'How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World' Ends on a Bittersweet Note

It's movies like How to Train Your Dragon that makes us wonder where time went. It's wild to think that it's been five years since the sequel. I remember looking forward to this since 2015 and now that it's here, I'm flabbergasted. What started as an out-of-the-ordinary friendship between a Night Fury dragon and an adolescent Viking has become a beloved duo I never thought I'd love, and eventually miss.

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Case in point: this is a tearjerker and I blame Hiccup and Toothless' unlikely friendship which is truly special and something we'll always remember as one of the most incredible pairs in cinema. It's one of this trilogy's gifts to its viewers. Making it as memorable as possible is one of this franchise's feat even if it's been done countless times by other films (ET, Pokémon, etc.).

We've witnessed them grow together, from Hiccup's awkward phase trying to prove his worth in the middle of a macho world, to ultimately succeeding his father as the chieftain of his clan which includes his childhood friends Snotlout, Ruffnut, Fishlegs, Gobber and Eret, his budding wife Astrid, and his mother Valka. Throughout all of this, Toothless has always been his constant.

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The Hidden World further affirms their great partnership, but it doesn't necessarily guarantee that they will live together forever. Toothless has dragon needs and Hiccup is faced with chieftain responsibilities, and if these don't signal a bittersweet foreshadowing, Toothless encounters a majestic female Light Fury. He's smitten and Hiccup must give him freedom. It's like watching the finale of How I Met Your Mother where scene after scene, we knew we have to face the sad inevitable of them going separate lives.

The good part is it's still as magical as its predecessors. Apart from friendship, this franchise thrives because of its impeccable animation, always going to the extreme of what it's already achieved. The 'Hidden World' alone, which turns out to be a dragons den, is Avataresque level of astonishing and it's glorious to watch Hiccup and his partner Astrid fly along its bright, colorful and glowing world of dragons that both look realistic and out-of-this world.

It also uses similar components as the first like when Toothless attempts to court Light Fury while Hiccup wingmans him behind the bushes. It leads back to when Hiccup first encountered Toothless, and he tried to tame him via sticks and stones with the wonderful Forbidden Friendship by John Powell in the background. Moments like these are cute and it adds to the film's sentimental vibe by using the old formula.

It always finds its way to the original and to the familiar, and with John Powell's epic tunes piquing nostalgia, it emphasizes the journey of the trilogy. His score awakens memories of Toothless and Hiccup's friendship, of Berk, and of their whole odyssey, and I'm glad they put them to great use in this movie--from Test Drive to Romantic Flight.

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The dynamics with Astrid's and Hiccup's friends are also fun to watch and served great segue to Toothless and Hiccup's arc. Kristen Wiig's Ruffnut is a comedic highlight, and America Ferrera's Astrid has never been vital to the film. I wish I could say the same to the film's villain Grimmel, who threatens to destroy everything the people of Berk and their dragons have ever cared about deeply but he's the least memorable thing about the whole saga, save for his humongous evil dragons.

It's difficult not to be emotional by its last few scenes especially with the moments leading to the bittersweet finale. There is sincerity in their friendship, and we are all witnesses of that until the end. The last act is all kinds of epic that even if it ends happily, there's still a bit of an emotional sting.