When How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World soared into theaters in 2019, it marked the end of a decade-long cinematic journey. Directed by Dean DeBlois, the film was celebrated for its stunning animation, John Powell’s soaring score, and a bittersweet conclusion that respected the arc of Hiccup and Toothless. However, for a significant portion of the global audience, the film was not experienced through the original English voice cast (Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, etc.). Instead, they encountered the film through a dub —a localized version where the dialogue is re-recorded in another language.
A dub is not merely a translation. It is a complex act of re-performance, cultural adaptation, and emotional transference. In the case of The Hidden World , the stakes were incredibly high: the film’s dialogue is lean, its comedic timing razor-sharp, and its dramatic moments hinge on whispers, sighs, and unspoken longing. How do you translate a dragon’s purr? How do you localize the word “bud” between Hiccup and Toothless? How to Train Your Dragon- The Hidden World -Dub-
Moreover, puns rarely survive. The exchange between Hiccup and Astrid about “wingman” (meaning both a flying partner and a dating assistant) is flattened in most dubs into a straightforward line about flying. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World is a film about letting go, about the beauty of translation between species (human and dragon), and about the space between words. In a way, every version of the film is a dub. The original English is itself a translation—of a book, of storyboards, of raw emotion into sound. When How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden
When a child in Brazil hears Hiccup say “Tudo bem, banguela” (a localized name for Toothless, meaning “toothless”), they are not hearing a copy. They are hearing their Hiccup. The dub of The Hidden World succeeds because, at its best, it disappears. The seams of translation, the labored lip-sync, the altered jokes—they all melt away when the Light Fury touches Toothless’s snout and the music swells. Instead, they encountered the film through a dub
In that moment, every language speaks the same word: farewell.
Furthermore, songs present a unique challenge. The Hidden World has Jónsi’s “Together From Afar” playing over the credits. In most dubs, the song remains in English because it’s non-diegetic (not part of the story). However, in the , they created a full French version of the song (“Au Loin Ensemble”), allowing French children to sing along. This level of effort—re-recording a pop song—demonstrates the French distributor’s belief in the emotional power of full localization. Where Dubs Falter: The Inevitable Loss No dub is perfect. The Hidden World dub suffers, universally, from one problem: the scream . When Hiccup falls from Toothless during the final battle, his terrified scream is iconic in English. In almost every dub, the scream sounds slightly “off” because it’s recorded in a booth, not during a physical fall. The French scream is too short, the Japanese scream too controlled, the Italian scream comically elongated. It’s a reminder that even the best dubbing is an imitation.