Born in the 3-D land rush, "How to Train Your Dragon" has never quite shrugged off the bland corporate sheen attached to it from the start. But almost a decade since taking flight in 2010, these movies have made up for their lack of fire with enough sincerity and genuine sense of wonder to sustain a mild but moving trilogy.
"How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World" brings the franchise to a close with an affectionate chapter that continues the adventures of the Viking boy-turned-chief Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his faithful dragon Toothless, a sleek, black kind of dragon called a Night Fury (not to be confused with an evening-time presidential tweet storm).
In "The Hidden World," the dragon utopia that Hiccup has built on the Island of Berk, where Vikings once feared and fought dragons, comes under threat from a dastardly dragon hunter named Gimmel the Grisly (F. Murray Abraham) whose toothy grin resembles a moonlighting vampire with violently retrograde policies on dragon coexistence.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows characters Toothless, left, and Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, in a scene from DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World." (DreamWorks AnimationUniversal Pictures via AP)
With Berk under attack, Hiccup rallies the Vikings to uproot and flee to a mythical, undiscovered realm called the Hidden World where dragons could live safely away from humankind. It feels like an overreaction. Fearsome as Gimmel is, he's a single and kind of goofy villain, and, plus, real estate values in hidden worlds are notoriously unpredictable.
Written and directed by series veteran Dean DeBlois, "The Hidden World" may not overwhelm in its necessity; it's a tale that lacks the stakes of the previous installment, which dealt significantly with Hiccup's parents — the discovery of one (Cate Blanchett) and the death of another (Gerard Butler). But the $1 billion in box office taken in by the first two movies, combined, was enough to push the franchise forward and put "How to Train Your Dragon" back into action five years later (and following the sale of DreamWorks to Universal).
There are two compelling parts of "The Hidden World" that validate it. The first is the courting scene between Toothless and another white (and presumably female) Night Fury who turns up just as Gimmel does. They swoop and swoon through the sky, gliding in the glow of the Northern Lights like a dragon version of "La La Land."
This image released by Universal Pictures shows characters, female Light Fury dragon, left, and Night Fury dragon Toothless, in a scene from DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World." (DreamWorks AnimationUniversal Pictures via AP)
The second is the film's terrific coda, which leaps years forward and adds a wider, wistful and more grown-up dimension to what has always been, at its heart, a boy-and-his-dog story, just with wings.
"How To Train You Dragon" has done a lot of things right along the way. It brought in cinematographer extraordinaire Roger Deakins to add to the rich Nordic atmospherics. (Deakins remains credited as a visual consultant in "The Hidden World.") And the series deserves credit, too, for building a story — adapted from Cressida Cowell's books — around two unimpeded protagonists (Hiccup and Toothless) with prosthetic appendages.
Without much to draw on from the surrounding characters (voices include America Ferrera, Jonah Hill and T.J. Miller), "How To Train Your Dragon" has always been predicated on that central twosome and the laudable lesson that animals, even fire-breathing ones, aren't our enemies unless we make them so.
This image released by Universal Pictures shows characters Astrid, voiced by America Ferrera, left, and Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel, in a scene from DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World." (DreamWorks AnimationUniversal Pictures via AP)
"How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World," a Universal Pictures release, is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association of America for adventure action and some mild rude humor. Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Follow AP Film Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jakecoyleAP
This image released by Universal Pictures shows the character Grimmel, voiced by F. Murray Abraham, in a scene from DreamWorks Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World." (DreamWorks AnimationUniversal Pictures via AP)
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TRUMP TRIAL OPENING-AP EXPLAINS — Opening statements in Donald Trump’s hush money trial set the stage for weeks of testimony about the former president’s personal life and places his legal troubles at the center of his closely contested campaign against President Joe Biden. An AP reporter debrief. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving households in low- and middle-income communities — while blasting Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. Newsroom Ready and Consumer Ready edits.
President Joe Biden campaigns in Tampa, Florida. Events at 3 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.
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TRUMP-HUSH-MONEY-MEDIA-BLOGS — With cameras not allowed at former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial in New York, live news blogs are coming into their own as an important news tool. SENT: 710 words, photos.
TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — A longtime tabloid publisher is expected to tell jurors about his efforts to help Donald Trump stifle unflattering stories during the 2016 campaign as testimony resumes in the historic hush money trial of the former president. David Pecker, the former National Enquirer publisher, will be back on the stand Tuesday. SENT: 1,160 words, photos, video. UPCOMING: 1,200 words after trial resumes at 9:30 a.m.
ELECTION 2024-TRUMP-ELECTION INTERFERENCE — Donald Trump faces serious charges in two separate cases over whether he attempted to subvert the Constitution by overturning the results of a fair election. Yet it’s a New York case centered on payments to silence an adult film star that might provide the only legal reckoning this year. Some legal experts are dubious about attempting to tie a record-keeping case to manipulating an election. SENT: 1,050 words, photos.
SUPREME COURT-TRUMP-CAPITOL RIOT-THINGS TO KNOW — The core issue being debated before the Supreme Court on Thursday boils down to this: Whether a former president is immune from prosecution for actions taken while in office — and, if so, what is the extent of the immunity? SENT: 1,070 words, photo.
ELECTION 2024-PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania primaries on Tuesday will cement the lineup for a high-stakes U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Bob Casey and Republican challenger David McCormick. Joe Biden and Donald Trump are expected to win their presidential nominations easily. SENT: 890 words, photos. Polls close at 8 p.m.
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TRUMP-HUSH MONEY — Donald Trump tried to illegally influence the 2016 presidential election by preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public, a prosecutor told jurors at the start of the former president’s historic hush money trial. SENT: 1,270 words, photos, video. With TRUMP-HUSH MONEY-TAKEAWAYS — Opening statements provide a clear roadmap of how prosecutors will try to make the case that Trump broke the law, and how the defense plans to fight the charges.
BIDEN-EARTH DAY — President Joe Biden marked Earth Day by announcing $7 billion in federal grants for residential solar projects serving 900,000-plus households in low- and middle-income communities — while criticizing Republicans who want to gut his policies to address climate change. SENT: 860 words, photos.
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Former president Donald Trump, center, awaits the start of proceedings at Manhattan criminal court, Monday, April 22, 2024, in New York. Opening statements in Donald Trump's historic hush money trial are set to begin. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records as part of an alleged scheme to bury stories he thought might hurt his presidential campaign in 2016. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool)
