How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (a.k.a. How to Train Your Dragon 3) is a 2019 American computer-animated fantasy film loosely based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. A sequel to 2010's How to Train Your Dragon and 2014's How to Train Your Dragon 2, it is the third and final installment in the How to Train Your Dragon film trilogy. It is DreamWorks Animation's 36th feature film.
Written and directed by Dean DeBlois, the film stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Kit Harington and F. Murray Abraham. The film is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Universal Pictures, whose parent company NBCUniversal acquired DWA in 2016, rather than 20th Century Fox (later 20th Century Studios) which the studio previously had a distribution deal with. It received positive reviews from critics, who cited the animation, action sequences, musical score, voice acting, emotional weight and conclusion and has grossed $519.4 million worldwide, becoming the fourth highest-grossing film of 2019 as well as Universal's highest-grossing animated film not to be produced by Illumination. At the 92nd Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Animated Feature, but lost to Pixar's Toy Story 4.
Plot[]
One year after defending Berk from Drago Bludvist, Hiccup, Toothless and their friends continue to rescue captured dragons in order to bring them back to Berk and create a bustling dragon and human utopia. Unfortunately, their efforts have also resulted in the island becoming severely overpopulated with dragons. In a response to the overcrowding, Hiccup desires to find the "Hidden World", a safe haven for dragons that his late father Stoick told him about. During lunch at the Great Hall at Berk, Gobber pressures Hiccup and Astrid to tie the knot and get married and start ruling Berk as a royal couple which makes Astrid feel a little awkward. Meanwhile, a white Fury dragon, held captive by warlords, is given to infamous dragon hunter Grimmel the Grisly as bait for him to capture Toothless for the warlords' use as an alpha.
Toothless discovers the white Fury (dubbed a "Light Fury" by Astrid) in the woods and the two quickly become enchanted with each other until the Light Fury, sensing Hiccup's nearby presence, flees. Hiccup and Tuffnut later discover Grimmel's dragon traps in the area. Grimmel visits Hiccup that night, revealing that he hunted and killed all the Night Furies except Toothless, but Hiccup has prepared an ambush to capture him; Grimmel escapes, burning down Hiccup's house and part of Berk, threatening to return if he doesn't get Toothless soon. In response, Hiccup rallies the citizens and dragons to leave Berk on a quest to find the Hidden World and safety from dragon hunters.
Mid-journey, the Berkians discover an island on which they initially plan to rest for a short while, but soon begin to settle there, even if only temporarily. While there, Toothless meets the Light Fury again and, after a few failed attempts, he manages to woo her with a drawing of her in the sand. Seeing Toothless's inability to fly solo hindering his growing relationship with the Light Fury, Hiccup rebuilds an automatic, fireproof tail for him. Upon receiving the tail, Toothless flies off, meeting the Light Fury on his own and flying with her to an unknown land. Valka, on a scouting patrol, notices Grimmel's approaching army and quickly reports back to Hiccup. Hiccup and the dragon riders head to capture Grimmel; yet, they fall into his trap and barely escape. Ruffnut is captured but irritates Grimmel until he releases and secretly follows her after she unknowingly revealed the Berkians' new location.
Hiccup and Astrid, searching for Toothless with Stormfly, find the Hidden World and see Toothless and the Light Fury leading the dragons there as king and queen. When the two are soon discovered, Toothless rescues Hiccup and Astrid and returns them to the Berkians, with Hiccup realizing his people would be intruders and unsafe in the Hidden World. Suddenly, Grimmel appears and captures Toothless and the Light Fury (who followed Toothless). Toothless's alpha status allows Grimmel to capture the rest of Berk's dragons by threatening to kill the Light Fury if any dragon or Berkian attacks.
With Astrid's encouragement, Hiccup sets out with the dragon riders to stop Grimmel and his army. Gliding on wingsuits, they catch Grimmel's army off-guard, igniting a battle. Hiccup frees Toothless, while Grimmel drugs the Light Fury into obeying him. Hiccup and Toothless give chase, but Grimmel tranquilizes Toothless midair causing him to fall helplessly. Hiccup, realizing he cannot rescue Toothless alone, frees the Light Fury and implores her to save Toothless. Hiccup is fully prepared to sacrifice himself in order to save Toothless as both he and Grimmel plummet toward the sea. The Light Fury, however, returns to save Hiccup as well while Grimmel falls to his death.
Back on the island, both Toothless and Hiccup fully realize that dragons will never be safe in the human world. Hiccup bids a tearful farewell to Toothless as all of the Berkians set their dragons free to live in the Hidden World. Toothless brings all the dragons to his command for one last time as the Light Fury leads him and the rest of the dragons away to their new home. Sometime later, Hiccup and Astrid marry on the island on which the Berkians have settled.
A few years later, Hiccup, Astrid and their two children sail across the sea to reunite with the dragons at the edge of the Hidden World. There, Toothless and the Light Fury are shown to have mated and have given birth to three hybrid dragon fledglings known as Night Lights. After introducing his children to his old friend, Hiccup takes his son flying on Toothless while Astrid and her daughter fly on Stormfly, accompanied by the Light Fury and their children. Hiccup vows that, until the time comes when humankind and dragons can co-exist peacefully, the Berkians will guard the secret of the dragons' disappearance.
Cast[]
- Jay Baruchel as Hiccup
- America Ferrera as Astrid Hofferson
- Cate Blanchett as Valka
- Craig Ferguson as Gobber the Belch
- Jonah Hill as Snotlout Jorgenson
- Kit Harington as Eret
- F. Murray Abraham as Grimmel the Grisly
- Justin Rupple and Kristen Wiig as Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston. Tuffnut was previously voiced by T.J. Miller in the last two movies.
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs Ingerman
- Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast
Release and marketing[]
In September 2012, 20th Century Studios, the studio's then-distributor partner, and DreamWorks Animation announced the film was originally going to be released on June 17, 2016. In September 2014, the film's release date was pushed back a year from its original release date of June 17, 2016 to June 9, 2017. DeBlois explained the release date shifts as such: "It's just that these movies take three years. I think it was a little ambitious to say 2016... As is normally the case, they kind of throw darts out into the future and wherever they land they call that a release date until we start talking about it in practical terms, and then it's like, 'Uh yeah that's not enough time'. So knowing that they take three years from this moment, from outlining and writing the screenplay through to the final lighting of it, it's just a process of building models and doing tests and animating, storyboarding, the whole thing just adds up to about three years."
In January 2015 when Pacific Data Images was shut down and DreamWorks had to layoff 500 employees, the release date was pushed back a year from June 9, 2017 to June 29, 2018 following DreamWorks Animation's corporate restructuring and lay-offs meant to maximize the company's "creative talent and resources, reduce costs, and drive profitability." On June 18, 2016, the release date was moved up from June 29, 2018 to May 18, 2018, taking the release date of the Warner Animation Group's The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part. On December 5, 2016, the US release date was pushed back from May 18, 2018 to March 1, 2019. The release date was moved up for a final time from March 1, 2019 to February 22, 2019, taking the slot of The Turning, a live-action DreamWorks film which in turn was pushed back to January 24, 2020.
The movie's poster was released on May 31, 2018. Its first trailer premiered on June 7, 2018, while its second trailer was released on October 25, 2018.
In some countries, the film is plainly called How To Train Your Dragon 3, dropping "The Hidden World" subtitle.
Trivia[]
- On April 1, 2016, Rotoscopers posted an article saying that the 3rd movie was originally going to have a PG-13 Rating. However, this was an April Fools prank, as stated behind the "Original Source" link at the bottom of the article.
- This is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be distributed by Universal Studios.
- It is also Universal Pictures' second animated theatrical film released in February, after Curious George in 2006.
- This also marks DreamWorks Animation's only trilogy to have each installment distributed by a studio over the years (Paramount distributed the first movie in 2010 and the second movie along with Fox in 2014).
- This is the first DreamWorks Animation film of the following Abominable.
- This is the first DreamWorks Animation film to use the new logo.
- This is the first DreamWorks Animation film to be released in February.
- How to Train Your Dragon is the fourth DreamWorks Animation franchise to become a trilogy, after Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda.
Gallery[]
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