Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 15, 2019

Dragon romance, a dangerous villain, mass migration, and inescapable change are all at the heart of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, the third and supposedly final film in the hugely successful digitally animated franchise based on the book series written by Cressida Cowell. This final stop brings an emotional and satisfying, if not somewhat predictable, close to the story of a young Viking boy named Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and his one-of-a-kind Night Fury dragon, Toothless. The picture both progresses the series while remaining true to its structure and style, finding perfect balance amongst action, humor, and heart.

“One day you are going to pick a fight you can’t win,” Hiccup is told after another risky raid on dragon trappers. Berk's new leader has created a home where humans and dragons live in harmony and where all are made to feel safe and welcome. But a new villain named Grimmel (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), the man responsible for all but wiping out the Night Fury species, has his eyes on Hiccup's own dragon, Toothless, and Berk itself. Grimmel makes use of a rare Light Fury dragon to lure Toothless to his demise. But Hiccup foils the plan and sparks a war in the process. As Berk's leader, it is his decision for the citizens and dragons to flee to safety and search for the mystical "Hidden World," a supposed safe haven that obsessed his father for many years.

The film focuses on positive, if not difficult, messages of life progression and letting go. The film finds its soul in the passage of both literal and figurative time. Hiccup and Toothless grow up rather fast in the movie, thrust forward by circumstance but also an evolving maturation and understanding of self and the world in which they live. Hiccup is forced to grow as a leader when a great danger threatens Berk's way of life. Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera) is his rock, and it is her devotion to him, admittance of how she has grown better for having him in his life, that gives him the confidence to boldly make the right decisions for his people as well as for his dragon Toothless, who himself discovers a new purpose in life when he meets the Light Fury with whom he falls head over heels in love. Both personal growth and the overhanging threat of danger seem destined to draw the dragon and its rider apart, but the question is whether their separation will be on their own terms or through circumstances beyond their control.

The picture's conclusion is not risky or unsurprising and its villain is not particularly memorable. But the film's isn't about dramatic surprise and it is certainly not about overshadowing its established characters with a scene-stealing bad guy. Grimmel is little more than plot propellant to set the emotional charges in motion and provide a framework for the character growth. F. Murray Abraham delivers a fine voice performance, understanding the character's role in the film and playing Grimmel up as an opposite reflection of Hiccup and with mild comedic undertones, but not to the point that the character overwhelms the movie. He feels like a darker and smarter take on Gargamel, which fits the character's persona and villainy quite nicely. The main voice cast, returning from the previous films, falls right into character and handles humor, heart, and purpose with equal verbal stability and humanity.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is, of course, an entirely digital production. It was reportedly finished at 2K, but that doesn't mean that there's not a wondrous image to be found. Indeed, the movie looks spectacular on the UHD format, managing to best a near-reference quality Blu-ray by a fairly significant margin. This is not simply a tweak around the edges but a serious improvement to both clarity and color. The former is certainly a little less dramatic than the latter, but the sheen and sharpness join together to enhance the intricate details around Berk and its human and dragon populace with fairly sizable increases in detail rendering and total image clarity. Dragon scales and bony protruding structures enjoy a much more firm, reliable, and texturally adept delivery. Small environmental details are just as impressive when seen up-close, like little bits of rock or moss or plant life seen around a huddle of brightly illuminated eggs at the 1:03:34 mark. The rise in clarity is fairly dramatic and surprisingly so for a digitally animated film.

The HDR color palette is the real highlight. More intense blue skies, firmer and more complete character and environment black levels, and more carefully rendered skin tones are obvious, but the real delights appear on the variously colored dragons which manage to outshine their Blu-ray SDR counterparts by a large margin, besting the Blu-ray's color appearance with a much greater feel for color foundation, pop, nuance, and diversity. With the added clarity, the hues absolutely leap off the screen both broadly (such as flyovers around Berk) or intimately (the aforementioned eggs). The movie is brilliantly alive with color and the HDR color spectrum only enhances the intensity, luminance, and overall dazzle, from Berk to the title location and everything in between. The image does appear slightly darkened overall but not at the expense of color intensity or black level depth. In fact, it only compliments some of the film's most critical moments, such as a dusk farewell late in the movie. It's a perfectly balanced color beauty from start to finish.

As with the Blu-ray, there are a few aliasing/shimmering effects which appear in several one-off moments that many viewers may not even notice, such as on Toothless and the Light Fury in a distant shot at the 1:24:37 mark. Otherwise, this one's UHD animation perfection.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World's Dolby Atmos soundtrack delivers a well balanced and very effective listen. The track has no shortage of robust elements and full stage engagement at its disposal, presenting potent bass as necessary but also folding in subtle atmospherics in less dynamic scenes, creating a full spectrum listen that finds harmony in every element. Of course the action scenes are the highlights, with powerful bass, directional effects aplenty, seamless sound movement, and fully integrated back and overhead usage. The top end channels are not used for discrete elements but rather purposeful support, to allow action to soar higher and music to play with a fuller feel for the entire stage. Clarity and detail through all elements is perfect, whether high flying and intense action or the din of the collected Berk at a town hall meeting in chapter seven. Dialogue is clear, center positioned, and well prioritized for the duration. This is a fantastic all-around sonic performer.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World's UHD disc contains a number of extras, including an alternate opening, deleted scenes, short featurettes in quantity, and an audio commentary track. A Blu-ray copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• DreamWorks Shorts (2160p/HDR): Two short films: Bilby (8:01) and Bird Karma (4:48).
• Alternate Opening (2160p/SDR, 3:19): Presented in an early developmental stage. With optional commentary by Writer/Director Dean Deblois.
• Deleted Scenes (2160p/SDR, 9:15 total runtime): Included are Automatic Tail, Protector vs. Captor, Spy Mission, Mind Before the Sword, and Your Responsibility. Presented in unfinished stages of the animation process. With optional commentary by Writer/Director Dean Deblois.
• How to Voice Your Viking (2160p/SDR, 1:33): A brief glimpse into the recording studio as various voice actors work their craft.
• Creating an Epic Dragon Tale (2160p/SDR, 4:25): Expanding the world and wonder with each new film, introducing new characters, and how these new elements shape the film and influence the franchise.
• How I Learned from Dragons (2160p/SDR, 3:42): Key voice actors share their experiences in working for the franchise.
• Brave Wilderness Presents: Nature + Dragons = Awesome (2160p/SDR): Brave Wilderness' Coyote Peterson hosts two pieces that break down some details from the film series through real-world examples and influences. Included are Birds and Bats Are Awesome (3:34) and Animal + Animal = Dragon (4:16).
• The Dragon Sheep Chronicles (2160p/SDR): In Friend vs. Food (1:21), Hiccup narrates a closer look at sheep and the dangers they face from dragons in the world of Berk. In The Secret Sheep Society (1:18), the sheep try to find a means of escape from the dragons.
• A Deck of Dragons (2160p/SDR, 3:29): Exploring some of the new dragons from the film.
• Growing Up with Dragons (2160p/SDR, 3:34): A discussion of Hiccup's character growth and place in the world.
• The Evolving Character Design of Dragons (2160p/SDR, 3:18): Briefly exploring how the characters physically mature on the screen through the trilogy.
• Drawing Dragons (2160p/SDR, 3:09): A look at number of dragon design cues seen throughout the series.
• Epic Villain (2160p/SDR, 1:44): A brief look at the film's new villain, Grimmel.
• Astrid's Whole Dragon Trilogy in 60 Seconds (2160p/SDR, 1:09): A lighting-quick series recap.
• Welcome to New Berk (2160p/SDR, 2:13): Hiccup narrates an overview of the Viking tribe's new home.
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Dean DeBlois, Producer Bradford Lewis, and Head of Character Animation Simon Otto offer a well-rounded track that explores all of the essentials which deconstruct the movie's plot and technical qualities. It covers much of the same information that the video-based supplements explore but in more detail. It's a rewarding and well-rounded listen.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World offers a fitting, exciting, and heartfelt, if not a little predictable, conclusion to the trilogy, which is easily the best digitally crafted non-Pixar franchise around, and it gives most of Pixar's best a serious challenge for supremacy. Universal's UHD is first-class, offering animated reference 2160p/HDR picture quality, invigorating Atmos audio, and a full compliment of supplements. Very highly recommend, as is the entire How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.