In the interest of providing information for parents and grandparents as to the quality of kids’ movies I zipped out to see the third film of this terrific trilogy.
Luckily the theater complex had this visually stunning film playing on their “Big D” screen. It’s not quite an IMAX experience but the next best thing.
I remember seeing the first in this series nearly ten years ago and loving it. This one tops them all. Dean DeBlois once again directs and the voices of the characters are consistent featuring the likes of Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill among others. The terrific addition is the evil dragon killer “Grimmel” voiced by none other than the great F. Murray Abraham. At age 79 he delivers a terrific bad guy performance that adds much to the experience. It’s been almost 35 years since he captured the Best Actor Oscar for his role as the envious composer Salieri in Amadeus, which also captured Best Picture and six more Oscars.
The animation and visual splendor of this film can’t be overstated. It is that beautiful. There are lots of life lessons doled out about living peacefully and happily with those who are different than us. The dialogue is sharp and funny with plenty of adult level humor to keep parents and grandparents entertained.
The ending is one of the best ever. No spoiler here. You’ll have to venture out to catch it. Grab a kid or two, or more and get to a theater and enjoy this absolute gem.
