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[SPOILERS] HTTYD 3 review
Topic Started: 04 Feb 2019, 17:55 (11544 Views)
BooksAreLikeDragons
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Scribe of Berk

I went to see the film on its release date (1st February), and now that I’ve had a couple of days to digest what I’ve watched, I’m going to do a review. Alright, here we go. I’ll start with the bad and end with the good things.

My biggest issue with the film was… why didn’t they bring Drago back? If it was because they wanted a new villain for HTTYD 3, they could have compromised and had both Grimmel and Drago. In fact, this probably would have worked better for the film. Perhaps they could have teamed up, and when Hiccup was at his lowest point, he could have decided that they were unstoppable, and that he would have to send the dragons away. He eventually gathers his resolve and Drago and Grimmel end up being defeated anyway, but at the end of the film, he could have decided that in case something like that happened again, it was best to send the dragons away to protect them. It also annoyed me how one of the warlords just said that he drowned in an offhand way. This man has survived the murder of his family, the destruction of his village, the loss of his arm, and you expect me to believe that he just drowned at the end of HTTYD 2?

Grimmel irritated me as well. We don’t really know anything about him, just that he’s a dragon hunter who has killed almost every Night Fury in the world (which seems impossible). Whereas I absolutely loved Drago in the second film (he’s actually my favourite villain in the series) because he was so interesting. There was so much mystery built up around him, and when his backstory is finally revealed, he seemed like a real, three-dimensional character. By comparison, I thought Grimmel was quite flat. Speaking of which…

Valka. I was quite disappointed with her. I thought she was amazing in the second film, an iconic character with an incredible presence. (In an interview promoting HTTYD 2, Cate Blanchett said that Valka’s introduction scene was one of the best in cinema history, and I have to agree.) However, in this film, she seems to have been reduced to little more than a running gag, which brings me onto my next point.

The tone of the film. HTTYD 3 is a lot more humorous and lighthearted than the previous instalments, which initially struck me as strange because unlike other animated films, HTTYD is normally quite serious. I assume that due to the darkness of HTTYD 2, somebody advised Dean to uplift the tone in HTTYD 3.

Leading on from this, here is my final negative point. I was expecting the end of the film to make me feel more emotional (after all, HTTYD has been in my life for almost a decade), but when the dragons left, it didn’t have the impact that I was expecting. To be honest, I felt more upset at Stoick’s death in HTTYD 2. The epilogue with Hiccup and Astrid’s children also confused me as well. I hate to say it, but it felt a bit cliché, which was a bit of a let down because I have always loved and respected these films for their originality. Overall, I was left slightly disappointed by HTTYD 3 in some parts.

My family have suggested that I feel this way because I’m growing out of HTTYD, but that’s not the case. I preferred the first and second films (HTTYD 2 is my favourite), but that doesn’t mean that I hated everything about this one. The animation was absolutely gorgeous. Toothless’s courtship scene and Ruffnut being captured by Grimmel was hilarious. I thought that five-year-old Hiccup (I assume that was his age in the flashbacks) was adorable, and the flashbacks of him and Stoick were beautiful. I loved the Deathgrippers – they were terrifying!

Even more frightening is the thought of the comments that I might get in response to my review. (I'm joking :)) Just remember, I have only seen it once. I will post more thoughts when I see the film again, but for now, that’s all from me! :)
Last edited by BooksAreLikeDragons on 04 Feb 2019, 22:22, edited 1 time in total.
Books are like dragons... if we do not believe in them, and read them, they will cease to exist.
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Light Fury
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Cape Starling

Those are some interesting points you've made.

Personally, Drago would have felt out of place. I felt that Grimmel was perhaps the best villain in the series because he went after Hiccup and Hiccup didn't just get tangled and in the way of the previous two villains. In terms of the quality of villains, I felt Grimmel had the best motivation and purpose out of the three. The Red Death was just doing its thing, being a dragon tyrant to other dragons, which affected the Berkians due to competition for food. Drago was about world domination more than anything, which Hiccup even pointed out in his "Or maybe, you need dragons to conquer people. To control those who follow you, and to get rid of those who won't." While I initially had thought of Drago as a pretty good villain, actually going into showed that he wasn't reeaally much more than just some guy who used "losing everything" at the hands (or wings as it were) of dragons as the age old cliche of world domination. The only threat he posed to dragons or people was oppression. Nothing more, nothing less. His death perhaps could have been done a little differently? Maybe? But I think his death was more off-screen than on-screen. I thought he would have died trying to regain control of his Bewilderbeast and drowned while failing to do it. Also, he has one arm, and (while paralympic limbless swimmers are a thing) I really don't think he would have known how to swim well enough to save himself either.

For me, I felt Grimmel's hate for dragons, especially Night Furies was, and the fundamental opposition of their ideologies was what made him such a good villain. He also outsmarted Hiccup and Toothless at every turn, trapping them in an elaborate game if you will. He felt like a villain of Viggo Grimborn's calibre, but with far more history, and with a far bigger threat to Hiccup and Toothless (along with all the dragons in the world and Berkians an anyone else that dared protect them). I felt that we didn't need to know more about him than that, because anything else wouldn't have added to him as a villain. Grimmel hated even the idea that dragons were worth anything more than just a random mindless beast.

In terms of the mystery and hype around Drago, I felt that Grimmel being revealed and interacting with Hiccup so early allowed him to be far more involved with the story. In terms of villains falling flat, I felt the Red Death was the worst because it was basically the equivalent of a video game final boss, while Drago wasn't much more than plain world domination with a barely any tie-in to dragons besides using them as a weapon. Grimmel though, he was a real threat to dragons, especially Toothless. He didn't really care for people either.

As for Valka, she probably was a bit underused and didn't reeaally serve much of a purpose than to be a part of the comedy and push Hiccup (and by extension, Toothless) towards their parting. I felt that Snotlout and the Twins were similarly underused and could have benefited from a little more screen-time and dialogue. They could all have had a better ending to their character arcs, with Snotlout learning to work with Hiccup better and be less obnoxious, and the Twins realising they are stronger together.

As for the tone, I actually felt it was probably darker than the first, and that the second was the lightest of them all. Sure, all of them have their comedic moments, but 2 had a lot of them. Like a LOT. And there weren't many dark moments besides Stoick's flashback, Valka's flashback and the deaths of the Bewilderbeast and most of all Stoick. Whereas here, I felt we didn't have that many comedic moments? And Hiccup's emotions and internal struggles and resultant darkness were what drove the tone of the movie. Especially their goodbye.

I get what you mean by feeling that Stoick's death was more emotional. I felt very sad and shocked when Stoick died, especially so soon after Valka's Bewilderbeast. Here, I don't think I cried as much, but, I did feel a lot more emotions and it had a significantly longer impact on me. It made me revisit the goodbyes I'd had to say, the losses I'd had to deal with, but also the people I have become close to, the friends I've made and the people I've loved. I'm sure that may seem somewhat cliched, but I felt the emotional impact on me from that goodbye was far greater than Stoick's death.

The epilogue may have been somewhat cliched in that they get married, have children and then introduce those children to dragons, but you have to remember that they waited for years to do that. I'd say it was at least 7 or 8 years between the goodbye and the reunion. I felt that them waiting to go and visit them showed that Hiccup had matured as a person and as a chief. He knew that he needed to take care of his people, the Berkians, and do his part to ensure the dragons' safety before he could go and visit his best friend. He learned to believe in himself, and trust in the people that support him. I felt that him doing everything he would have needed to do as Chief first allowed that particular ending to be not so cliched. I felt the real reason he went back was mirroring his flashback with Stoick's cliff-side conversation with Hiccup about dragons, the Hidden World and about Hiccup one day becoming Chief and taking over for Stoick. Hiccstrid and Children's visit to the Hidden World was a part of Hiccup making a start on preparing his kids to take over for him as Chief of Berk and Protector of Dragons. It wasn't the selfish "let's let him see his best friend again" cliched trope I think you're referring to. (also, I'd put baby Hiccup at 2, maybe 3. I think 5 would be far too old for his size, even if he is a talking fishbone XD)

I'd say the other major negative I had was my design, especially given some earlier concept art, but it's something I've accepted. Also, with regard to people's replies, I feel that people here are better than to simply attack someone for having a negative point of view about HTTYD : )


Brother in arms of the forgotten disaster branch, Saturn Starlings.
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BooksAreLikeDragons
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Light Fury
04 Feb 2019, 22:02
Also, with regard to people's replies, I feel that people here are better than to simply attack someone for having a negative point of view about HTTYD : )
(I was joking in that part. I wasn't being serious. :))

Well, it's interesting to share opinions, and I will try to watch the film for the second time with a more open mind.
Books are like dragons... if we do not believe in them, and read them, they will cease to exist.
How then will we learn the language and understand the stories of the dear dead ghosts of the past?

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Light Fury
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BooksAreLikeDragons
04 Feb 2019, 22:16
Light Fury
04 Feb 2019, 22:02
Also, with regard to people's replies, I feel that people here are better than to simply attack someone for having a negative point of view about HTTYD : )
(I was joking in that part. I wasn't being serious. :))

Well, it's interesting to share opinions, and I will try to watch the film for the second time with a more open mind.
(oh ok :) )


Brother in arms of the forgotten disaster branch, Saturn Starlings.
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BooksAreLikeDragons
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Light Fury
05 Feb 2019, 03:56
BooksAreLikeDragons
04 Feb 2019, 22:16
Light Fury
04 Feb 2019, 22:02
Also, with regard to people's replies, I feel that people here are better than to simply attack someone for having a negative point of view about HTTYD : )
(I was joking in that part. I wasn't being serious. :))

Well, it's interesting to share opinions, and I will try to watch the film for the second time with a more open mind.
(oh ok :) )
:)
Books are like dragons... if we do not believe in them, and read them, they will cease to exist.
How then will we learn the language and understand the stories of the dear dead ghosts of the past?

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AstridHofferson
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Am I the only one that felt empty after watching It?.......sounds strange but I guess I was overwhelmed after literal years of waiting.
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AstridHofferson
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I also loved the mini flashbacks of stoick and baby hiccup.....that got me emotional.
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AstridHofferson
23 Feb 2019, 19:06
Am I the only one that felt empty after watching It?.......sounds strange but I guess I was overwhelmed after literal years of waiting.
I know what you mean.
Books are like dragons... if we do not believe in them, and read them, they will cease to exist.
How then will we learn the language and understand the stories of the dear dead ghosts of the past?

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AstridHofferson
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BooksAreLikeDragons
23 Feb 2019, 20:11
AstridHofferson
23 Feb 2019, 19:06
Am I the only one that felt empty after watching It?.......sounds strange but I guess I was overwhelmed after literal years of waiting.
I know what you mean.
Ok so it's not just me . ^_^
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BooksAreLikeDragons
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AstridHofferson
23 Feb 2019, 20:18
BooksAreLikeDragons
23 Feb 2019, 20:11
AstridHofferson
23 Feb 2019, 19:06
Am I the only one that felt empty after watching It?.......sounds strange but I guess I was overwhelmed after literal years of waiting.
I know what you mean.
Ok so it's not just me . ^_^
No ^_^
Books are like dragons... if we do not believe in them, and read them, they will cease to exist.
How then will we learn the language and understand the stories of the dear dead ghosts of the past?

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