User Reviews

Almost nine years we have waited for this dramatic conclusion. Was it worth it? Definitely!

There are moments when watching this film that I thought that it was getting a little slow paced for me. However at the conclusion, I had come to appreciate every scene knowing that those scenes contributed greatly to the emotional ending.

The movie itself continues with the journey of Hiccup and Toothless. Hiccup is now chief but his focus is divided between looking after his people and the saving of dragons that are still threatened by humans outside of Berk. Hiccup embarks on a quest to find "The Hidden World", however he only has stories and few notes passed on from his father to go by. He believes that moving all dragons and his people to this mystical location will be the safest bet for their survival, given that Hiccup has made Berk an enemy of many tribes by raiding and saving dragons from those that do not mean well.

As expected there is a new villain in this film by the name of Grimmel the Grisly. On a Villain meter this guy gets a solid 10. Cunning, ruthless, and hunter of dragons for the pure joy of it.

As Toothless meets a new mate, Hiccup is faced with one of the hardest decisions of his life. However is it one that he is willing to make?

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is nothing short of a work of art. Is it the best movie in the series? I would say that it is on par with the others as each film captures the growth of Hiccup and the bond between himself and Toothless in a particular point in time. However I can say that this film is easily the most emotional.

The supporting characters all play pivotal roles as Hiccup has grown to trust and rely on his dear friends over the course of the three films.

This movie is great for all ages. Dreamworks have done a wonderful job in creating a timeless classic. I would strongly suggest watching the first two installments before watching this film.

Signing off

Silly D

In brief: this third part of the series lacks of the basics that made HTTYD 1&2 such a good movies, which is the magic of the relationship between Hiccup and the Nighfury. The first gets the best out of the second, and viceversa. Together, they become the Viking King and the Dragon Alpha. They complement each other. Instead, in this third film, Hiccup has become a wonderful fighter and the Nightfury can even fly alone. Come on... they even admit that Hiccup doesn't need the Nightfury! Hello Dreamworks, this is not a story about Hiccup the hero, but about the understanding of two worlds, about friendship, about shared leadership... all lost for My Little Pony Lightfury

And can anyone tell me where is Toothless the reckless fighter? The same toothless that amuses us with his amazing powers capable of destroying a Mega Dragon... in this third movie he doesn't even fight, he just tries to make funny jokes while seducing My Little Pony Lightfury.

And why exactly does the nightfury know how to get to the Hidden World but has never lead the dragons before? They need Hiccup to tell them to go? They never wanted to come back before? Let's assume they are lost and only a human could make them think about going back (which is ridiculous), why didn't Hiccup's father thought about finding the Hidden World after they domesticated the dragons in the end of the first movie? Oh wait...

Let alone the poorly executed end of the villain, the fact that the hidden world is just presented very briefly... and many other things that the users here have reviewed already very well.

And at the last act, they realized the villain has trucked them down and they are being followed because Hiccup's mother goes to find it out, but later on the we see that the whole fleet is actually very close to the Island, so why they didn't see it before?

Disappointing.

Major SPOILERS will follow. Suggestion: if you want to remain spoiler-free, don't watch the official trailer either. It's neat but spoils every single plot development.

A bit of background: I love the first movie and the animated series Riders of Berk and Race to the Edge - check them out. I was lukewarm about the second film, which wasn't by all means bad and boasted impressive visuals but lacked the charm of its predecessor for me.

This third movie is the conclusion of the adventures of Hiccup and Toothless; I would rate it lower than the first but higher than the second.

Positives first. The film looks amazing, the most beautiful How to Train Your Dragon entry. Visuals, animation and set-pieces are top-notch.

John Powell provides another lovely score, although I doubt he will ever create something as astounding as his soundtrack for the first film, which ranks among the best of recent movie history for me.

Character-wise, the rest of the gang has a bit more to do than in the second film, although Hic, Astrid, Toothless and the new Light Fury get most of the screentime. The new villain Grimmel, with his malicious playfulness, is an improvement over Drago Bludvist, who was something of a blunt instrument. The design of the new "evil" dragons (the Deathgrippers) is effective.

Here is my major issue with The Hidden World. The bittersweet ending was an excellent idea on paper but the execution, while competent, could have been better. The separation between the young hero and his dragon feels contrived, since the protagonists have just relocated to a larger island and dealt a devastating defeat to their enemies.

I find this kind of bittersweet conclusion works better if there is a sort of inevitability to it - like in Toy Story 3, which pulled it off perfectly, or even The Jungle Book fifty years ago, where Mowgli *really* had to choose between staying with his animal friends or living with other humans. This one, for all its emotional background, feels forced.

Even worse, it doesn't work thematically with the beautiful moral of the first How to Train Your Dragon (and the series), which was about understanding, integration and mutual enrichment. So humans and dragons CAN'T really live together, after all - each species for itself: the cool flying reptiles are shipped off by the screenwriters to their bioluminescent realm and Vikings return to their ancient costumes.

In fact, the over-crowded, chaotic Berk seen in the first act looks like something straight out of the predictions of Mildew, the dragon-hating bigot from Riders of Berk. So the petty minor villain was right all along?

And yes, it is sad when the dragons leave, but you're just cashing in on an already established relationship. I did like the epilogue with a mature Hic meeting Toothless again, both of them with their respective families.

Another thing, this time not a major flaw, just something I noticed. The movie, like the second one, completely ignores the excellent TV series. For example, there are hordes of dragons onscreen and I don't think I saw *one* of the dozens invented by the show. It feels like the film went out of its way to deliberately avoid any possible reference, even minor. Weird.

Overall, The Hidden World is a compelling adventure, both amusing and touching. A solid conclusion, although I can't help but feel underwhelmed. Maybe the gem that was the first movie was just too much to live up to.

7/10

Compared to the other films this one makes no sense, the first one was a masterpiece and it made me a huge fan of this series, then came the second one and with Chris Sanders gone it wasn´t as good as the first but still sort of enjoyable or decent, but this one? it basically ruins what all the other 2 established Why would Toothless leave Hiccup for a female he just met? since when was this series about romance? why would they leave Berk now? i mean in the first film, second and tv shows it is established they have been through dragon attacks and worst enemies and never felt the need to leave, also the Light Fury looks like My Little Pony! meanwhile the Deathgrippers look awesome! In Gift of the Night fury Toothless destroyed the atomatic tailfin but now he sees a girl and runs off? really? he challenged an alpha because he loved Hiccup in the second but that gets ignored here, instead he would rather live inside a cave with a white sausage he just met instead of a life with more adventure and a human who sacrificed everything for him. The pace is terrible and too fast, and why is the mother Valka taking the departure of dragons so well, and giving advice about relying on humans? didn´t she live with dragons for 20 years and abandoned her family? shouldn´t she take this worse than anybody? Hiccup acts needy when we have seen him plenty of times standing on his own without Toothless before! he even lets him go that easily! (And Toothless acts disturbingly gross) Grimmel is the worst villain in this entire franchise, the only awesome things are his dragons. The animation looks too smooth! what happened to the cool textures Toothless used to have? the hidden world looked nice though! The soundtrack is good but not as good as the other 2 soundtracks. I could go on and on about how terrible this is, i appreciate the flashbacks with Stoick but i was expecting more grieving and leading problems (since this film takes place 1 year after httyd 2 according to Dean the director) instead it´s kind of ignored for the sake of spending time with the lame romance (with bad message saying friendship isn´t enough and that everybody needs a partner) It´s just that this film only wants to make you cry with cheap and lame formulas ruining the heart of How to train your dragon. It´s just a bad fanfiction with cheap storyline! love triangle plus one dimensional trophy hunter villain and lazy typical ending. Such a shame........ i refuse to recognize this as canon cause it makes ZERO sense!

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a fantastic finale for the film franchise and a poignant farewell to this beautiful realm of humans and dragons. Seeing these characters evolve over the past two films to where they are in The Hidden World feels not only believable but deeply emotional and weighty as well.

The Hidden World takes place one year after the second film, which means there aren't as many massive changes like the five-year jump between How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2. While the main characters are still massive goofs, they also feel more like burgeoning adults now. Everyone's been riding, fighting, and living alongside their dragons for at least six years so they're a more capable bunch now (well, most of the time). Meanwhile, their home, Berk, has grown into a ridiculously overcrowded viking/dragon utopia.

Hiccup's (Jay Baruchel) dragon-based tech has also continued to evolve and ties nicely back into the previous films. Seeing things like the wingsuit he was working on in the second movie be perfected in this third film gives the world a real physical sense of tangible continuity. Not all the film's callbacks work though. While the recurring jokes from the earlier movies -- such as how the twins hate each other, or Toothless playing fetch with Hiccup's foot -- were fun, they also felt forced and less genuine than before. Now the village chief, Hiccup, more than any other character, has truly come into his own even though, in many ways, he's still that boy full of self-doubt and compassion for his people and their dragons. He still looks to his friends, and especially his partner Astrid (America Ferrara), for help and inspiration when times are tough or his confidence wavers. Astrid remains one of the most capable among the supporting characters, having taken on an almost second- in-command role in the village.

A dangerous new threat to Berk comes in the form of the fearsome dragon tracker Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham). Grimmel is a truly fitting villain for this emotional final installment. Not only does Grimmel make things personal by having a special vendetta against Toothless, he's also strategic and calculating, always a step ahead of the heroes. He forces the citizens of Berk, particularly Hiccup and Toothless, to make some of their hardest sacrifices yet. Grimmel doesn't simply want power; he wants to totally eradicate dragons and make a larger, painful point while doing so. To this end, he uses the white female Night Fury dragon -- the Light Fury -- as bait to try to take out Toothless. Fortunately, the introduction of the Light Fury is simply adorable. The way the dragons move and behave like living, lovable creatures has always been essential to this franchise and this entry wisely doubled down on that hard.

Hiccup's support for his friend during this time shows how far they've come together as a team. Usually, it's been Hiccup developing a new relationship (like discovering Toothless in the first film or meeting his mother in the second). This time it's Toothless's turn to forge a new relationship. The pivotal choice facing Hiccup here is one that the Hiccup from even one film ago wouldn't have had the strength to make. Indeed, none of the characters we met in the first movie would have been capable of what's required of them here. It took the total arc of three films to get them all here to such a believable and selfless conclusion.

Visually, every installment in this trilogy has depicted a new dragon home, each one more magnificent than the last. The titular Hidden World is a haven for thousands of different kinds of dragons. These awe-inspiring scenes have so much happening on screen at once and wonderfully showcase just how far these films have evolved and improved visually since the 2010 original. Everything from scenes of destruction to dragon fire and dragon scales to the softness of human characters' hair all looked truly impressive. Factor in the rousing score and you have a movie that's a feast for the senses.

The Verdict How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a fantastic, visually stunning and poignant way to end this beloved trilogy. While the young characters remain joyously funny, this finale also adds mature notes to their story of friendship. The franchise has, like its audience, grown up, and to that end this film grapples with more complex themes than before, making for a truly satisfying yet bittersweet conclusion.

"There were Dragons when I was a boy". For almost 5 years I had that quote stitched into my mind, wondering what Dean DeBlois would have in store for the finale of the How to Train your Dragon trilogy. The world was set, the characters were fully realised, the possibilities were endless and..........we get what's possibly one of the most mediocre and disappointing plots to a third trilogy finale film since probably Spider-Man 3.

Story: Hiccup and his gang have been rescuing dragons from Dragon trappers and bringing them back to their home on Berk. That is until one day, an EVIL villain named Grimmel arrives to kill Hiccup's night fury Toothless, and do some other stuff with dragons (honestly other than the forced "I needs to kill za night fury because REAZZONS" plot, the villain sucks), and so the gang takes all of Berk to find the mysterious Hidden World. Toothless also finds a love interest, a white collored Night Fury dubbed the "Light Fury". That's all I got.

Before I get to the negatives, the positives first. Animation as always great. There are parts too where the scenery looking Uber realistic, like I'm seeing real life locations on screen, and Dreamworks has certainly come a long way. The costume designs and the design of all the dragons is very well handled. The music is great, as it's been in the other two films. So superficial stuff, all good. As for the characters, they're pretty one note. I liked Fishlegs' new parental interest in baby dragons, that was kinda sweet. And I also enjoyed the flashbacks between Hiccup and Stoick; nice little pay check for Gerard Butler.

As you can tell, this movie is beyond frustrating and incredibly disappointing. I know there's people out there saying "it's just a kids movie" no, a kids movie would be Luis and the Aliens, or the Minions. The How to Train Your Dragon franchise has been with us since 2010, and it does for our age group what Toy Story did for the age group a few years older than me; it grew on us, and we don't just want the characters to grow and mature, we want the story, and themes and emotions to grow with them. How to Train your Dragon 2 was AMAZING partly because it introduced themes and emotions that flowed so well with young adult versions of the characters.

I have to believe that half way or a third through this DuBois was let go and replaced; 4 years to conclude this trilogy and this is the story and villain he goes with? Seriously? Did he just not care anymore? Now I know what M.Night.Shyamalan fans thought when they were watching The Happening a decade ago.

The villain was beyond eye-rolling to watch, and the animators might as well of just given him some twirling moustache on screen, that's how cartoony his character and 'villainy' was. He has the same arc as Drago in the second movie, but the 50¢ version.

Overall, this film reminds me of The Last Jedi, it left the franchise on a low note; not for the same reasons, but having waited 5 years for the third instalment, with that one quote fishing around in my brain, expecting the ultimate conclusion, the ultimate villain for this franchise, with no new jokes, or concepts to explore. How to Train your Dragon 3 is uninspired fan fiction, and I'm giving it a 5 out of 10

First of all, let me start by pointing out the following: the fact that the ending of a movie moves you to tears, doesn't make it WOW THE MOST AMAZING MOVIE OF ALL TIME. I am a huge fan of the franchise but this movie was a huge let-down. I agree with the criticism I've already read on this page. Story underdeveloped, the villain extremely underwhelming... The whole movie is basically shown in the trailer. Sure, I had a tear in my eye when the dragons leave at the end, but hey, it's toothless and Hiccup... The hidden world only seems to be a few miles away from the island and is accessed through a simple waterfall and a cave. Why then can't the dragons just move there, safely out of the way, but come and visit sometimes? Why do they suddenly turn savage? Why does Toothless go away and just leave Hiccup behind, without saying goodbye, when last movie he would have given his own life to save him? Just a lot of loose ends and irregularities, really. Very dissappointing.