After four years, the long awaited grand finale to the How to Train Your Dragon franchise has finally arrived.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World soars high and comes to an end with a mighty roar.

Thanks to the combination of a heart-pounding and tear-jerking story, incredible characters and stunningly beautiful animation, The Hidden World serves as one of the greatest animated feature films of all time.

First, let’s look at the story. With the arrival of the mysterious Light Fury, a new enemy comes to Berk, threatening the peaceful world that Hiccup has worked hard to build and forces him and Toothless to finally go their separate ways.

If you think you will be able to sit through this film without getting a few tears in your eyes, think again.

The story is a torrent of emotions, the kind that will make you laugh, cry and leave the theater with an overwhelming sense of happiness.

Now, let’s look at the characters. Not much has changed about Hiccup and the residents of Berk.

Hiccup is still the same stubborn fool he was at the beginning of the franchise and becoming chief of Berk hasn’t diminished his stubborn nature. If anything, it has only enhanced it.

The latest threat to Berk serves as Hiccup’s greatest enemy yet. Grimmel, the dragon hunter responsible for the extinction of the Night Furies, has now set his sights on Toothless.

Now, while I do think Grimmel is a terrifying character, I felt there was a missed opportunity to bring back Drago Bludvist.

If Drago had been brought back and teamed up with Grimmel, then Grimmel might have felt a bit more intimidating, but overall he served his purpose as an excellent villain.

Finally, let’s finish up with the animation. The animation in The Hidden World is nothing short of beautiful. There are moments where the characters and the environments are so picturesque and realistic that it often doesn’t look like animation.

For example, when Astrid and Hiccup are searching for the dragons’ safe haven in hopes of finding Toothless, the waterfall they fly over looks real that makes you wonder if it is real and not animated.

Overall, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a relentless barrage of drama, comedy and action. It will put you on the edge of your seat and leave you with fond memories of the good times that Toothless and Hiccup had with each other.

The two of them have been on many adventures and they have graciously taken us along for the ride but now the time has come for us to say goodbye. I give it a 10/10.