On the island of Berk, vikings and dragons had been enemies for as long as anyone could remember. Dragons were a scourge on the villagers’ livelihoods, torching houses and gobbling up livestock. In response, vikings feared dragons and hunted them mercilessly. For generations, no one dared to question the logic of this war. No one, that is, except for a scrawny, clumsy lad with a head full of dreams – Hiccup, son of Stoick the Vast, who dared one day to help an injured dragon and, without realizing it, changed the course of his people’s history forever.
That was six years ago. Stoick, the mighty and beloved chief of Berk, is dead. After defeating a cruel dragon trapper named Drago Bludvist and his terrifying “Bewilderbeast,” Hiccup has become the new chief of Berk. Vikings and dragons now coexist in an era of unprecedented peace. But this peace is a fragile one. Fleets of dragon trappers continue to patrol the seas, posing a constant threat to Berk’s dragons. One of them, a ruthless assassin named Grimmel the Grisly, is on the hunt for the last Night Fury – Toothless, the dragon who young Hiccup rescued and befriended. Surrounded by danger, the citizens of Berk are faced with a difficult choice: defend their ancestral homeland from relentless invasions, or set sail in search of a new home, a place where their dragon neighbors will be safe once and for all. A place like the Hidden World, a dragon kingdom which, according to legend, lies at the very edge of the earth.
When the first How to Train Your Dragon movie was released in 2010, I loved everything about it – the awkward protagonist, the touching coming-of-age storyline, the tongue-in-cheek humor, and the soaring Celtic soundtrack by John Powell. I enjoyed How to Train Your Dragon 2 as well, admiring the darker, weightier themes that director Dean Deblois chose to explore. So, when I went to see the third film in the series with my little brother, I was expecting to enjoy it. But I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by it like I was. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is the best movie of the saga and a stunning conclusion to the story of Hiccup and Toothless. Additionally, I would argue that this trilogy has earned a place among the great film trilogies – stories like Star Wars, Toy Story, the original Bourne films, The Planet of the Apes, and The Lord of the Rings.
For starters, HTTYD 3 boasts some of the most beautiful animation that I’ve ever seen. The light, textures, and colors are lovingly and vividly rendered, and several shots – the village of Berk, the Hidden World, and a mountainous island covered in snow – are breathtaking in their detail. While most sequels fall into the trap of trying to outdo everything about their predecessors, this film is remarkably quiet and restrained. The story unfolds patiently, much of it told in sequences of images with minimal words. Most notable of these sequences is Toothless’ courtship with the Light Fury, a wordless, balletic encounter that manages to be tender, graceful, and hilarious all at once. One of the film’s many strengths is the time it devotes to developing Toothless as a main character. When action scenes happen, they’re kinetic and gripping. However, the battles don’t clutter or overwhelm the narrative, and it’s the film’s quieter scenes that leave a more lasting impression.
Like its predecessors, HTTYD 3 is at its best when it focuses in on the joys and hardships of friendship and family. The film hits a home run thematically, building on the best parts of previous character arcs and drawing them to conclusions that feel natural and right. Here, we see familiar characters grappling with new challenges: Hiccup, struggling to shoulder the burden of leadership and honor his father’s legacy; Astrid, trying to encourage and challenge Hiccup to become the man he’s meant to be; and Toothless, torn between love for Hiccup and his role as King of Dragons. As in earlier films, the awe and adventure of the story are mingled with sorrow. In a flashback scene, Stoick imparts hard-earned wisdom to a young Hiccup: “With love comes loss, son. It’s part of the deal. But, in the end, it’s all worth it.” This is a story that delves beneath the surface, asking questions about what real love for others looks like, about what leadership involves, and about the potential for joy to bloom in unexpected places – even places of loss and suffering.
The movie is not without flaws. As in previous HTTYD films, the side characters are one-dimensional and largely undeveloped. Additionally, Grimmel is a pretty stereotypical villain, complete with exaggerated, angular features and an ambiguous Slavic accent. There’s a sense that the writers were trying to one-up previous villains by making this guy as villain-ish as possible. However, despite these quibbles, it’s a magnificent final chapter. Part of the film’s ending was spoiled for my brother and me by a trailer that we saw (one of those trailers…). But the way that the story wraps up still contained a couple twists that I found surprising and moving. The final scene is flat-out perfect.
One of the marks of great fantasy is that it isn’t purely escapism. Rather, by launching us into unfamiliar territory, great fantasy challenges us to reexamine the familiar with fresh eyes. Expecting to be entertained, I left the theater with a deeper wonder at the beauty of seas and skies and stories, a deeper desire to love my family and friends well, and a deeper gratitude for the adventure that I’m living in. I was reminded that, like Hiccup’s story, the story that God is writing turns suffering into joy, and is full of magic and adventure.
Here, as in Berk, there be dragons.
Words for Wayfarers 