Even though the new film in the How to train your dragon franchise, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, takes its own sweet time to get into that humorous zone, there is a climax that is overwhelmingly positive. It sort of justifies the values on which the story of the whole franchise was built and with that epic background score pumping up the emotions How to Train
So after the events in the last film, Berk is now sort of overpopulated with the inclusion of all the dragons. In the midst of Hiccup thinking about a solution for this crisis, Toothless happens to see a Light Fury and falls in love with it. How the entry of this new one changes the dynamic of the relation between Hiccup and Toothless and how it eventually opens up the possibility for a world that is safe for the dragons is what the 3rd installment, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World dealing with.
Like I said in the beginning, it takes a considerable amount of time to get into the zone we expect the movie to be. Once it hits that sweet spot, it maintains that high throughout the film. The gorgeously rendered new world and the frequent humor keep it lively for the audience. What is so good about the script here is how it finds a relevant theme. Here the emphasis from the makers is about saying a story that talks about setting free those who are always around us. Hiccup realizes the need to give Toothless his own space and world. The idea of coexisting becomes the theme here and thus this movie manages to be something that is beyond a visual experience mixed with funny lines.
The voice acting as always is spot on. Jay Baruchel as the always confused Hiccup, America Ferrara as the dominant Astrid, Jonah Hill as Snotlout and Kristen Wiig as Ruffnut are the major voice performances that will sort of stay with you. Cate Blanchet as Valka and Gerard Butler as Stoik have very minimal to do here.
Dean DeBlois in his third outing as the director makes sure that the movie doesn’t really become a repetition of themes, a problem some of the animation movie franchises have. The writing makes sure that the problems and sensibilities of the characters have evolved organically. Hiccup is now 25 years old and the movie decides to address issues like relationship and emotional independence etc. in a story that is still on that comic book like world it has created. This is perhaps the one movie in the franchise where Toothless is more hilarious. There are a lot of memorable funny sequences like the one where Toothless tries to impress the light fury, the one where Ruffnut annoys the hell out of the villain Grimmel etc. I just felt that Grimmel, voiced by F. Murray Abraham could have been utilized a bit more effectively rather than just a mere distraction. The visuals are stunning, especially the portions that reveals the hidden world of the dragons. The background score plays a major role in that nearly twenty-minute long climax act.
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is one more pleasant addition to the well made DreamWorks franchise. It has fun elements, a nicely structured story and a central idea that can impress almost everyone because of the inherent optimism.
Rating: 3.5/5
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World has fun elements, a nicely structured story and a central idea that can impress almost everyone because of the inherent optimism.
Green: Recommended Content
Orange: The In-Between Ones
Red: Not Recommended
