How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World: Film Review

How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World: Film Review

Cast: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrara, F Murray Abraham
Director: Dean DeBlois

The animated dragon saga hits its conclusion capper with The Hidden World, a film that's a visually layered but occasionally muted end to the series.

Jay Baruchel's Hiccup is back, this time as the chief of Berk, and still pal to alpha dragon Toothless.

With Hiccup facing marriage to Astrid (Ferrara), the world of Berk is thrown into disarray with the arrival of a new dinosaur hunter Grimmel (Murray Abraham) determined to wipe Toothless' kind from the world.

As the tribe up and leaves from Berk, Hiccup begins to doubt himself, and worries what future lies ahead for them all - and most importantly, for his pal Toothless.

There is no doubting the calibre of the animation of How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

Certainly, the sequence where The Hidden World is discovered is visually astounding, shimmering as it does with colour, and subtle hues.

And there are moments between Toothless and his new lady dragon friend that are up there with some of the best animal courtship sequences you've seen on TV animal shows (complete with some truly adept orchestral scores helping the scenes soar).

The visuals are award-worthy, and certainly do much to build on previous installments.

But it has also to be said, there's a lot of distraction in How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World which pulls away from engaging with Hiccup one last time. Tedious back and forth bonehead banter between Tuffnut and Ruffnut grates immensely and derails the emotional heft that's brewing.

When How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World concentrates solely on Hiccup and Toothless though, it soars. From the age old message of learning to love with loss, and realising they have to move on, Jay Baruchel does some of his best work, giving Hiccup the bittersweet sadness he needs to carry it off.

It's a good solid end and capper to the trilogy, and while the emotional edges work best when they stay focussed, the ultimate open end feel to the film allows you to hope against hope that one day, Hiccup and Toothless will reunite on the big screen.