The third and final installment of the How to Train Your Dragon franchise is a beautiful and sentimental send-off for the heartfelt story of a boy and his dragon.

Opening as every installment in the franchise does, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) introduces us to his world once again by saying, “This is Berk.” Years ago, it was once an island living in fear of dragons, but with Hiccup officially in charge as chief, they not only co-habitate with these massive creatures but they continue to bring more in.

Having just pulled off what seems to be another in a long series of rescue missions, freeing captured dragons from a legion of trappers, Berk has become more vulnerable than ever. Since the events of the second movie, these trappers are now fully aware the village is home of the dragons.

Hiccup makes the executive decision that their living arrangement is no longer sustainable and recalls the story of a land his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) told him about when he was a child. The land is called the Hidden World, and it’s where all dragons have come, a place hidden away from humans where the dragons can live undisturbed. Hiccup believes their new safe haven living in peace with dragons should be there.

This setup does away with the villain problem of the sequel, which featured one big baddie yelling and spouting about some undefined plan of domination. Here, there is a villain — he’s the one leading the trappers to Berk — but this time, he represents a much larger foe than just his immediate threat. He reveals the problem of humans not having evolved enough to meet Hiccup’s expectations of how things should be.

Civilization cannot handle the responsibility of living among dragons, a stark reality this final installment bravely addresses after such a hopeful outlook in the first two movies. If things keep going the way they are, an inevitable war will break out. It creates much higher stakes, fitting for a conclusion to the trilogy.

And even with these bigger ambitions, writer/director Dean DeBlois never forgets to keep the focus more intimate on the individual. The Hidden World is like a perfect synthesis of the best elements of the first and second movies. All the familiar faces have returned as fully realized characters whose quirks need no introduction.

From Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) to his counterpart Astrid (America Ferrara) and rag-tag team of ruffians, Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), and Tuffnut (Justin Rupple), they all have their moments to shine.

A lot of The Hidden World is dedicated to small moments, most notably when our charming Toothless, supposedly the only Night Fury left in existence, discovers another of his kind, a Light Fury. She is a pearlescent version of Toothless he is immediately drawn to. Their courtship is not only reminiscent of Hiccup’s original courtship of Toothless back in the day but also evokes Eve and WALL-E from the Pixar classic.

Their moments together are both heartwarming and heartbreaking because we know it will lead to Hiccup eventually having to let go and move on. The boy and his dragon have both grown up, and inevitably, they too must learn to grow apart. Staying with this nearly decade-long journey and seeing this unfold, it’s hard not to get a lump in your throat.

And, of course, this is all without even bringing up the brilliant and stunning visuals, which has been a touchstone of the How to Train Your Dragon series. With veteran cinematographer Roger Deakins lending his eye once again as consultant, the visual splendor is awe-inspiring.

Anytime these dragons take to the skies and that score from John Powell soars right along with them, it never gets old. This is the best looking of the bunch, from a visual storytelling standpoint to just being gorgeous to watch. The colors, the lighting, the movements of these creatures, it all sings.

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, and now taking the trilogy as a whole, it’s a stunning parable about the desire for a better world and knowing some things aren’t meant for us. It’s also about knowing, in your heart, sometimes the things you love the most, you have to let them go.

It’s a theme we’ve heard before, but I never could’ve imagined it hitting so hard when it comes to a boy and his dragon. I will miss these movies.