The 3rd installment of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise continues the story for Hiccup and Toothless and their quest to bring Dragons and Vikings together in harmony. Epic battles ensue, side characters bring comedic bits, over-the-top villain with a weak motivation, and you have the recipe for a How to Train Your Dragon movie.

Dragons have overrun the Viking home island of Berk, making them a target for other Viking clans who do not have such a friendly attitude when it comes to dragons. The story revolves around Hiccup and his friends saving the dragons from impending servitude with more powerful Viking clans. A B story that is shown in the trailer has Toothless falling for a Light Fury – the female of his dragon type.

Dreamworks pulls out all the stops for this franchise and the animation is as good as it gets; right up there with Pixar. It has a very cinematic feel to it, but what sets it apart is that much of the story is in the air while the dragons are flying, meaning they have to be very 3-dimensional with the camera angles. The particle effects for the dragon fire and explosions were also well done, as was the sound design. All of these together make for excellent 3D viewing. All three films translated exceptionally well to 3D and that is the recommended format to view it in.

I really enjoyed the humor and comedy bits, as I do in each of the films. This one also has some heart, which really ties the series together with how love of family and loyalty with friends is more important than impressing others. I’m also a technical film nerd, so I was really impressed with the animation, effects, camera angels, and the 3D usage.

As with a lot of movies these days, the villain here was really weak. Grimmel, a Night Fury Hunter who’s sole motivation in life is to kill all Night Furys because he did it once as a boy (ummmm, ok). The film is geared to a  younger audience, and I am sure they ate it up, but the motivation was really not there.

This is a guaranteed win to take your kids to, especially if they have seen the other films. They are probably already begging to have you take them.

My final verdict: 7/10. Worth watching once in 3D if you’re a fan of the series. If you want to just check it out, wait for it to be available on digital.