How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World Parent Guide

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World continues the saga of the people of Berk, whose lives are so bound up with dragons that they have turned their community into a sanctuary for the creatures they rescue from captivity. All is well under the leadership of their young chief, Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), until dragon-hungry warlords band together and hire the infamous hunter, Grimmel (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), to kill Hiccup’s sidekick. His dragon is special: Toothless is a night fury, the alpha whose rule is acknowledged by all other dragons. With Toothless dead, his subjects will be disorganized and easier to capture.

After some frightening encounters with Grimmel, Hiccup decides that the only way to keep the dragons safe is to go on a quest for a mythical land he heard about from his late father, Stoick (voiced by Gerard Butler). The Hidden Kingdom is the rumored ancestral home of the dragons and is a place where they can be safely separated from violent, greedy humans. Hiccup and his friend Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera) persuade the Berkians to make the journey. But then a female night fury turns up and Toothless falls in love. As it usually does, love makes everything more complicated…

Sadly, love also slows down the film. There are extended scenes of Toothless’s wooing of the night fury (named Bright Fury by Astrid) which break up the momentum of the plot and go on for far too long. But this is a minor flaw in what is otherwise a solid kids’ movie. The only potential area of concern for parents is violence, of which there is a significant amount. But the action is heavily sanitized, without any blood, gore, or visible suffering. The showing I attended was full of very young children, and only one became so frightened he had to be removed from the theater. (I can’t say how many of the little moviegoers are going to have nightmares later.) Counterbalancing the violence are some truly lovely scenes when Hiccup and Astrid fly into the Hidden Kingdom and travel through a cavern with bioluminescence and another with flying, glowing baby dragons.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden Kingdom is a highly entertaining film, with a good mixture of action and humor. But it’s worth watching for more than just amusement – it has numerous positive messages that parents will want their kids to absorb. As Hiccup matures as chief and as a man, he learns to trust himself and his fellow Berkians, to think beyond his own perspective on the world and the future, and to put the needs of others ahead of his own. He learns about loyalty, friendship, sacrifice, courage and love – virtues that are too often hidden in movies. But thankfully, they are clearly visible in this enjoyable family film.