Posted in: Kaitlyn Booth, Movies, Review, Universal | Tagged: dreamworks, film, how to train your dragon: the hidden world, universal

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World Review: A Satisfying Conclusion to a Fantastic Series

Published Wed, 20 Feb 2019 14:15:07 -0600

by Kaitlyn Booth

Last updated Sat, 23 Feb 2019 17:19:23 -0600

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How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a heartwarming and satisfying conclusion to a series that has defined an entire generation of young people.

Director: Dean DeBlois
Summary: When Hiccup discovers Toothless isn't the only Night Fury, he must seek "The Hidden World", a secret Dragon Utopia before a hired tyrant named Grimmel finds it first.

There is usually a single series that we can remember as kids that really helped kick off our love of fandom, got us reading, or helped us realize our passions. For some, it was movies like Star Wars or maybe a Marvel comic. Then there is the Harry Potter generation, all the way up to the present day. For some, the series that helped kick off a love of all things fantasy is How To Train Your Dragon from 2009. Over the last ten years, fans of that movie got a sequel and two TV shows that have helped foster their love of all things fantasy. How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a definitive ending to the series that some kids have been following for half of their lives and it's a very fitting end.

This series has always been top tier Dreamworks and this third entry continues that tradition. These movies are beautiful and there are some scenes that are just gorgeous, including the scene where Hiccup and Astrid find the Hidden World for the first time. That scene alone is worth the price of admission but the rest of the movie is just as beautiful.

This is a series that won't coddle the younger members of the audience and isn't afraid to go a little darker than you might expect for a movie geared toward a younger audience. It shows that the filmmakers aren't going to talk down to the kids because they are kids. Some films think they need to hold back or dumb things down for kids, but the reality is that kids are not smaller, dumber adults. They just have a different way of seeing the world and the true classics of the family movie genre understand that.

This movie understands that and it is no clearer than the ending which, will not be spoiled here. That ending, however, is a note-perfect end to this series. It's not often that we come across a kids series that is willing to end instead of going on indefinitely.

As the fantastic score from John Powell swells, you are left feeling a little sad but oh so satisfied. The key relationships each get their endings and while the villain is a bit one-note again, he is less there as a threat but part of forcing both Hiccup and Toothless come to terms with reality.

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is an ending to a great series for kids and adults alike. Any problems that might exist are nitpicking is negated by the emotional impact by the time the credits roll.

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