Nearly ten years after the first movie wowed audiences around the world, followed by a sequel, two animated series, and four short films, Hiccup and Toothless return one last time to captivate fans with an adventure of a lifetime in DreamWorks Animation’sHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. The third and final feature film quest fromDean DeBloisis now available on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. It’s a perfect conclusion to one of the best animated trilogies in cinematic history, and that’s reason enough to bring this movie home, but the release also features over an hour of exclusive behind-the-scenes bonus content including an alternate opening, two DreamWorks animated shorts, deleted scenes, and more.
What began as an unlikely friendship between an adolescent Viking and a fearsome Night Fury dragon has become an epic saga that spans their entire lives. In this final installment, the heroic pair finally fulfill their destinies as Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) takes on full responsibility as the village chief and ruler of Berk alongside Astrid (America Ferrera), while Toothless becomes the leader of his own kind. As the Vikings and dragons of Berk face their darkest threat yet in the evil strategic genius Grimmel (F. Murray Abraham), and Toothless discovers his soulmate in the mysterious Light Fury, the bonds of Hiccup and Toothless' friendship are tested like never before. Be sure to read our ownMatt Goldberg’s review of the film here.
Fans of the franchise should absolutely pick up the final film on home video. Not only does it complete the trilogy in a satisfying way, the concluding chapter acts as a culmination of the story that began withCressida Cowell’s books and continued on the big and small screen. The excellent and entertaining bonus features include the cast and crew looking back over their 10 years spent with the franchise and offer an insider’s perspective at the evolution of the characters and their dragons. While I wish these special features highlighted some more of the technical aspects of the movies–like costuming, setting and background design, and even the stellar score that’s been a part of the experience since the beginning–they’re more than entertaining enough for fans, especially the little ones out there. This is an easy recommendation to buy based on the strength of the film alone, but bolstered by a retrospective look that lets viewers spend a little more time with Hiccup, Toothless, & co.
BONUS FEATURES ON 4K Ultra HD, BLU-RAY, DVD and digital:
Alternate Opening with Intro by Writer/Director Dean DeBlois
DreamWorks Shorts:
Deleted Scenes with Intros by Writer/Director Dean DeBlois
“Automatic Tail”
“Protector vs Captor”
“Spy Mission”
“Mind Before the Sword”
“Your Responsibility”
How to Voice Your Viking(2 minutes) – Go behind the scenes with the cast as they record the Viking voices ofHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.
Creating an Epic Dragon Tale(3 minutes) – Discover what filmmakers learned while crafting this epic dragon trilogy.
How I Learned from Dragons(3 minutes) – The diverse cast of characters reveal why they think the dragon trilogy is so special.
Brave Wilderness Presents: Nature + Dragons = Awesome(8 minutes) – Join Coyote Peterson, host of Brave Wilderness, as he explores what it takes to make the dragon’s characters come to life.
The Dragon Sheep Chronicles(3 minutes) – Protecting sheep from the dragons of Berk is no easy task but Hiccup has a plan.
A Deck of Dragons(3 minutes) – Observe four new dragons as Fishlegs unveils his original deck of dragon trading cards.
Growing Up with Dragons(3 minutes) – After years of being with these characters, hear the lasting effects of the dragon trilogy from the filmmaker’s perspective.
The Evolving Character Design of Dragons(3 minutes) – Cast and crew reveal what it was like to evolve not only the characters ofHow to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, but themselves as well.
Drawing Dragons(3 minutes) – Get a glimpse of what goes in to designing a DreamWorks dragon.
Epic Villain(2 minutes) – A different kind of villain, Grimmel brings great challenges to the village of Berk. Go behind the scenes as filmmakers breakdown this epic character.
Astrid’s Whole Dragon Trilogy in 60 Seconds– Hold on tight as Astrid sums up the whole dragon trilogy in a legendary 60 seconds.
Welcome to New Berk(2 minutes) – With Hiccup as your guide, get a firsthand look at the updated Viking village of New Berk.
Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Dean DeBlois, Producer Bradford Lewis and Head of Character Animation Simon Otto
