Dreamworks Studios has been stunning audiences with spectacular kids movies for the last couple decades, putting out huge feature films such as Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. The latter sparked a childhood excitement in people of all ages when it first released in 2010, introducing a whole new world of adventure and spectacle in an old and forgotten time of vikings and dragons. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World brings the trilogy and worldwide phenomenon to an exciting, roaring close, while exploring themes of independence and self-discovery.
It doesn’t take long to reimmerse yourself into the lively world of dragons, as we set out on the epic and final adventure of the film’s heroes, Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup is now the chief of Berk, tasked with the protection of the human and dragon cohabitants of the small utopia that he has built. When the threat of dragon killer, Grimmel the Grisly, emerges, Toothless, the other dragons, and all of Berk stand before great peril when they have more to lose than ever before. Determined to protect both humans and dragons alike, Hiccup seeks to find the rumored “Hidden World,” believing it to be the only place safe from the reaches of human evil and greed.
The dynamic between boy and dragon remains loveable and in your face as they battle, play, and find love. They both start to spread their wings in their own ways, finding maturity and independence in a bitter-sweet realization of the different worlds to which they belong. Paralleled with love affairs, Hiccup continues to step more into his responsibilities to his people as the anticipated marriage of the trilogies longtime love, Astrid, approaches. Meanwhile, Toothless finds a female Light Fury with which he becomes infatuated, leaving the comfort of his nest as he learns to fly solo and discovers himself as the king and dragon he was born to be.
With their journeys of indepence pulling them in different directions, the struggle is made greater by their need for one another to defend against the villain who wants to ruin it all. This reliance, as well as need for independence, creates multiple opportunities for everything to go wrong and keeps the viewers on edge and on the verge of tears as it slowly unfolds. However, as you reach the end of the movie you are reminded that it is in fact a kids movie: Despite the in depth storyline and emotional spincycle, you are guaranteed a happy ending that almost seems too good to be true. Arguably, the movie would have been a lot stronger, though indeed a lot sadder, if the villain had succeeded at least to some extent. (SPOILER ALERT!) Not a single “good” character dies at any point in the movie, perhaps as compensation for the brutal death of Hiccup’s father in the previous movie, yet it came off as too good to be true and failed to hit the viewers exposed heart.
Overall, Dreamworks managed to pull off another great success in this epic end to a series that has captured viewers and spread joy since its initial release, what seems like forever ago. It was a satisfying end to long journey that has warmed hearts, expanding imagination on it’s way. They managed to give a conclusion that left no loose ends, yet still left room for another trilogy to take off, and from a series so lucrative, it is bound to only be a matter of time. But for now, the franchise takes its place in the nest as it comes to a close, and is something you don’t want to miss.