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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