How to Train Your Dragon is one of those franchises that has a great deal of faith with audiences. That first film exploded onto the scene unexpectedly, turning out to be much higher in quality than anyone could have expected (Personally, I still contest it’s one of only a handful of films worth experiencing in 3D).

The second one worked to expand the mythology. It was another entry that was beloved by fans (though I didn’t like this one nearly as much as everyone else), and it went on to break $600 million at the box office, well over $100 million more than its predecessor, which is no small feat. But could it follow up with an entry that would satisfactorily bring everything to a conclusion?

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How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is set to hit theaters in Australia tomorrow, and with that come the early reviews. So is it a winner? It certainly sounds like it.

TheWrap

In fact, as DeBlois engineers this tale towards an expectedly exciting and poignant conclusion, one realizes how well that cleverly misdirecting title How to Train Your Dragon has morphed from literal to figurative, from being about command and obeisance to handling the turmoil within. Slapping a “3” after it wouldn’t have distinguished this soulful trilogy about growing up, and about the gift of empathy, nearly as well as a subtitle like The Hidden World.

Variety

“This is uncharted territory for cartoons. No matter how Pixar spins it — about waiting until the right idea comes along to continue the story — from Finding Dory to last year’s The Incredibles 2, toon sequels have always been driven by financial considerations. Granted, Dragons 3 (as DWA staffers refer to the film internally) was hardly made for charitable reasons, but there’s an integrity to DeBlois’ approach that won’t be lost on audiences, who probably don’t know or care that the project survived massive changeover within the studio, including Jeffrey Katzenberg’s departure and the acquisition by NBCUniversal, while holding true to the principles with which it was conceived — namely, to wrap the story in a sincere and satisfying way. We’ll soon see whether Toy Story 4 can say the same.”

THR

“All told, by the time How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World nears the end of its Harry Potter-esque closing trajectory, in which Hiccup must learn how to let go, the bittersweet result will have audiences finding it equally hard to say goodbye.”

So what do you think of all this? Are you excited to see Hiccup and Toothless’ adventures come to an end? Do the best trilogies really come in threes? Let us know your thoughts on any and all those questions down below!

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SOURCE: Various (Linked above)