Sequels are always hard. Going into the movie, you have expectations that the film is expected to deliver without even seeing a minute of the entire feature. Knowing this, trilogies are even harder. You have known these characters for two whole movies at this point. You have traveled with them, learned with them, grown with them. At this point, these characters and their adventures are a part of your entertainment family. In going back, again and again, you have forged a spot for them in your movie-loving heart. Thus, when the next film comes out, you go to the theater with excitement and nervousness in your heart. You hope that the film continues the wonderful legacy left behind by the previous films and are nervous and how the plot will develop.

These are exactly the feelings I had going into seeing "How to Train Your Dragon 3."

To give some context, I personally love the first two movies. I believe that they were great pioneers not only in developing a story and in creating relatable/lovable characters, these movies also are giants in utilizing animation to its full creative potential with its depiction of flying. Yes, I personally adore the first two films of this series and went into the theater this past week with hope in my heart and my emotions flying higher than any dragon. This was going to be the last film in the series and I wanted to see it go off with a bang.

I am happy to report that "How to Train Your Dragon" ended on a very positive note. I left the theater feeling satisfied in the way that the world decided to close. There are many positives about this movie that I can go on and on in detail about. However, one thing that I think really should be highlighted about this movie is its animation. In my opinion, DreamWorks really has stepped up its game when it comes to visuals and animation. The flying animation in this movie is absolutely gorgeous. The designs of the dragons are extremely satisfying to look at and watch move onscreen. The backgrounds and scenery, especially in The Hidden World, are absolutely stunning to watch. This movie franchise is very interesting in the fact that we get to watch these films get better and better with each one. The bar was already set so high in the first film and it is great to watch the film progress from there.

Now, as much as I adore the film's animation and visuals, I cannot say that this movie is without some problems. In fact, one would be hard pressed to find a movie that is absolutely perfect in every single regard. Knowing this, I always try to keep aware of any given film's good qualities and weaker qualities in order to give it a fair viewing. Now, I thought that the film's story was a good one to tell. The messages about love and letting go are very important to the characters and their development. However, I suppose I wish that the film had a little better pacing. The story is good, but it goes through odd beats where we focus on villains who matter very little to the overall story of the third movie and then on odd decisions that the characters make. The movie has a great story to tell, but it feels like it was really hurried in how it wanted to tell it and at times, it felt a little odd or awkward as a result.

Now, despite what I said about the story, I will uphold that this film's story ENDED in the best possible way. For me, the ending was the best part of the story. It provides viewers and fans with just enough sweet and closure to leave the theater satisfied and almost in tears. it was the ending that the film needed and it was done in a visual and storytelling way that was absolutely necessary. I will uphold that the film's ending is one of the strongest visual scenes in the entirety of the film franchise.

I highly recommend any lover of animation of the film series should see this movie. It is both gorgeous in a visual sense and in the way it decided to end such a memorable and influential film franchise.