There are two really striking parts of this movie. First are the visuals. Never have I seen such real-looking animated clouds, grass, ocean, and sand. It is stunning. We get to appreciate the scenery with lots of wide shots with small swarms of dragons in a corner. The soundtrack is also fantastic. It is at once reminiscent of Mussorgsky and Debussy and Bernstein. In my head I could hear the music from West Side Story when Tony and Maria spot each other from across the gym. It would have been perfect for the courtship of Toothless and the Light Fury. I was sort of indifferent about the story. In fact, I kind of got some mixed messaging. I remember a message of tolerance. They lived in a world where the Vikings killed dragons. Hiccup taught them to live with the dragons in harmony. And in this movie, we are taught that you can't change peoples. They ultimately have to run from their problem. And in the end, they can't live together in harmony. The dragons must go off on their own. There is a message about letting go in there but in the wider context of the trilogy, it seems a little inconsistent.
