Watching—'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'

How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World, is the third film in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. It is written and directed by Dean DeBlois, who also wrote and directed the previous two installments of the franchise, the first of which was co-written and co-directed alongside Chris Sanders. The films are in turn an adaptation of a series of books written by Cressida Cowell.

The film revolves around Hiccup, his dragon companion Toothless, and their friends and family in a remote viking village. The first film takes place when Hiccup was a boy, the second when he was a young man, and the third when he is the chief of his village. In this new film, a threat has emerged that threatens the land his people live in as a result of all the dragons that they have managed to free and adopt. As such, they seek out the hidden world where dragons have supposedly originated from in the hopes of living in peace.

This film is incredibly earnest, and heartfelt which makes it relatable and quite emotional. Each character works off each other to a great degree, and there is a sense of evolution in all the characters over the three films.

This film also manages to bring the story to a conclusion in a satisfying way, where it truly feels like the end of a journey that you have, as an audience member, been a part of over the past nine years.

Veteran actor F. Murray Abraham voices the character of Grimmel, the villain of the story, and he is quite different from the antagonists we have had previously. He has an intensity to him which puts pressure on his prey while having a certain assured confidence and charisma to him that you cannot help but be interested in. However, the way in which he treats his dragons makes sure that we think of him as the villain despite his demeanour.

All the returning cast members give great, energetic voice performances that really adds to the atmosphere of the film. Jay Baruchel as Hiccup perfectly conveys the way the character is feeling effectively, while the supporting cast has a manic energy to them which makes them contrast heavily with Hiccup. America Ferrera as Astrid has a strength to the character which carries with it a natural authority, and Cate Blanchett as Valka brings a sense of maturity to the group which brings a sense of balance to the dynamic of the personalities.

Composer, John Powell returns to compose the music for this film. Powell had previously worked on Solo A Star Wars Story, Kung Fu Panda, and Shrek. The score this time around is just as, if not better than the work on the previous two films. The tracks accompanying the scenes fit so well that the emotional scenes hit harder, and the action set pieces are all the more exhilarating.

The visuals of this film are outstanding, and completely utilizes the strengths of CGI animation to bring to life the wonderfully colorful and vibrant world of the dragons. The direction and the flow of the action set pieces is exciting while never losing track of where the characters are, which makes it easy for the audience to follow the events, even when things get chaotic.

This is a film that I highly recommend seeing in the cinema, it is a wonderfully emotional conclusion to Hiccup and Toothless’ narrative, with a strong story, strong characters, great visuals, and a fantastic soundtrack.