How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is the Perfect Ending to a Trilogy

Fly On Your Own On Saturday, February 2nd, I walked into a packed theater at 3PM with families all excitedly waiting for the advanced screening of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. I haven’t seen a theater that full since Infinity Wars, and perhaps it’s because every parent is happily bringing their kid to a beautifully animated, heart-warming film that acts as a brilliant capstone to the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. Regardless of the case, the thunderous applause as the credits rolled brought a smile to my face as I teared up at the ending.

The Hidden World picks up relatively soon after the events of How to Train Your Dragon 2, with Hiccup (voiced by the endearingly awkward Jay Paruchel) and Toothless leading a crusade to rescue captured dragons and take them to the new utopia of Berk. Hiccup is aided primarily by Astrid (America Ferrera), the actual best Viking of their generation, and Valka (Cate Blanchett), his mother and experienced Dragon Sanctuary keeper. Rounding out his support network are Gobber, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Tuffnut, Ruffnut, and Eret who mostly serve as a comic relief to Astrid and Valka’s actual guidance. However, Berk’s mutually beneficial relationships with the dragon population is considered a threat by other seafaring civilizations so much so that they form an alliance to bring in the biggest, baddest dragon hunter in all of the land: Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham). In stark contrast to previous villain, Drago, Grimmel is a Kni…