How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019)
February 23, 2019 9:37 PM - Subscribe

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.
posted by gladly (5 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I loved this. I had a nice sniffley cry through the last fifteen minutes, but the final coda really made the movie for me. The callback with Hiccup's and Astrid's children putting their hands up to Toothless was just perfect. Astrid also got to stay with her own dragon, and the Lightfury didn't get a name or a rider, she was just her own dragon.

I was a little sad that the story couldn't accommodate saving Grimmel's dragons by removing the poison collar, but that's a minor quibble.
posted by gladly at 9:59 PM on February 23, 2019 [2 favorites]


I spoiled myself and now I don't want to see it because I LIKED how dragons and humans lived together in harmony, dammit. I don't want "nope, humans are assholes, gotta get the dragons away from them or we'll murder them all" to be the lasting message. Even if it'd be true if we had dragons IRL.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:49 PM on February 24, 2019 [1 favorite]


I think this one is now my favorite after the first one. That's not to say each of the three films aren't fantastic, but Hidden World had so many emotional callbacks to the first film, it was like it was pulling hard at those feelings to create new even more powerful feelings. Ooof!

I wished I'd been able to watch this on a 3D screen but timing simply didn't allow it. A lot of beautiful shots that I'm sure would have looked even more incredible with depth built into them.

I like that the overall problem was built on the previous film's, that humans simply want to enslave dragons for war. I also liked that Grimmel is essentially a Hiccup who killed his Toothless, instead of becoming the closest of friends. Grimmel is just as clever at making use of what dragons produce (in this case, that weirdo mind control saliva or whatever it was), as Hiccup (showcased by his dragon scale armor and fire sword).

Incidentally, I about guffawwed when Grimmel said something along the lines, "You want dragons to live side by side with you, like equals, when they're just thieves and murderers!" It was straight up reference to the arguments being used against immigrants coming into the country. Yes, our dragon loving vikings are the stand in for people who would welcome immigrants. I'm good with that.

The final five or so minutes had me discreetly wiping tears away from my eyes. ARGH. Even John Powell brought the music game at full blast. It was just home run after home run.
posted by Atreides at 1:18 PM on February 25, 2019 [2 favorites]


My son is a huge fan of the "How to Train Your Dragon" series, through the films, TV series, and books. He was delighted with the latest film and pronounced it "Epic".

I really enjoyed it as well. I particularly liked the callback at the end to the start/end of the book series, and the theme of dragons and humans struggling to live together is literally the plot of the last few books in the books. There's great comedy (Toothless attempting a mating dance, for example) as well as exciting action sequences with great flying scenes. I too was moved to tears by the last section of the film - both having to say goodbye and then many years later meeting up. The book series has Hiccup as an old man looking forward to his final meeting with Toothless, which is similarly moving.

Incidentally while the books are hugely different to the films I would thoroughly recommend them for any kids / adults who enjoyed the films. They are sillier, cruder, darker and more complex, but have the same themes. The audiobooks (read by David Tennant) are a joy to listen to, and I've had to listen to them all multiple times now on long car journeys.
posted by Stark at 5:04 AM on February 27, 2019


I found this one the flimsiest of them all with so many loose ties and confusing plot points BUT my kids were giggling silly at the toothlesses love dance and the ending was super sweet; plus the dragons get to leave to be their own masters.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 1:05 PM on June 5, 2022


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