Trolls - Series Retrospective (DreamWorks Animation Retrospective #5)

Welcome, folks, to the latest installment of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s ongoing series of retrospectives covering the 45+ films that have been made by one of the animation industry’s indisputable juggernauts, DreamWorks Animation. Today’s post is a unique one as it presented me with a slight change to the initial plans that I had made when it came to how I would approach this project. As I’ve stated before, to avoid having to draft a massive post that would cover every single film that DreamWorks has made up to this point, I decided to separate the studio’s feature film filmography into separate parts, starting with their biggest franchises. And when I say ‘biggest’ franchises, this referred to any franchise that has warranted, at the very least, a trilogy of films since I have always considered three to be a good minimum number for a proper series retrospective. Thus, when I first started working on this series in 2022, that distinction applied to four DreamWorks franchises; Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, and How to Train Your Dragon. After that, I would’ve then done a quick spin-off that would tackle DreamWorks’ brief foray into traditionally animated feature films before moving on to a final set of posts tackling everything that I hadn’t yet covered. However, by the time I got to my How to Train Your Dragon retrospective, a fifth DreamWorks franchise achieved the film trilogy milestone that would effectively warrant its own post. And so, today we’re tackling the latest DreamWorks animated trilogy that has arguably become the studio’s flagship franchise, Trolls.

Today’s story begins with the creation of one of the most noteworthy staples of the toy industry, troll dolls. Troll dolls first came to be in 1959, when Danish woodworker Thomas Dam first crafted wooden recreations of mythical creatures as gifts for his daughter Lila before he started selling plastic versions of them commercially. Eventually, they were brought to the United States, where they became a notable fad during the 60’s. At one point in the 2000s, animation studio DIC Entertainment earned the rights to produce a TV series based on the property but said project, Trollz, only lasted a single season and even led to some legal battles between DIC and the Dam estate over the former’s handling of the property. Cut to 2013 and the licensing rights were purchased by DreamWorks, who promptly turned the troll dolls into the stars of their latest film franchise and one that would rely heavily on music as a jukebox musical series. Now, admittedly, the Trolls films haven’t necessarily matched a lot of DreamWorks’ other big franchises from a financial standpoint. At the time of this post’s publication, the three films have collectively grossed only a little over $600 million worldwide (though, in its defense, one of these films had the misfortune of being released amidst a certain pandemic). But speaking as someone who works at the Universal Orlando resort, where I often sell Trolls merchandise, I can assure you that this franchise is a bona fide hit with younger audiences. As such, there’s no denying that Trolls has earned its place as one of DreamWorks’ flagship franchises even if it hasn’t achieved the same level of critical acclaim as the likes of How to Train Your Dragon or Kung Fu Panda. So, with that said, it’s time to remember why you just “can’t stop the feeling” as Rhode Island Movie Corner presents its retrospective on DreamWorks’ Trolls franchise.

(Disclaimer: As always, I must note that these DreamWorks retrospectives of mine are solely focused on the studio’s feature films, which means that I won’t be covering any of their TV series spin-offs which, in this franchise’s case, includes Trolls: The Beat Goes On, which ran for 8 seasons on Netflix, Trolls: TrollsTopia, which ran for 7 seasons on Hulu/Peacock, and a pair of holiday specials, 2017’s Trolls Holiday and 2021’s Trolls: Holiday in Harmony.)

TROLLS (2016)

All throughout these DreamWorks retrospectives, I’ve made sure to highlight these films’ directors, especially since most of the big DreamWorks franchises have all consistently had at least one key figure spearheading their productions, like Jennifer Yuh Nelson with Kung Fu Panda or Dean DeBlois with How to Train Your Dragon. When it comes to the Trolls films, they have mainly been overseen by longtime DreamWorks story artist Walt Dohrn, who also notably voiced the main antagonist of Shrek Forever After, Rumpelstiltskin. However, with this first film, Dohrn was only the co-director while primary directing duties went to, ironically, Shrek Forever After director Mike Mitchell. But regardless of who had the directorial credit here, this first Trolls film very much sets the stage for what we can expect from this vibrant and musically driven franchise. Sure, it’s all tied together by a very straight-forward plot in which troll princess Poppy heads out on a journey to save her friends from the hungry monsters known as Bergens who are hellbent on eating them, but at the same time, the film maintains a pleasantly feel-good atmosphere throughout. This is then bolstered further by some catchy songs (both its covers and original tunes such as its inescapable hit of a title song, ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’) and an entertaining lead duo in the form of the lovably upbeat Poppy and her far more cynical companion Branch, excellently voiced by Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake, respectively.  

Ultimately, though, the biggest selling point of this film would have to be its gorgeous animation. Not only is it incredibly bright and colorful throughout, but it also does a wonderful job of paying homage to its IP’s handmade roots by giving every single character and object a uniquely hand-crafted look to them that lets this film stand out considerably on a visual level when compared to some of its industry peers. Pair this with the delightfully madcap style of pacing that DreamWorks had started to adopt at this time and you have yet another case of a DreamWorks film that’s full of great animation-based bits of humor. In conclusion, while it’s been nearly a decade since this film’s release, I still somewhat remember the discourse surrounding it and how a lot of folks online expressed tons of skepticism about it due in part to some lackluster marketing. In other words, I wouldn’t be surprised if, back then, a lot of people were worried that this would end up being the kind of film that would bring DreamWorks back to the more commercially driven space that it was in the 2000s before the likes of Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon effectively reshaped the studio’s creative output. This was, after all, right around the time when the studio was dealing with a bunch of internal restructuring after a string of box-office flops such as 2014’s Penguins of Madagascar. And yet, while your mileage will inevitably vary on whether this film is just that, Trolls ultimately works as well as it does because… simply put, it’s a film that’s easy to like. Sure, younger audiences are more likely to get something out of it than adults, but with its appealing animation and entertaining soundtrack, Trolls endears you with its inherently joyful nature to be a pleasantly undemanding family flick.   

Rating: 4/5

TROLLS WORLD TOUR (2020)

In Trolls World Tour, Poppy, Branch, and company discover that they’re just one part of a larger world of trolls divided up into tribes by 6 distinct styles of music: Pop, Rock, Country, Funk, Techno, and Classical. When Barb, the queen of the Rock trolls, attempts to collect the magical strings that are the source of each tribe’s music in a hostile takeover of the entire kingdom, the gang heads out to save their fellow trolls from being assimilated into the rock troll regime. Given the solid success of the first Trolls film, the announcement of a sequel (now fully under the direction of Walt Dohrn given Mike Mitchell’s commitment to The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part) was practically inevitable. However, when it comes to this film, we must start off by addressing the elephant in the room which is all the complications surrounding its release. Trolls World Tour was released on April 10^th, 2020… in other words, right at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered the entire world including, of course, the film industry. As a result, Trolls World Tour became one of the first major releases that did come out that year to address the issues revolving around releasing a film during the pandemic’s peak. Rather than just delaying the film a year or making it a streaming exclusive, Universal turned Trolls World Tour into one of the first films to adopt a simultaneous theatrical/streaming release, shipping the film to theaters that could operate at the time and releasing it on on-demand services. This, admittedly, caused some controversy amongst theater chains to the point where AMC Theatres threatened to refuse to show Universal films entirely, but the two parties ultimately signed a deal that would benefit them both and, by most accounts, the film did well for itself on the PVOD market, reportedly being the second most-viewed title of the year behind Disney’s live-action remake of Mulan.

As for the film itself, it does what any good sequel should do by naturally expanding upon everything that was introduced in the first film. For those who may have been turned off by the first film’s reliance on pop music, Trolls World Tour remedies that by covering a wider variety of musical genres, resulting in a superior soundtrack by comparison. This also extends nicely to the film’s animation, which maintains the same, great handcrafted nature of the original while also getting the chance to broaden its horizons with the introduction of all the other troll tribes’ worlds. But if that wasn’t enough, the film also improves upon its predecessor from a writing standpoint with a more engaging plot, a lot more effective character moments, and even a few timely nods to modern-day issues such as xenophobia and oppression by way of the gradual reveal as to why the kingdom became so divided. Add in some fun new characters such as the film’s highly entertaining rebel of a main antagonist Barb (voiced by Rachel Bloom) and a charismatic country troll named Hickory (voiced by Sam Rockwell) and you have one of the most pleasantly surprising examples of a superior sequel that I’ve ever seen. Yes, I won’t lie, folks, I did not expect to come out of this and consider Trolls World Tour to not only be another example of a superior DreamWorks sequel a la the likes of Shrek 2 and the Madagascar sequels… but also arguably one of the studio’s best overall. And yet, it’s also quite easy to see why this is because the film made the smartest moves that any sequel could possibly do by improving upon its predecessor’s shortcomings without losing the franchise’s trademark charm.

Rating: 5/5!

TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (2023)

Trolls Band Together drops one heck of a bombshell by revealing that Branch was once part of a popular boyband, Brozone, along with his four older brothers: John Dory (Eric André), Spruce (Daveed Diggs), Clay (Kid Cudi), and Floyd (Troye Sivan). Unfortunately, the group ended up disbanding after a disastrous attempt at achieving the ‘Perfect Family’ harmony and promptly went their separate ways. Many years later, John Dory reunites with his estranged younger brother, seeking his and Poppy’s help in rescuing their brothers from a pair of wannabe popstars, Velvet (Amy Schumer) and Veneer (Andrew Rannells), who plan on stealing their talent for their own personal gain. Poppy even experiences a ‘family reunion’ of her own when a run-in with a group of pop trolls that were separated from the others long ago results in her meeting her long-lost sister Viva (Camilla Cabello). So, as this film’s title suggests, its plot and theming are largely based on boyband culture, and sure enough, it more than capitalizes on the potential for all sorts of various gags based around this facet of the industry. And hey, seeing how this is a franchise whose main male protagonist is voiced by arguably the most famous boyband alum of all time, Justin Timberlake… why not capitalize on that too? Thus, one of the most buzzworthy bits of marketing surrounding this film was the reveal that it would feature the first new song by Timberlake’s former band, NSYNC, in more than two decades, ‘Better Place’. Timberlake’s former bandmates JC Chasez, Joey Fatone, Chris Kirkpatrick, and Lance Bass even get to cameo at the end of the film as the members of another famous boyband that Branch was involved with.

That’s only one part, however, of this all-around top-notch threequel. While Band Together does occasionally feel like a narrative step-back from World Tour given its return to a more pop-centric theme, it does, at least, maintain the more confident story and character beats of its immediate predecessor. Sure, some might argue that the introduction of Branch’s brothers and Poppy’s sister Viva results in quite a bit of retconning from what was established in the previous films, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t warrant some solid emotional moments even if the whole subplot of Poppy and Viva’s reunion isn’t as prominent a part of the story as the marketing may imply since it is ultimately focused more on Branch and his family. As a result, Trolls Band Together features some of the most inherently satisfying musical numbers to come out of a franchise that has always been well-known for its great soundtracks. And through it all, the film also dutifully maintains all the franchise’s hallmarks, whether it’s the terrifically colorful animation that’s full of fun visual quirks (including a few delightfully trippy 2-D animated sequences when the characters go to the ‘Hustle Dimension’) or its highly entertaining villains in the form of the hilariously self-absorbed Velvet and Veneer. With all this in mind, Band Together ends up being a terrific capper to this cheerful little trilogy of films. It may just barely miss out on being ‘just as good’ as World Tour, but it’s still a film that’s full of infectious energy, delightful visuals, lovable characters, and an appealing soundtrack that’s sure to strike the nostalgic fancies of those who grew up listening to the likes of NSYNC and the Backstreet Boys.

Rating: 4.5/5

That concludes this retrospective on the Trolls franchise. The next time we return to the world of DreamWorks Animation, we’ll be taking that little detour that I mentioned back in today’s intro by going over the brief period when the studio produced traditionally animated films. So, for those who are fans of underrated gems like The Prince of Egypt and The Road to El Dorado, get ready to rejoice because your time to celebrate them will be coming very soon!!

Kung Fu Panda 4 (2024) review

In 2008, DreamWorks Animation released two films. One of these was a sequel to the studio’s 2005 hit Madagascar, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. As for the other, it would be the studio’s original project for that year; a martial arts comedy titled Kung Fu Panda. Starring Jack Black as the titular panda, Po, the film followed this avid kung-fu fanatic who, despite zero training, is chosen to be the ‘Dragon Warrior’, a kung-fu master who’s destined to save his home, the Valley of Peace, from evildoers. The original Kung Fu Panda is very much one of the prime examples of the classic adage ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’. In the months leading up to its release, it’s safe to assume that most people probably saw it as nothing more than a joke, especially with a title as admittedly goofy as Kung Fu Panda. It also didn’t help that, around this time, DreamWorks Animation had garnered something of a reputation for their reliance on pop cultural references, which dominated a lot of their work and arguably had an impact on their overall reception when compared to some of their industry rivals such as Pixar. As such, it’s safe to say that a film and premise like Kung Fu Panda didn’t seem like it was going to change anyone’s mind when it came to what a DreamWorks film could be. But, when the film finally came out, both critics and audiences were genuinely taken by surprise as Kung Fu Panda proved to be an incredibly well-crafted animated film with spectacularly choreographed action sequences, mature storytelling, and above all, an undeniable sense of respect for the Chinese culture that inspired it.

This, as a result, gave DreamWorks its latest hit franchise as the film would go on to spawn several spin-offs. On the big screen, the adventures of Po the Dragon Warrior would continue in 2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2 and 2016’s Kung Fu Panda 3. Both films managed to match the original in terms of both critical and commercial success while also achieving some historical significance for their director, Jennifer Yuh Nelson, who was the original film’s head of story and became the first solo female director of a mainstream animated film with Kung Fu Panda 2. That film would go on to become the highest-grossing animated film solely directed by a woman, and while she did have a co-director in fellow DreamWorks mainstay Alessandro Carloni for Kung Fu Panda 3, it was clear that Jennifer Yuh Nelson was the strongest driving force behind what was quickly becoming another one of DreamWorks’ flagship franchises. After Kung Fu Panda 3, though, that would largely be it for the Dragon Warrior on the big screen as DreamWorks began to focus more on the franchise’s TV spin-offs. But then, in 2022, it was announced that the cinematic adventures of Po and company would continue with Kung Fu Panda 4. This time, directorial duties went to Mike Mitchell, a longtime veteran of DreamWorks who had worked with them as far back as their first film, 1998’s Antz, while also directing the likes of 2016’s Trolls and, ironically, another DreamWorks fourthquel in 2010’s Shrek Forever After. And just like that latter film in many ways, what we ultimately have here is a solidly enjoyable addition to the Kung Fu Panda franchise that may not necessarily reach the exact same wondrous heights as its predecessors but still manages to exude much of the franchise’s charm and appeal.

For Po the Dragon Warrior (voiced by Jack Black), things couldn’t be better for him as the Valley of Peace’s greatest protector, especially after the events of Kung Fu Panda 3 in which the late Master Oogway gave him a powerful staff that can link the mortal world with the Spirit Realm. However, Po is taken by surprise when his mentor, Master Shifu (voiced by Dustin Hoffman), informs him that the time has come for him to find his successor as the Dragon Warrior since he’s now destined to take on the role of the Valley of Peace’s spiritual leader. And if that wasn’t enough, all sorts of disturbances start to occur across the Valley caused by, of all people, Tai Lung (voiced by Ian McShane), Po’s nemesis from his early days as the Dragon Warrior who was seemingly vanquished and sent to the Spirit Realm. Upon further investigation, Po discovers that this is the work of a sinister shape-shifting sorceress known as the Chameleon (voiced by Viola Davis), who seeks to acquire Po’s Staff of Wisdom and use it to collect the kung-fu abilities of all the greatest warriors from the Spirit Realm. Thus, with the aid of a wily bandit named Zhen (voiced by Awkwafina), Po travels to the Chameleon’s headquarters in Juniper City to take on his latest arch-nemesis before she can become the most unstoppable kung-fu master the world has ever seen.

As has always been the case with this series, Kung Fu Panda 4 more than delivers on its spectacularly choreographed and beautifully animated action sequences. While I’m well aware that some were disappointed at this film’s more traditional style of animation compared to some of the more stylized and experimental bits of animation seen in some of DreamWorks’ recent films such as Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, Kung Fu Panda 4 is still just as vibrant and colorful as the films that came before it. Much of this helps to alleviate the fact that, admittedly, this film doesn’t have the same kind of strong emotional hooks that dominated the original trilogy. All three of the previous Kung Fu Panda films benefitted immensely from some strong bits of emotional poignancy that helped them narratively stand out compared to a lot of other DreamWorks films at the time, whether it was the first film’s reveal that the main antagonist Tai Lung was once the beloved adopted son of Master Shifu or how the second film revolved around Po learning about his past and the tragic events that led to him being separated from his birth parents. This film, on the other hand, is unfortunately lacking in that regard and it doesn’t help that there are some clearly missed opportunities for it to have those sorts of moments, such as a possible reunion between Tai Lung and Shifu given the former’s prominent role in this story. Instead, the film opts to be more of a straightforward adventure plot for Po and company that ultimately relies more on the franchise’s trademark sense of humor revolving around Po’s unconventional means of being a kung-fu warrior. To be fair, though, this series has never truly faltered with its sense of humor, and because this film thoroughly maintains that streak, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that it’s primarily just a light-hearted comedic romp.

Much of this is thanks to, as always, its entertaining cast of characters, headlined, of course, by everyone’s favorite comedic rockstar Jack Black in what has easily become one of the definitive roles of his career, Po the Dragon Warrior. As he’s always done in this role, Black doesn’t skip a beat maintaining Po’s hilariously bumbling yet wholly endearing persona. Now, as for the franchise’s other recurring characters… well, Kung Fu Panda fans will most likely be disappointed to know that Po’s fellow kung fu masters, the Furious 5, are almost entirely absent from this and, as has been the case with every Kung Fu Panda sequel, Master Shifu is largely uninvolved with the main plot even though this one sees the return of his first protégé Tai Lung. Still, Dustin Hoffman continues to provide plenty of great humorous beats as Po’s perpetually grumpy master while James Hong and Bryan Cranston, returning as Po’s adoptive father Mr. Ping and biological father Li Shan, respectively, also prove to be a major source of the film’s best comedic moments as Po’s two dads are turned into a delightfully wacky odd couple who head out on their own accord to help their son. As for the new additions to the cast (specifically, Po’s new morally grey ally Zhen and the film’s main antagonist, the Chameleon), they are, admittedly, the biggest victims of this film’s more basic narrative approach, with the Chameleon being a far more standard villain than any of her franchise counterparts. But for what it’s worth, Awkwafina has excellent comedic rapport with Jack Black as Zhen (complete with a few moments where she gets to flex her dramatic chops) while Viola Davis’ trademark fierceness shines through as Chameleon, thus resulting in the character still managing to be an effectively sinister villain.

At the end of the day, Kung Fu Panda 4 surprisingly ends up having quite a lot in common with director Mike Mitchell’s other DreamWorks fourthquel, Shrek Forever After. In both instances, we have films that, while far from being their respective franchise’s best installments, are still solidly enjoyable additions to them that don’t do anything that would’ve drastically harmed their legacy in any way. In Kung Fu Panda 4’s case, the only thing that truly keeps it from being just as great as its predecessors is the fact that it lacks the emotional throughline that, back when this franchise was first starting out, proved that DreamWorks films could be more than just pop-cultural dependent kiddie flicks. Without that, this film is more of a straightforward martial arts adventure that doesn’t do much to set up the new additions to its cast even though it simultaneously doesn’t rely as much on the franchise’s well-established ensemble as its predecessors did. But like I said earlier, I don’t necessarily feel that this is all a bad thing. Despite its narrative shortcomings, Kung Fu Panda 4 dutifully maintains a lot of the franchise’s hallmarks, such as its well-crafted action sequences or by consistently preserving Po’s status as one of the most endearing protagonists in all of animation. As such, if you’re just looking to go on another fun adventure with Po, which we haven’t gotten on the big screen in nearly a decade, then this film will give you exactly what you’re looking for. Skadoosh!!   

Rating: 4/5

How to Train Your Dragon - Series Retrospective (DreamWorks Animation Retrospective #4)

Welcome back to another installment of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s series of retrospectives on the numerous animated films produced by DreamWorks Animation. As my way of not having to do a massive singular post covering the 45+ films that the studio has produced since 1998, I’ve been dividing its filmography up into multiple parts, starting with their biggest franchises. And today, we’ve finally come to the DreamWorks franchise that I’ve been anticipating covering the most. Sure, Shrek may have been the franchise that made DreamWorks the household name that it is today, but if you want to talk about the franchise that almost single-handedly reshaped the idea of what a DreamWorks Animation film could be, look no further than the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. Loosely based on the best-selling book series by author Cressida Cowell, this is a franchise that has yielded some of the most critically acclaimed animated films from the past decade and a half and has widely been cited as the prime example of how DreamWorks has very much come a long way since the days when their filmography was seen by many as being nothing more than a bunch of pop-culture dependent kiddie flicks. And on a personal level, today I finally get to rectify the fact… that I’ve never seen any of these films before. Yeah, yeah, I know, I know; to make a long story short, the first How to Train Your Dragon had the unfortunate distinction of being the first DreamWorks film that I didn’t see in theaters since anything that came out before Shrek, and seeing how it’s only 1% away from having the mythical perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s safe to say that I clearly missed out on something special. But now I’m finally ready to see why this series has become such a beloved staple of the current pop cultural zeitgeist; thus, without further ado, it’s time to take a journey to the magical land of Berk as we look at the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy.

(Disclaimer: *Insert your standard ‘I’m only covering the films’ ground rule here. Please refer to previous DreamWorks Retrospectives for further instructions*)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (2010)

In 2003, author Cressida Cowell published How to Train Your Dragon, a children’s novel that expanded upon the world from Hiccup the Viking Who Was Seasick, a picture book that she wrote in 2000. Set in a world full of Vikings and the mythical dragons that many of them own, it followed the previous book’s titular protagonist Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third as he looked to prove himself to both his father, Stoick the Vast, and their village of Berk along with his dragon companion Toothless. Upon its release, the book would go on to spawn Cowell’s first official franchise of novels as an author, with eleven subsequent novels published up until 2015 that have collectively sold over 7 million copies worldwide. Just one year after the original novel’s release, the series caught the attention of DreamWorks Animation, with animation veteran Bonnie Arnold spearheading the potential film adaptation as its main producer. While the original script for the film was a largely faithful adaptation of its source material, this would change under the direction of the duo of Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, who had made their mark in the industry back in 2002 with the most successful release of Disney Animation’s post-Renaissance era, Lilo and Stitch. Instead of the original premise of Vikings living in harmony with dragons, which Sanders and DeBlois found to be overly whimsical and geared too heavily towards younger audiences, the film reimagines the plot into one where the Vikings have been hunting dragons for years. Thus, instead of just simply looking to prove himself to his doubtful father and peers, Hiccup also finds himself having to undo years of animosity between humans and dragons after befriending the rarest dragon of all, a Night Fury, which he names Toothless.

Upon its release, How to Train Your Dragon quickly became one of DreamWorks’ biggest hits of all time. It earned over $494 million worldwide, with a $217 million domestic haul that made it the highest-grossing DreamWorks film in the U.S. outside of the Shrek series, a record that it still holds today. But perhaps most importantly, the film was a runaway success with critics, securing a near-perfect 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the best score that any DreamWorks film has ever secured on that site. And yet, as I noted in the intro, this was the first DreamWorks film that I had missed out on seeing in theaters in about a decade… and boy, did I miss out! How to Train Your Dragon is very much an animated masterpiece with some of the best animation to ever come out of a DreamWorks film up to that point. Part of this is thanks to the filmmakers utilizing the assistance of legendary cinematographer Roger Deakins as a visual consultant to, as they put it, give the film a uniquely live-action feel, which is certainly on display throughout, especially in the spectacular flying sequences that many have argued are on par with and possibly even better than the flying sequences from what was quickly becoming the biggest film of all-time, Avatar. In previous DreamWorks Retrospectives, I noted that I didn’t see a lot of the studio’s films at this time in 3-D even though many have said that they were amongst the best in the industry to utilize the format at a time when the market was getting oversaturated with films that were both hastily and poorly converted into 3-D. Case in point, How to Train Your Dragon may just be the most prominently lauded of them all when it comes to its use of the 3-D format.

But aside from all its visual splendor, the film is also buoyed by its thoroughly charming underdog story led by an endearing main protagonist in Hiccup, excellently voiced by Jay Baruchel, and his lovable dragon pal Toothless. That said, it is interesting to note that one of the biggest deviations from the book was the portrayal of Toothless since, in the book, Toothless was a more narcissistic and abrasive character rather than the adorably loyal kitty cat-like companion that he is in the films. They’re then joined by a top-notch supporting cast that includes Gerard Butler as Hiccup’s over-demanding father Stoick, America Ferrara as Hiccup’s training rival turned love interest Astrid, and Craig Ferguson as Stoick’s best friend (and dragon-hunting teacher) Gobber, along with the likes of Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Kristen Wiig as Hiccup and Astrid’s fellow dragon-hunting trainees. And so, with all this in mind, it’s easy to see why the first How to Train Your Dragon went on to become one of the most acclaimed films that DreamWorks Animation had ever made up to that point. Rather than the unabashedly irreverent comedic endeavors that they were long known for at the time, this film appropriately goes for a more dramatic narrative approach that, nevertheless, still delivers a bunch of great comedic moments amidst its solid emotional and character beats. In short, even if this was the same year that Pixar’s Toy Story 3 became only the third animated film in history to garner a Best Picture nomination along with its expected Best Animated Feature win, How to Train Your Dragon genuinely gives it a run for its money as one of the best films of 2010.

Rating: 5/5!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 (2014)

Given the immense success of the original How to Train Your Dragon, it’s no surprise that a sequel was immediately announced just one month after its release. It would ultimately come out in 2014 and retained most of its predecessor’s core cast and crew members; the only major loss in that regard was co-director Chris Sanders due to his commitment to DreamWorks’ 2013 release The Croods. Thankfully, though, he stuck around as an executive producer while his co-director Dean DeBlois officially took over as the franchise’s main director. Set five years after the events of the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 sees Hiccup, Toothless, and their friends confronted by their most dangerous adversary yet; Drago Bludvist (voiced by Djimon Hounsou), a vicious dragon-hunting warlord who seeks to assemble a dragon army and take over the world. And if that wasn’t enough, Hiccup also ends up reuniting with his long-lost mother Valka (voiced by Cate Blanchett), who has been protecting dragons from Drago for years. Upon its release, How to Train Your Dragon 2 did even better than its predecessor at the box office, earning over $621 million worldwide, currently standing as the 7^th highest-grossing DreamWorks film of all-time and the franchise’s highest-grossing installment. And while it lost that year’s Oscar for Best Animated Feature to Disney’s Big Hero 6, it gamely followed in its predecessor’s footsteps by maintaining a strong critical reception.

Sure enough, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is exactly the kind of excellent sequel that you’d want to see in the sense that it naturally improves upon its already fantastic predecessor in plenty of ways. Once again utilizing the assistance of Roger Deakins (who, at this point, had also served as a visual consultant on other DreamWorks films such as Puss in Boots and Rise of the Guardians), this film boasts even greater visuals and action sequences than its predecessor, arguably thanks in large part to a brighter color palette that’s used to its fullest effect. And sure, maybe the film’s main antagonist Drago isn’t as strong of a villain as he could’ve been in part due to a limited screentime, but the addition of Hiccup’s mother Valka (and her subsequent reunion with both her son and her husband Stoick) provides a strong emotional hook that carries throughout the entire film. Add in some other strong emotional beats such as the devastating death of one of the main characters and the continued efforts to strengthen the bond between Hiccup and Toothless and it’s easy to see why director Dean DeBlois cited The Empire Strikes Back as a primary source of inspiration for this sequel. Just like that film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 effectively raises the narrative stakes in a thematically darker film (which, admittedly, was a source of contention amongst some audiences) that nevertheless doesn’t lose sight of its family-friendly appeal, its endearing main protagonists, and its penchant for spectacular visuals.

Rating: 5/5!

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD (2019)

Before we conclude today’s retrospective, I’d like to point out an interesting bit of trivia about this series that I ended up coming across while working on this post, and that is the fact that the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy has the unique distinction of having every installment released under a different distributor. The original How to Train Your Dragon, released in 2010, came out near the tail-end of DreamWorks’ almost decade-long distribution deal with Paramount that had started back in 2006. After that, DreamWorks signed a distribution deal with 20^th Century Fox, with 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 being the studio’s most commercially successful release of that era. Finally, the trilogy’s grand finale, 2019’s How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, had the honor of being the first DreamWorks film to be released through their current distributor, Universal. As the title suggests, the film sees Hiccup and company embark on a journey to try and find the mythical ‘Hidden World’, the perfect sanctuary for dragons, when they realize that Berk is no longer safe for their dragon companions due to the increasing number of dragon hunters that have come after them such as their latest foe Grimmel (voiced by F. Murray Abraham), who has singlehandedly killed nearly every Night Fury in the world except for Toothless. And yet, at the same time, Toothless finally comes across one of his own when he meets and falls in love with a female counterpart AKA a ‘Light Fury’.

Like its two predecessors, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World was a bona fide success with both critics and audiences. While it may not have matched How to Train Your Dragon 2’s franchise-best run at the box office, it did achieve the franchise’s second-best worldwide total as it grossed over $525 million worldwide. And even when faced with the inevitably intense expectations of being a threequel given the typically mixed reception that most franchise threequels tend to get (which is something that DreamWorks is quite familiar with), the film was yet another runaway hit with critics. However, even with that said, it seems like this one ended up being a bit more polarizing amongst fans of the franchise specifically because of its ending. Now, for the sake of those who haven’t yet seen these films, I won’t spoil the full details of this ending, but to make a long story short, some felt that it went against a lot of the key themes that the franchise had established over its run and the whole premise of Hiccup and company’s efforts to prove that humans and dragons can peacefully co-exist with each other. And yet, while I do genuinely see where they’re coming from in some cases, the way that this film concludes its saga of humans and dragons is done in a way where, despite the devastating decision that’s made and what it means for both parties, it still presents a positive outlook on the potential of the two of them living in harmony without any sort of threat to the latter.

In other words, from a narrative standpoint, I do believe that The Hidden World is a top-notch conclusion to this phenomenal trilogy… especially since I’d argue that this is one of the rare instances of a trilogy where each subsequent installment is better than the last. First, to get the obvious superlatives out of the way, because of all the technical improvements that have come with each new film (case in point, it has been well-documented that DreamWorks had to update a lot of their animation software to achieve all their visual aspirations for this film), The Hidden World boasts the franchise’s most stunning visuals and epically thrilling action sequences. And whereas the previous film’s antagonist Drago was an admittedly lackluster villain, The Hidden World features the series’ best antagonist in Grimmel, excellently voiced by F. Murray Abraham and an all-around sinister foe who’s properly established as a legitimate threat to our heroes right from the beginning. Finally, given its status as a, well, ‘finale’, it goes without saying that this film delivers the franchise’s best emotional beats, such as whenever it focuses on the blissfully sweet budding romance between Toothless and the Light Fury or, as I noted earlier, its powerful gut-punch of an ending that, like it or not, does feel emotionally justified. In short, what more can I say about this franchise that I haven’t already said here today? While all three films are phenomenal in their own way, The Hidden World ultimately stands out amongst them all as it sends off this beloved franchise on the best note possible, firmly asserting its status as a trilogy that has always matched its grand visual splendor with its wholly heartfelt storytelling.

Rating: 5/5!

And that concludes the latest installment of Rhode Island Movie Corner’s series of DreamWorks Retrospectives. Simply put, it was a lot of fun to finally see what this franchise was all about after years of never getting around to seeing these films despite being fully aware of how beloved they were. And while The Hidden World may have marked the end of the franchise in terms of animated films, that doesn’t mean that this is the end of Hiccup and Toothless’ adventures as a live-action adaptation of the first film is currently in the works for a June 2025 release. Sure, this announcement undoubtedly frustrated those who, just like all the recent live-action remakes of Disney’s animated classics, question the need to make a live-action version of an animated masterpiece, but at the very least, this new film will benefit from the return of series director Dean DeBlois in the director’s chair. As for its casting, Mason Thames, breakout star of Scott Derrickson’s 2022 hit The Black Phone, headlines the film as Hiccup while Nico Parker, fresh off her acclaimed turn as Joel’s daughter Sarah in the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, will star as Astrid. Edgar Wright regular Nick Frost takes on the role of Gobber while Gerard Butler returns to reprise his role from the animated films as Hiccup’s father Stoick. And if that wasn’t enough, 2025 will be a big year for the franchise in general as it’s set to serve as one of the five lands in Universal Orlando Resort’s upcoming fourth theme park, Epic Universe.

As for our next endeavor in the DreamWorks Retrospective series, this is where things get interesting. As I’ve said before, my goal with this series was to start out by tackling DreamWorks’ biggest franchises; more specifically, any franchise that has elicited, at the very least, a trilogy of films. With that in mind, when I first started this series back in 2022, How to Train Your Dragon was the most recent DreamWorks franchise to achieve this feat; thus, my plan at the time was to then do a quick detour and tackle the studio’s brief foray into traditionally animated features before moving on to the rest of their filmography. However, by the time that this post has been published, another DreamWorks franchise has recently achieved the trilogy mark. And so, for our next DreamWorks Retrospective, we’ll be tackling what has arguably become DreamWorks’ flagship franchise as of late, the Trolls franchise.