys my take of the third and final installment of the HTTYD trilogy: "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World".
Here's the rundown of this tale:
One year since Hiccup became chief of Berk, and since Toothless transitioned into Alpha of the dragons, the two leaders and their friends continue fighting against Drago Bludvist's army by liberating whatever dragons captured by them. The army itself is now lead by the warlords that allied with Drago long ago due to the absence of both him and the Bewilderbeast.
Having grown tired of the Berkians' interfering with their plans, the warlords decide to call upon perhaps the greatest dragon trapper known to man: Grimmel the Grisly, who is particularly responsible for the near extinction of Night Furies. And not only is Grimmel a skilled hunter, but he's very intelligent and practically lives for the hunt.
After finding out the hard way that Grimmel is a new kind of force to be reckoned with, Hiccup decides that the only way he can ensure the safety of both his people and the dragons (especially Toothless) is if he and the rest of Berk leave the island. The destination he has in mind is a legendary place called the "Hidden World", which is said to be where dragons can actually hide from humans and be free to live in peace.
In the midst of it all, Toothless finds himself being followed by a beautiful female Night Fury. Or Light Fury considering the fact that she's white instead of black.
It feels like it's been forever since I reviewed this movie's predecessors. Eons even. But, I'm glad to finally come around to making an analysis of this movie, especially after finding the right time to see it again with the Blu-Ray copy I got a while back.
Not only did watching the "How to Train Your Dragon" trilogy again this year remind me of my love for it, but reviewing the series was something I had an absolute blast doing. The first time I saw the third film was with one of my brother-in-laws in a movie theater, and I remembered enjoying every minute of it. Seeing the film for the second time recently was definitely no exception, I'll tell you guys that. The best part was that it was better than the first time I saw it.
For instance, the direction and story by Dean DeBlois were as amazing as ever.
When it came to making this movie the conclusion to Hiccup and Toothless's stories, DeBlois seriously didn't mess around. I loved how he made the story an ultimate-test kind of journey for them, and the challenges they faced weren't just about their fight against Grimmel, but were tests of character, love, and friendship. I did note that that there were a few subplots revolving around some of the other Berkians, but I also didn't see anything wrong with them either. DeBlois successfully managed to balance the subplots in order to help them flow with the story, and they connected with the film's climax and ending so well that they proved to be important aspects. Plus, there were tons of surprises to be had, and hardly anything about the story was predictable.
DeBlois's ability with creating a balanced tone was likewise at an all-time high. The comedy he incorporated was hysterical to watch, and the gags had an innocence and wit that made them all-the-more entertaining. Plus, he gave the story heart and emotion that was strong enough to tug at one's soul, and the morals it had were deeply well-done and meaningful. And I gotta be honest with you guys, the flashback moments featuring Stoick and child-Hiccup were parts that made me feel emotional in the best way.
The one thing I can't help but feel saddened by is the fact that Drago Bludvist (the main antagonist of "How to Train Your Dragon 2") was ultimately scrapped from being included in this movie, as I had hoped to see him again followed by his retreat at the end of the previous movie. But, I think this film did well without him nonetheless. His absence is also an element that I wouldn't mind seeing be explored by DeBlois and Dreamworks in the form of a TV miniseries, preferably as one that takes place between the second and third films.
Moving on from that...
The animation was astonishing!
Here and there, I saw some clips of the movie on YouTube a long while after seeing it in theaters. When I was seeing the whole thing again on home video, though, I immediately took note of the animation of this movie more than ever before.
DeBlois and the animators not only gave the visual style a noticeably neat upgrade in technology, but the quality had a faithfulness to its two predecessors like both their individual styles were mixed together. The colors were gorgeously true to that of the first movie, and the visual designs matched the second film splendidly. Plus, the film's use of elements like water, light, clouds, fire, and lightning strokes were gorgeous with a capital 'G'! When the film showed the "Hidden World" at one point, I was astonished by all the gorgeous colors and lights that were presented during that moment.
The voice acting, casting, characters, and character development were awesome as well.
I really can't lie, the addition of F. Murray Abraham as Grimmel the Grisly was phenomenal! Any piece of dialogue he had, he projected with a theatricality that immediately turned what he said into memorable quotes, and while I'm not exactly sure what accent he incorporated into the character...it had a refinement that complimented the character as a whole. Through his voice alone, Abraham also captured Grimmel's personality and intelligence, and he sounded like he did way more than merely provide the voice of the character. As a matter of fact, Abraham's performance was so great that it was worthy of an Annie Award, and I'm surprised that he wasn't awarded or nominated for one.
In addition to this, Grimmel was one of the best antagonists I've ever seen! He has a strong background and personality, of course. But, the most remarkable thing about Grimmel is that he's an alternate reflection of Hiccup, in that he represents what Hiccup would've become had he killed Toothless instead of freeing him. Grimmel himself had great development throughout the film.
The cast members from the previous two movies were wonderful, if I may add.
With this sequel being the final film in the series, the people who reprised their roles sounded like they were giving their all and putting their hearts and souls into their work. With each passing film, Jay Baruchel's work as Hiccup kept getting better and better, because he retained the spirit he originated while making sure to reflect the character's growth and maturity as a person. Plus, America Ferrera's performance as Astrid in this movie was perhaps the best I heard yet, and Cate Blanchett was as vocally stunning as ever in the role of Valka.
Another big thing that I noted was Justin Rupple's performance as Tuffnut.
Taking the place of T.J. Miller (who played the character in every installment before this movie), Rupple impressed me in more ways than one with his impersonation of Miller. I did note some slight differences his voice had compared to Miller's, but Rupple nevertheless hit the ball out of the park with both his impression and comedic-timings as the character. The fact that Tuffnut's voice sounded the same only deeper actually accommodates how natural it is for a guy's voice to deepen as he gets older, which made Rupple's portrayal surprisingly fitting.
The overall developments of the regular human characters were likewise as stellar as ever, especially that of Hiccup and Astrid. Plus, the interactions that Hiccup and Astrid shared in this movie show why the two of them were absolutely meant for each other as a couple. And why they make such a great pair too.
Along with that, Toothless is still what I consider to be the all-time best dragon character in the series, and the Light Fury became my second favorite. Aided by the animators, the two dragons were shown to have as much personality and emotion as people, even if they never talked like humans. Whenever Toothless and the Light Fury were together, it'd be like watching a heartwarming silent-romance film with animals as the stars. The developments of the two dragons were also phenomenal.
Finally, the music by John Powell was magnificent.
Returning to compose for the series one more time, Powell created a score that proved to be as emotionally-invested and cinematic as his work in the last two movies. The way he captured the overall spirit of the franchise while still trying something new is nothing short of amazing, and it sounded like he was going all-out in making sure his music fit perfectly with this movie since it was the end of the series.
In conclusion, "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" is an amazing film and sequel. Everything about it is so fun, and it provided a wonderful and fitting sendoff for the trilogy's characters. As the very first Dreamworks film to be distributed by Universal Pictures after the former was bought by the latter, I think this movie's the start of an undeniably perfect collaboration.
So, I rate "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" five out of five stars.
To Dean DeBlois: Whether you'll actually see this review is something I don't know. But, I deeply hope that there's room in your schedule and career to create a HTTYD miniseries. Mainly the kind that I already described in this post.
After all, Drago Bludvist's story and fate can't be left open-ended now, can it? Wouldn't it also be possible that Hiccup and Drago had one last showdown between the two films?