Retro-Reviews: How To Train Your Dragon (Complete Trilogy/SPOILERS)

We Go Where No One Goes...

I always love a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and that is the beauty of a trilogy. There are many movie trilogies that I love, but which one is my absolute favorite? Honestly, I try to use that term as loosely as possible because I really can't pick a favorite out of any of them. However, if there was one that moved me the most, that holds the most impact for me personally, and tells its story as fully and completely as possible, then I think I have to go with the How To Train Your Dragon trilogy. Words cannot begin to describe the love I have for these movies. Without further adieu, let's get into why I feel this way, and whatever major or minor caveats they hold:

UPS

1. For starters, Hiccup and Toothless. The bond these two share is one of the most touching, pure, and genuine friendships I have ever seen put into any work of fiction. What makes their bond better is how it develops Hiccup as a character and how he becomes a better person because of it. The two go to Hell and back together, and nothing that stands in their way drives them apart, which really speaks volumes about how powerful their friendship is. 
2. Going into each movie, each one has something to love about it. The first one is an excellent starting point, with all the characters being introduced in satisfying ways and developed to points that will shape them for the future. Most affecting of all is the arc of Stoick, who goes from this hard-hearted brute of a Viking with high standards set for his son to a more vulnerable individual who allows himself to open up in more personal ways and admit his shortcomings, which culminates in this profoundly affecting moment. That's just one of the many moments in this film that is genuinely awe-inspiring and it would be easy to think after such a strong start that we wouldn't reach the same heights again. Well...
3. The second one proves to be just as stellar as the first and even takes things to higher heights by providing darker and more emotional scenes, in particular the death of Stoick, which really just needs to be seen to be believed. The introduction of Valka also brings in more drama and seeing Hiccup really come into his own despite everything that happens really helps to round him out as a character. Finally...
4. The Hidden World, while admittedly slightly weaker than the first two, is a beautiful and satisfying conclusion to the story. Everything comes full circle in ways that feel earned, and it provides a perfect bittersweet conclusion that moves you and helps you feel hopeful that things will get better in the future. Also, the romance between Toothless and the Light Fury is simply adorable and that final scene may just be my favorite moment in the entire trilogy. It couldn't have ended on a more perfect note than that.
5. The music! Good Lord, THE MUSIC!!! If there one thing that I could definitively say, it's that these movies hold, for me, the best soundtrack to a movie ever! EVER! It is so moving, so powerful, so...AGH! Let's just leave it there, shall we?

DOWNS

1. Remember how I said The Hidden World was slightly weaker than the first two. Well, everything about it was mostly stellar...except one thing: this one subplot featuring Snotlout having a crush on Valka and getting jealous of Eret, with the latter two getting very little to do in this film, which is kinda surprising given the rather major roles they played in the second one. It's really odd and what makes it more distracting is that it's given a heavy amount of screentime, even when it adds nothing to the film. I may be overreacting a bit, but I think if there was one thing from these movies that I could do without, it was definitely this.

OVERALL

The How To Train Your Dragon trilogy is pretty much my favorite movie trilogy of all time. If you haven't seen any of them yet, please give them a watch. I promise you won't regret it.  

And that's it for this post guys. Tune in for more on the way :)