POP JUNIOR: FANDOM FEATURE
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD The third film in the trilogy inspires dragon merch that slays. by Jacqueline Cucco, associate editor
B
eads of sweat start prickling at your skin as the fiery hot dragon breath warms your face. You can feel the leathery, scaly dragon hide as you pat your new pal on its ginormous bumpy forehead. Some Vikings might think that dragons are a bit of a problem—that they’re even meant to be slayed—but three How to Train Your Dragon movies later, and you know better. As majestic as dogs are, man has a new best friend—and it’s a dragon. DreamWorks Animation introduced the world to Toothless, the elusive Night Fury dragon, and Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), the fearless Viking who befriended him, on the big screen in 2010 with How to Train Your Dragon, followed by 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2. Distributed by Universal Pictures, the fantasy saga follows the story of Hiccup as he goes against the traditions of his tribe when he trains a dragon he’s supposed to kill,
56 | Issue No. 2 | THE POP INSIDER
proving that everything his people think they know about dragons is wrong. There’s a star-studded cast, including the voices of Gerard Butler, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Kristen Wiig, Cate Blanchett, and Kit Harington, to name a few. The first two films were both Academy Award nominees for Best Animated Feature Film in 2011 and 2015, respectively, and the sequel won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film in 2015, among other awards. The third and final installment in the trilogy hits theaters on Feb. 22, and it is full of glorious new dragons and villains. In How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Hiccup is all grown up and living in a world in which dragons are vanishing. A new villain named Grimmel is on a mission to hunt every dragon into oblivion. Hiccup discovers that his buddy Toothless isn’t the only Night Fury around, and they set out to find the mythical Hidden
World, a secret safe haven for dragons that his late father told him about. It’s time for them to fight for their freedom. MEET THE CHARACTERS Of course, Toothless is back, but our adorable dragon friend is in for some romance this time around. Light Fury is a new dragon in town—and she’s just as rare and intelligent as he is. “She’s a variant of the Night Fury species, and she and Toothless develop an immediate bond that continues to grow throughout the film,” Universal Brand Development (UBD) says. And what’s a hero without a villain? Enter Grimmel. He doesn’t believe dragons and humans should live in harmony, and devises an evil plot to exterminate any and all dragons he can’t control. “Grimmel believes that he has driven all