The How to Train Your Dragon series is one of the great curiosities of recent Hollywood animation, especially in comparison to its more successful contemporaries. The Dean DeBlois-directed franchise, based on a series of popular books by Cressida Cowell, began inconspicuously in 2010 with a delightful boy-meets-dragon fable, which edged Dreamworks into slightly more serious, cross-generational territory after years of irreverent hits like Shrek and Shark Tale. Despite a box office dip in North America, 2014's How to Train Your Dragon 2 continued the march towards dramatic gravitas and emotional heft, earning raves for its willingness to plunge into the kind of darkness most children's films would never touch.
Five years later, DeBlois is back to finish what he started with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which gives Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless a proper send-off after nearly a decade of films. This time around, it's clear that the creative team is less concerned with the story at hand and more interested in exploring the visual dynamics of this awe-inspiring world, working hard to create an amazing spectacle before pulling viewers closer to an emotional catharsis. As a piece of animation, it's as impressive as anything we've seen in recent years, mixing opulent landscapes with an array of shiny colors ripped out of a fairy tale. From the standpoint of its visual impact, The Hidden World is overpowering enough to win over devotees and newcomers alike; the action scenes are dazzling in their fluidity and the serene vistas will send some jaws to the floor.
Even if the narrative seems perfunctory more than strictly necessary, I can't fault DeBlois and company for wanting to craft more stunning images of this world.
The story itself picks up after the sequel (full disclosure- I have no memory of what happened in that movie), with Hiccup, Toothless, and their entire team looking for more dragons to rescue. Even though Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Tuffnut (Justin Rupple) screw up the group's rhythm due to their usual hijinks, Hiccup and Astrid (America Ferrera) have these risky rescue missions down to a science. With Hiccup promising to create a safe place for vikings and dragons to co-exist, Berk has become a haven under his leadership, to the extent that they're actually running out of space.
But with great power comes fearsome enemies for Hiccup, and his latest dragon rescue forces his foes to recruit Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham), one of the most notorious dragon hunters on the planet. Grimmel is particularly known for his ability to hunt Night Furies, which is very bad news for Toothless- especially since this new baddie happens to be in possession of a female Light Fury capable of drawing Hiccup's dragon into a trap. With Grimmel pushing forward into Berk, Hiccup begins to think beyond his home world, imagining a place his father (Gerard Butler) told him about years ago. This hidden world, a beautiful utopia tucked away from civilization, could be the new home for vikings and dragons alike. But before Hiccup and company can get there, will they be able stop their greatest threat yet?
The How to Train Your Dragon series' willingness to traffic in more adult stakes carries over to the latest installment, where this clash between goofy, Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel-driven humor and deadly stakes continues to compel. Things never get too serious or grim, but Hiccup and his friends are once again in real danger, as F. Murray Abraham does a pretty stellar job as the sinister and deliciously entertaining main antagonist. There's a good deal of propulsive momentum pushing the story from scene to scene, providing another set of stellar opportunities for some clever setpieces.
But eventually, that intensity just... dissipates. As the danger begins to feel less immediate, it's abundantly clear that everything will end up in Hiccup's favor, with Grimmel feeling like less and less of an actual threat by the minute. Normally, this drop in the tension would be perceived as a misstep, but in The Hidden World, it just sees DeBlois pivot to another, often more enjoyable mode. The self-seriousness of the franchise's core conflict fades along with the intensity, allowing the filmmakers to adapt a more fun, spectacle-driven vibe. Even on a smaller screen, there's a glorious sense of wonder that's frequently punctuated by John Powell's strong musical score, featuring images that pop with imagination and clarity. Since every new Pixar movie dazzles with its animation in one way or another, it's hard to be too impressed by the capacity of computers to create photo-realistic landscapes anymore. But even if you're numb to it all like I am, this one is worth the hype.
The emphasis on astonishing neon imagery is swapped out for a bit of pure emotion in the final moments, when DeBlois and company decide to slow things down and embrace the end of the series. For hardcore fans (yes, there's a really strong fanbase for this series), it's sure to be a profound moment. For everyone else, I'm not sure it'll resonate, but it does hit those beats nicely, and it's a solid way to cap off a movie where conventions of animated storytelling are often thrown out the window.
Even though DeBlois took some risks with a story that, all things considered, exists only to get the characters from Point A to Point B, there's fun to be had and wonder to be shared. The Hidden World is a gorgeous animated film, and it's a nice end to a series that has gone through its share of ups and downs. They never recaptured the magic of the first film, but it's good to see Hiccup and Toothless go out on a high note.
THE FINAL GRADE: B (7.2/10)
Images: Universal/Dreamworks
Five years later, DeBlois is back to finish what he started with How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, which gives Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless a proper send-off after nearly a decade of films. This time around, it's clear that the creative team is less concerned with the story at hand and more interested in exploring the visual dynamics of this awe-inspiring world, working hard to create an amazing spectacle before pulling viewers closer to an emotional catharsis. As a piece of animation, it's as impressive as anything we've seen in recent years, mixing opulent landscapes with an array of shiny colors ripped out of a fairy tale. From the standpoint of its visual impact, The Hidden World is overpowering enough to win over devotees and newcomers alike; the action scenes are dazzling in their fluidity and the serene vistas will send some jaws to the floor.
Even if the narrative seems perfunctory more than strictly necessary, I can't fault DeBlois and company for wanting to craft more stunning images of this world.
The story itself picks up after the sequel (full disclosure- I have no memory of what happened in that movie), with Hiccup, Toothless, and their entire team looking for more dragons to rescue. Even though Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Tuffnut (Justin Rupple) screw up the group's rhythm due to their usual hijinks, Hiccup and Astrid (America Ferrera) have these risky rescue missions down to a science. With Hiccup promising to create a safe place for vikings and dragons to co-exist, Berk has become a haven under his leadership, to the extent that they're actually running out of space.
But with great power comes fearsome enemies for Hiccup, and his latest dragon rescue forces his foes to recruit Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham), one of the most notorious dragon hunters on the planet. Grimmel is particularly known for his ability to hunt Night Furies, which is very bad news for Toothless- especially since this new baddie happens to be in possession of a female Light Fury capable of drawing Hiccup's dragon into a trap. With Grimmel pushing forward into Berk, Hiccup begins to think beyond his home world, imagining a place his father (Gerard Butler) told him about years ago. This hidden world, a beautiful utopia tucked away from civilization, could be the new home for vikings and dragons alike. But before Hiccup and company can get there, will they be able stop their greatest threat yet?
The How to Train Your Dragon series' willingness to traffic in more adult stakes carries over to the latest installment, where this clash between goofy, Jonah Hill and Jay Baruchel-driven humor and deadly stakes continues to compel. Things never get too serious or grim, but Hiccup and his friends are once again in real danger, as F. Murray Abraham does a pretty stellar job as the sinister and deliciously entertaining main antagonist. There's a good deal of propulsive momentum pushing the story from scene to scene, providing another set of stellar opportunities for some clever setpieces.
But eventually, that intensity just... dissipates. As the danger begins to feel less immediate, it's abundantly clear that everything will end up in Hiccup's favor, with Grimmel feeling like less and less of an actual threat by the minute. Normally, this drop in the tension would be perceived as a misstep, but in The Hidden World, it just sees DeBlois pivot to another, often more enjoyable mode. The self-seriousness of the franchise's core conflict fades along with the intensity, allowing the filmmakers to adapt a more fun, spectacle-driven vibe. Even on a smaller screen, there's a glorious sense of wonder that's frequently punctuated by John Powell's strong musical score, featuring images that pop with imagination and clarity. Since every new Pixar movie dazzles with its animation in one way or another, it's hard to be too impressed by the capacity of computers to create photo-realistic landscapes anymore. But even if you're numb to it all like I am, this one is worth the hype.
The emphasis on astonishing neon imagery is swapped out for a bit of pure emotion in the final moments, when DeBlois and company decide to slow things down and embrace the end of the series. For hardcore fans (yes, there's a really strong fanbase for this series), it's sure to be a profound moment. For everyone else, I'm not sure it'll resonate, but it does hit those beats nicely, and it's a solid way to cap off a movie where conventions of animated storytelling are often thrown out the window.
Even though DeBlois took some risks with a story that, all things considered, exists only to get the characters from Point A to Point B, there's fun to be had and wonder to be shared. The Hidden World is a gorgeous animated film, and it's a nice end to a series that has gone through its share of ups and downs. They never recaptured the magic of the first film, but it's good to see Hiccup and Toothless go out on a high note.
THE FINAL GRADE: B (7.2/10)
Images: Universal/Dreamworks
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