What’s the
greatest animated film trilogy of all time? The
correct answer is the Toy Story trilogy
(soon to be tetralogy), of course.
Now, what’s the second greatest animated film trilogy of all time? Aladdin? (The sequels – satisfying
they might have been – were just direct-to-video fares, basically serving as glorified
pilot and finale for the fantastic animated series.) Despicable
Me? (The first one was fresh. However,
even though I also had fun with the next two, they weren’t nearly as remarkable
as the first one.) Hotel Transylvania? (Also an okay series, but not really something you would consider classic material.) Shrek?
(The first two were awesome. I also remember liking the third, but it was
probably mostly due to the goodwill of its predecessors. The fourth one doesn’t matter here since we’re
talking trilogies, but for the record, I forgot what happened in it.) Cars? (LOL.) Ice
Age? (Double LOL.) Kung Fu
Panda? (A good contender. It was actually a solid trilogy.)
Well, for me, the
runner-up to Toy Story for greatest
animated film trilogy ever is How to
Train Your Dragon. The Hidden World has made sure of that.
The third – and
presumably last – installment of this terrific DreamWorks Animation series is set
just a year after the previous film (which came out five years ago).
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless are constantly leading Berk’s
dragonriders in raids against dragon trappers and freeing the dragons they
capture. With the continuous inflow of
rescued dragons, the village of Berk is starting to get overcrowded. And with all the dragons becoming concentrated
on one place, it makes them vulnerable to be attacked by their enemies –
especially the notorious dragon hunter named Grimmel the Grisly (F. Murray
Abraham), who is responsible for pushing the Night Furies into near extinction. Thus, Hiccup decides to lead the Berkians and
their dragons to find a new, safe home – specifically, a mythical “hidden world” found
at the edge of the world. Meanwhile, Toothless
meets a white, female Fury – a “Light Fury” – and becomes enamored with
her.
Honestly, I think
the first two HTYD installments are
much stronger movies. There are
directions that The Hidden Dragon’s
story took that I don’t agree with, and there are a few character
decisions that I want to question. Nevertheless,
what’s produced as a whole is quite resonating – an animated film that is both
joyful and poignant.
Visually, it’s outstanding. It has dynamic action, compelling animation,
and excellent shot compositions. And, as
usual, the variety of dragon types is a consistent source of eye candy.
In the end, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is not quite a perfect finale. But only because there are some things in the
narrative that I wish turned out differently.
All in all, it’s a powerful close to an immensely delightful and heartwarming saga.
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