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*tba movie squad review of How to Train Your Dragon – The Hidden World

Welcome, fair reader, to our brand-new project: the *tba movie squad – a group of motivated critics who sacrifice their precious time for your cinematic education and watch freshly released films and many more to create fine pieces of reviews such as this one (without spoilers – alright, minimal spoilers – because we’re not that kind of shetty). You might ask yourself at this point: why am I reading this and what’s in it for me? Good questions! Our ultimate goal is to steer you in the right direction (not One Direction) (Maria’s Note: but there’s only One Direction 😉): Either directly to the ticket counter or far, far away from it. Let’s dive right in!

The first movie journey our beloved squad members embarked on was How to Train Your Dragon – The Hidden World (aka How to Train Your Dragon 3). In the following, our experts will answer culturally important questions that will broaden your understanding of moving pictures and illustrate our colourful impressions of this “fantasy/action” film. We are convinced that we are providing a great service for passionate moviegoers to prepare them for an emotional experience or, just as equally emotional, to save you some bucks for an exquisite dine-out at McDonald’s instead of wasting cash on 2.5 hours of snoring in a movie seat. Here we go!

What is How to Train Your Dragon – The Hidden World about?

“HTTYD3 touches on love, loss, responsibility, forgiveness and respect.” – Fluffball98 (stans bearded Hiccup)

Fluffball98: “The plot is relatively simple (Editor’s note: …it’s a children’s movie. What did you expect?): as Hiccup and Toothless need to grapple with love and responsibility, another dragon hunter arrives and challenges the peaceful harmony of humans and dragons. What’s underneath, however, is surprisingly mature for an animated movie about horny dragons.”

Another viewer who wants to remain nameless did not appreciate that the film is “teaching kids that they can only have a happy ending if they end up in a relationship. Despite its wholesome spirit, it praised the notion of ‘true happiness can only be achieved by finding a partner’ and since this is a *tba review: why not spice it up with a wee bit of social criticism? I think it’s creepy that our brains are already infiltrated as kids by this construct of not being able to have a happy ending if you’re single. If you want to follow up on this brilliant idea, watch Daniel Sloss’s show Jigsaw on Netflix.”

“HTTYD3 is heart-warming, adorable and very topical.” – LitCrit1701

Would you watch it again?

jigglypuff420: “Considering that I’m not doing too well mentally, I was sad it was over.”

Flufflball98: “Absolutely. Even if I’m not the biggest fan of the first part, I think the entire trilogy is something truly special and the third part is an incredibly rewarding conclusion that builds on its predecessors’ strengths. It’s gorgeous, gripping, emotional and funny, more or less the platonic ideal (Editor’s note: Or heterosexual propaganda?) of a children’s movie.”

Did you cry on a scale of 0 to 10? (0=SHARKNADO, 10=Hatchi: A Dog’s Tale)

jigglypuff420: “I’d say a solid 5. I cried a bit, not as much as for other movies (like Inside Out when I couldn’t stop crying for 95 minutes), but there were tears and I had to suppress some sobs. However, I also cry a lot in general, so I might not have a lot of tears left (oh honey). The ending really reminded me of the moment in the Pokémon anime where Ash has to let Butterfree go, so that was super sad but also bittersweet.”

Would you subscribe to calling How to Train Rour Dragon 3 a utopian fantasy of animal liberation?

Fluffball98: “Yup, I would. There is so much respect for the dragons not in their usefulness to humans but in their own dignity and beauty. The final act of releasing them in a very selfless deed on Hiccup’s part, one that he commits because he knows it is the right thing to do, presents the final scene in a long history of mutual respect.”

LitCrit1701: “To a certain extent: yes. I think what’s interesting is that they make this notion of independence (of and for the dragons) a temporal issue and not a permanent one. As in “someday when people are ready, we’ll unite again”. It’s a liberation that depends on humankind to either remain unable to co-exist or adapt and change and not on the free will of dragons.”

All in all, we’d recommend you to watch this delightful movie that will provide you with 104 minutes of happiness until you get kicked out of the cinema by an employee that finds you sobbing under a seat. We hope you could take something away from this review (even if that’s realising never to read such a piece again).

Next we will share our collective and highly important opinions on Vice featuring Christian Bale as Dick Cheney. Till then:

Yours sincerely and emphatically,

the *tba movie squad