How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

Another entry from Dreamworks’ Dragon franchise, what I loved about the first films remains, what annoyed me… Remains. Look. This is a film about a people who live with dragons. How could it not be cool and worth two hours of your time? Dreamworks pulls out all the stops in the animation of this latest entry, the dragons are gorgeous, their home of Berk is remarkable, and the Hidden World is breathtaking. However, I’ve never cared for the Dragon writings and this entry is no exception, the characters are one dimensional and overly campy, with Jay Baruchal’s Hiccup and America Ferrara’s Astrid being simply annoying. The conclusion to the series follows Hiccup leading his people, and dragons, to a safe new world after a dragon killer attempts an invasion, and… Blah, blah, blah. Do you really care? One watches this film for the miraculous feats of animation, not the characters or story. A highlight though is Toothless the Dragon falling in love with a Light Fury Dragon, these interactions never fail to charm and, like all the other films, Toothless steals the show. Don’t be a grump like me, just sit back and enjoy the spectacle.