- Actors: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill
- Directors: Dean DeBlois
- Writers: Dean DeBlois
- Producers: Bradford Lewis, Bonnie Arnold
- Format: 4K, NTSC, Subtitled
- Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
- Subtitles: French Canadian, Spanish
- Subtitles for the Hearing Impaired: English
- Region: Region A/1 (Read more about DVD/Blu-ray formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Rated: Parental Guidance SuggestedPG
- Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: May 21, 2019
- Run Time: 104 minutes
As rare as a
non-Disney/Pixar animated success story is in Hollywood
Despite the inevitability
of diminishing returns in sequels, the How
to Train Your Dragon series has had a natural progression in the liberation
of the dragons of the (imagined) world. The first film was simply about the
adolescent Viking, Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), as an aspiring dragon
hunter whose relationship with a wild dragon leads him to change opinions about
the powerful beasts, which progressed within his community in the sequel, so
that Hiccup’s entire clan is riding their own personal dragons and living in
harmony with them by the start of this final film. Unfortunately, they have not
convinced the rest of the world to live in peace with the creatures, and a new
dragon hunter is determined to destroy all of the Night Fury left in the world.
Hiccup leads his
Viking clan and their dragon family away from the danger, in search of an
elusive waterfall at the end of the world which promises an entrance to a
hidden world that dragons are thought to come from. A bit too conveniently, a
female Night Fury (quickly dubbed a Light Fury due to the contrasting white
color instead of black) suddenly appears, having come from the very hidden
world that they are seeking. The interest of the film then becomes two-fold;
dealing with Toothless’ awkwardness courting with his feral counterpart (particularly
after years being domesticated and taking on human qualities), and the
impending attack from a ruthless dragon hunter.
If the two
storylines of The Hidden World are
often disjointed for much of the film, they are expediently combined in the
finale as a way for dual resolution. Like many of the wild animal-friendship
films of the past (Born Free being
the easiest to recall), this resolution feels somewhat inevitable from the
start of the film, but the film is also given a crowd-pleasing epilogue that
seems to reference the equally effective wild animal-reunion video that has
been popularly shared through social media sites. It is a sentimental and sweet
ending to the trilogy, though that does not take away from the excitement the
film offers leading up to this point.
Although there
are some fantastic moments of magical animation (mostly seen in the title
‘hidden world’), the film’s style is primarily utilized to immerse the audience
in the action. As with most family-oriented animation films, there is a
dominant reliance on humor throughout, but this does not necessarily always
dilute the suspense of the action sequences. Even knowing the unlikelihood of a
violent resolution in a PG-rated animated film, I found myself getting swept up
in the tense moments of the narrative due to the effectiveness of the
filmmaking. This may be a bit much for the younger audience members, but
violence is wisely kept implied to avoid any real carnage.
Although some of
the basic animated sequences are not as detailed as other modern animation
films, this is easily forgiven by the use of colors and movement in the film.
This is particularly true of the 4K Ultra HD release, which provides deeper and
more vibrant colors to the visual experience. I have never much liked the
design of these films in terms of the animation, but did appreciate the colors
a great deal more in this format. While the obvious highlights to the 4K
release are these visual enhancements, the sound is also more immersive and the
package comes with a Blu-ray and digital copy also included.
The special
features on the discs include two short films; Bilby and Bird Karma. In
terms of additional footage, there are also a handful of deleted scenes and an
alternate opening to the film (in rough animated form). Not necessary added
(but instead edited) footage, there is a feature which plays the entire dragon
trilogy in 30 seconds. A highlight for film fans will be a feature commentary
with writer/director Dean DeBlois, producer Bradford Lewis, and head of
character animation Simon Otto. There are also a number of brief featurettes,
many of which focus on the animation and character designs, including a feature
that shows how to draw the designs yourself. There is a nice balance between
superficial fan material (most likely directed at younger audience members) and
informational production materials.
Entertainment Value:
7/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6.5/10
Historical
Significance: 6/10
Special Features: 8/10
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