Seeing as this movie what something I was the most excited for this year, I think it’s safe to say it has lived up to what I expected it to be, and then exceeded it. My interest in this series began forever ago, in the early birth of my teenage years and it ends fittingly, at the end of said teenage years. It felt like a neat end to a neatly set-up series, and I did really enjoy it.
These movies, though typically for people younger than me, are so easily enjoyed that it’s hard to feel that age based disjoint. The jokes are still strong, the animation beautiful and easy to follow – smooth and alluring, and the story itself is still interesting. Following all the same characters, we end up watching their next journey: separation, threat, and the almost more-threatening threat of real life dawning over favourite young underdog characters. That, in itself, is quite the shake. Watching Hiccup, who can’t be much older than 14 in the first movie, become a chief and a husband, yes – it was quite the shake.
Watching the conclusion to this series was cathartic and sad an promising. Leaving audience members like myself with a recently-dried tear, but the twinge of its feeling still very much real, even if it remains labelled as a “kids film” – I think it’s due the credit of far exceeding that. Especially after tackling topics like family member death, coming of age, responsibility, marriage, and separation. The progression of this series is almost like watching children grow, and it’s been an amazing experience.
Jokes stick out, and so do designs. The subtle ageing of returning characters, and the surprising looks of new ones. The villains, in particular, have also had intriguing designs; like Drago in the second movie, and the villain in this one just the same. They were opposites to each other; rugged and sleek, but they still conveyed such a huge feeling of threat in each movie. Flashbacks stay with you, glimpses into the future do, too. The finishing lines explaining the idea that dragons still exist, waiting for humans to sort ourselves out, was somewhat hopeful and glaring obvious to its meaning – and that kick to such a soft and innocent (mostly) series, was honestly lovely to see.
I’m hesitant to spoil things, of course, because the trio of movies is one to be enjoyed rather than explained. They’re an easy binge, if you start early enough in the afternoon, surely.
I really did enjoy this film. I’m glad I saw it and I’m glad that it’s tied the bow on the franchise so exceptionally.