How to Train Your Dragon was something of a sensation upon its release in 2010, receiving critical acclaim and grossing nearly $500 million worldwide. But despite its instant megahit status, the film never quite gained enough traction to earn the label of "classic." The 2014 sequel earned more in worldwide dollars than its predecessor ($621 million), but it saw a bit of a downturn in the U.S. and left little cultural impact. Personally, I found little to like in the sequel, which took a turn into overt self-seriousness. Even beyond my personal tastes, there's no denying that this series just isn't really a fixture in pop culture; you won't see kids playing with toys from the series. You might be able to chalk that up to the darker tone of these movies, but How to Train Your Dragon has just never clicked on a major level. That won't stop director Dean DeBlois from coming back to finish this trilogy, which will conclude with next March's The Hidden World. Earlier today, Universal and Dreamworks released the first trailer- watch it below!
If you're a fan of the franchise, this trailer delivers in a huge way. Even as someone who didn't care much for the sequel at all, The Hidden World looks stunningly gorgeous, with some images and animation that sent my jaw to the floor. I love the idea of a fantasy epic in animated form, even if the execution of that concept has been spotty in this series to say the least. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be a little intrigued when I heard the sweeping chords of John Powell's score. From a pure audio/visual perspective, The Hidden World looks sensational.
I'm less convinced by the story on display, and I'm still not sure it was even necessary to keep this thing going. Toothless is a great character, and I've always found the core relationship between the gentle dragon and Jay Baruchel's Hiccup to be moving and compelling. That being said, does anyone buy Baruchel as a grizzled, bearded dragon master? I have some serious questions for whoever came up with the idea of rapidly aging these characters. It just doesn't work.
Anyhow, the little romance between Toothless and his dragon friend looks very cute, and it could produce some of the funniest moments in the movie. I could care less about another bad guy who wants to kill the dragons, which has seemingly been the core story for every one of these movies. But hey, if it gives me a chance to look at the pretty colors, I'm all for it. Overall, I'm fairly ambivalent towards this movie, as you can probably tell. It looks fine! Nothing less, nothing more.
Note to studios- stop using the same song in multiple trailers.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will arrive in theaters on March 1, 2019.
Image courtesy of Universal
If you're a fan of the franchise, this trailer delivers in a huge way. Even as someone who didn't care much for the sequel at all, The Hidden World looks stunningly gorgeous, with some images and animation that sent my jaw to the floor. I love the idea of a fantasy epic in animated form, even if the execution of that concept has been spotty in this series to say the least. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be a little intrigued when I heard the sweeping chords of John Powell's score. From a pure audio/visual perspective, The Hidden World looks sensational.
I'm less convinced by the story on display, and I'm still not sure it was even necessary to keep this thing going. Toothless is a great character, and I've always found the core relationship between the gentle dragon and Jay Baruchel's Hiccup to be moving and compelling. That being said, does anyone buy Baruchel as a grizzled, bearded dragon master? I have some serious questions for whoever came up with the idea of rapidly aging these characters. It just doesn't work.
Anyhow, the little romance between Toothless and his dragon friend looks very cute, and it could produce some of the funniest moments in the movie. I could care less about another bad guy who wants to kill the dragons, which has seemingly been the core story for every one of these movies. But hey, if it gives me a chance to look at the pretty colors, I'm all for it. Overall, I'm fairly ambivalent towards this movie, as you can probably tell. It looks fine! Nothing less, nothing more.
Note to studios- stop using the same song in multiple trailers.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World will arrive in theaters on March 1, 2019.
Image courtesy of Universal
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