Sunday, February 3, 2019

NEW REVIEW: "How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" (2019)


MRMOVIEETC REVIEWS:

“How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (2019)


“And out there, beyond the sunset, lies the home of the dragon, and I believe it is your destiny to one day find this hidden world, so that people and dragons will fight no more.”



Wow. What a year 2010 was for animation. After “Toy Story 3” confidently waltzed up on stage and brought to a close what was, at least then, arguably the best animated trilogy of all time, who would have ever predicted that DreamWorks had something so special waiting up their sleeve that we would be all sitting here again with the same baited breath almost a decade later?

For as long as they’ve been around, DreamWorks Animation has never been able to shed its black sheep persona in the animated film industry. Often it has been awkward over last two decades watching DreamWorks trying to keep step with the genre golden child, Disney/Pixar, only to stumble short more often than not with well-intended films that lack the essentially pizzazz that the latter seems to nail on the head consistently. Nevertheless, as these things often go, when DreamWorks does create a spark that catches flame, it burns mightily. To date, the best and brightest of the sparks was 2010’s “How To Train Your Dragon”.

Make no mistake, “Shrek” was a landmark for its time, and both “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” have made for some infinity re-watchable trilogies; however, “Dragon” was the first real willingness by DreamWorks to bite the bullet and create this massively beautiful fantasy world that spawned one of the most delightful character dynamics in modern cinema – Hiccup and Toothless – that, to this day, Disney and other contemporaries have still yet to replicate. Thinking back to all the iconic cinema Disney and Pixar have created, that statement carries significantly noteworthy weight.

Now, after nine years and a highly successful sequel back in 2014, Hiccup, Toothless, and the rest of the gang come back for one final bow in “The Hidden World”. Taking place only one year after the events of “How To Train Your Dragon 2”, the villagers of Berk have begun sharing their island with a rapidly increasing population of dragons they’ve been saving from wave after wave of dragon trappers that still view them as a menace in need of being exterminated; most notably Grimmel the Grisly, the new film’s main antagonist with a scheme to capture and kill Toothless in order to complete his goal of eradicating every Night Fury off the face of the planet. Recognizing the relentless threat, Hiccup takes hold of his new duties as Berkian chief and decides that everybody should flee the island to find The Hidden World – a legendary dragon utopia hidden on the edge of the Earth where their beloved dragons can live and thrive in peace.

To further complicate things, Toothless discovers the existence of a Light Fury along the way – a pure white dragon with similar abilities as he – and he falls instantly smitten with her. Initially, Hiccup is all for this; that is, until he starts to notice just how lost he feels without Toothless around. Between that and dealing with Grimmel and his massive fleet hot on their tails at every turn, Hiccup finds himself in the ultimate predicament that will put everything he has learned and loved to the test.

I won’t say what or why, because that goes into full-on Spoiler territory. This also means that the juice that would normally enhance a review is going to have to stay relatively tight-lipped.


First, the Good:

Much in line with the two predecessors, the animation quality of “The Hidden World” is nothing short of flawless. After re-visiting the first two films shortly before going into this one, I was reminded once again of how particularly breathtaking the aerial shots were back then, and they are that much further refined here, with some ocean and forest designs appearing almost photo-realistic. The Hidden World itself is especially breathtaking. It’s been extremely popular in recent years for animators to flex their muscles and show off just how much color they can make explode off the screen, and “Hidden World” is no different. Thankfully, it does flex said muscles without crossing the line from tasteful into obnoxiousness. The details of the humans and dragons alike also became richer without sacrificing the cartoon softness and playfulness that has remained consistent up until this point.

The voice cast still proves that they are fully game for the material, with the returning talents of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrara, Kristen Wiig, and newcomer F. Murray Abraham bringing both a rich, dramatic depth and familiar signature comedy to their respective characters. While “Hidden World” is noticeably more serious in tone than the previous installments, it never truly loses step with what made the series so endearing to begin with in these areas.

Now, the Bad:

Alright, don’t worry; there was nothing outright BAD about “The Hidden World”. The biggest issues can really be reduced to Grimmel’s character. F. Murray Abraham does a really good job and breathes some entertaining and cynical life into the role, but the character is written essentially as an amalgamation of Pre-Dragon Converted Stoick the Vast and Drago Bludvist in terms of attitude and scheme. He does carry with him some pretty cool scorpion-like dragons that help him execute his plans, and the final battle is decent despite paling in comparison to the previous two films’ respective climaxes. Everything about Grimmel felt either too familiar or under-explored to make him standout in any interesting way where it really mattered.

It is also a little too bad that, after such an important introduction in the first sequel, Hiccup’s mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett), didn’t have anything to do in this film. Granted, yes, the primary focus of “Hidden World” is truly about the evolution of Hiccup’s and Toothless’s friendship - as it very well should be - although it would have been nice to see her influence as a parent be slightly more pronounced than it turned out to be.

Nevertheless, Writer and Director Dean DeBlois, whom has carried this series in both positions since the beginning, should be beyond proud of this near-masterpiece trilogy. Trust me, I want to talk about every turn and every emotion that “The Hidden World” raised out of me, and perhaps at some point I will do a full series overview, but until then, there’s not much more I can say. What I will say for now is that this is the ending the series deserved, and an ending that will undoubtedly and unashamedly leave bittersweet tears all over the laps of its fans.

“How To Train Your Dragon” has brought so much joy over the years, and this last installment shows how much it also meant to the filmmakers behind it. DreamWorks may turn out just as many misses as hits, but with this series, they may just have one of the biggest hits not likely to ever be rivaled.


“How To Dragon Your Dragon: The Hidden World”: 9/10

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