Credible Credits
Year: 2014
Director: Dean DeBlois
Starring: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Cate Blanchett, and Craig Ferguson
Tagline: N/A
Synopsis: Five years after bringing dragons and the vikings of Berk together, Hiccup and Toothless are still inseparable friends pushing the boundaries of their world. But as they discover new lands and new dragons, they also discover new dangers and new threats.
Synopsis: Five years after bringing dragons and the vikings of Berk together, Hiccup and Toothless are still inseparable friends pushing the boundaries of their world. But as they discover new lands and new dragons, they also discover new dangers and new threats.
Review
I loved the first How to Train Your Dragon. It may very well be my favorite DreamWorks Animation film. So I've been quite excited for the sequel. And while I don't feel like the sequel exceeded the original, it did not disappoint.
There were three things that made the first movie stand out so well: 1) visuals, namely the incredible flying sequences; 2) humor, thanks to Hiccup and Toothless; and 3) heart, especially the bond between Hiccup and Toothless. All of those elements are still present in the sequel, though perhaps not in quite the same degree.
First the visuals. The animation is once again astounding. And watching Hiccup and Toothless soar through the clouds, over the ocean, and across new lands is just as breathtaking as it was the first time around. We aren't treated to a huge array of new lands, but the few we do see are a beautiful contrast to the world of the first film.
There is still a good deal of humor this time out. Toothless is still the most endearing character and he gets some nice moments to be goofy and playful. There's also a lot of background humor in this one. For instance, Hiccup and Astrid will be talking in the foreground, but Toothless and Astrid's dragon are wrestling and tug of warring in the background. It's subtle. I don't recall missing out on conversation because of what was going on behind. But it was a fun way to add a layer of richness to this world: the dragons aren't going to sit around and be boring just because humans are talking to each other. Oh, and the other vikings bring the same humor they brought last time around.
The film, overall, is a bit darker than its predecessor. It's a little more mature in the elements it deals with. This time around we have loss and regret and forgiveness to deal with. It works really well. The story has grown up a bit just as the characters have grown up. It did feel like Hiccup lost a bit of his charm though. He was still unsure of himself, but seemed to have lost the dry wit that helped make him so likable in the first film.
Lastly, this film had heart. Once again we have Hiccup dealing with his various relationships: with Toothless, with Astrid, with his father, and now with his mother. (It was in the trailer; they spoiled it, not me.) Hiccup and Toothless still make a terrific duo, even when their friendship is put to the test. Aside from them, I think my favorite interactions were between Stoick and Valka, as they come together again and reconnect. In some sense, I suppose it was a slow section in terms of the main plot, but it was such an important sequence for the characters and the heart of the story. I hope the third film (this is planned as a trilogy) somehow manages to play off the importance of that sequence.
If the movie had a weakness, it might be the villain. He had the beginnings of an epic, menacing villain. But somehow he just never attained the level of awesomeness he should have. For a ruthless man amassing an army of men and dragons, his motivations and overall plan weren't entirely clear. In the end, he was kinda meh. What can I say, Disney still has the best villains.
One other nitpick. For a movie that is interested in expanding the world of the vikings and dragons, they really didn't expand a whole lot in terms of civilization. The characters find a huge new colony of dragons. And we are introduced to the villain and his armies. Other than that, we don't really know of any other peoples. Besides tiny Berk, what all is Drago planning on conquering? We sure haven't seen anything else to conquer.
Overall, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a worthy sequel. It retains enough of the charm of the original while expanding the world and characters in fresh, new ways. The animation is top notch. The music is lively and fun. Toothless is as endearing as ever. I look forward to adding this one to my movie collection and eagerly await the end of the trilogy.
***Spoiler Section***
Okay. There were a few times when I kind of wanted to knock a bit of cynical sense into Hiccup. I get that he's young and idealistic. But after a while, his dogged insistence that he could reason with Drago started seeming ridiculously naive. After Stoick related what kind of man Drago was, "a man who kills without reason," it seemed pretty clear that peaceful reasoning was not going to work. And trusting such a villain to listen ... well, that worked out about as well as you'd expect.
At some point I read that this was going to be kind of like The Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy. By which I mean it would be more expansive and with more at stake. That was certainly the case with this one. At one point though, I thought they were going to really go that route and leave us hanging in the story. After Stoick is killed and Drago rides off on Toothless, everything seems bleak for our heroes and Berk. But Hiccup refuses to be defeated and vows to protect his home: humans and dragons alike. For a moment, I really thought the film might just end there. It would have been a gutsy move for an animated film. It also might have allowed the film to be that much more epic.
Don't get me wrong. The ending was good and wrapped up nicely. But the retaking of Berk and the freeing of Toothless could have been a story on its own. It would have allowed us to better understand Drago (and thus up him on the epic villain scale). Oh well. Like I said, the ending works. And I'm not entirely sure just what became of Drago. So maybe he will be back for the third film.
There were three things that made the first movie stand out so well: 1) visuals, namely the incredible flying sequences; 2) humor, thanks to Hiccup and Toothless; and 3) heart, especially the bond between Hiccup and Toothless. All of those elements are still present in the sequel, though perhaps not in quite the same degree.
First the visuals. The animation is once again astounding. And watching Hiccup and Toothless soar through the clouds, over the ocean, and across new lands is just as breathtaking as it was the first time around. We aren't treated to a huge array of new lands, but the few we do see are a beautiful contrast to the world of the first film.
There is still a good deal of humor this time out. Toothless is still the most endearing character and he gets some nice moments to be goofy and playful. There's also a lot of background humor in this one. For instance, Hiccup and Astrid will be talking in the foreground, but Toothless and Astrid's dragon are wrestling and tug of warring in the background. It's subtle. I don't recall missing out on conversation because of what was going on behind. But it was a fun way to add a layer of richness to this world: the dragons aren't going to sit around and be boring just because humans are talking to each other. Oh, and the other vikings bring the same humor they brought last time around.
The film, overall, is a bit darker than its predecessor. It's a little more mature in the elements it deals with. This time around we have loss and regret and forgiveness to deal with. It works really well. The story has grown up a bit just as the characters have grown up. It did feel like Hiccup lost a bit of his charm though. He was still unsure of himself, but seemed to have lost the dry wit that helped make him so likable in the first film.
Lastly, this film had heart. Once again we have Hiccup dealing with his various relationships: with Toothless, with Astrid, with his father, and now with his mother. (It was in the trailer; they spoiled it, not me.) Hiccup and Toothless still make a terrific duo, even when their friendship is put to the test. Aside from them, I think my favorite interactions were between Stoick and Valka, as they come together again and reconnect. In some sense, I suppose it was a slow section in terms of the main plot, but it was such an important sequence for the characters and the heart of the story. I hope the third film (this is planned as a trilogy) somehow manages to play off the importance of that sequence.
If the movie had a weakness, it might be the villain. He had the beginnings of an epic, menacing villain. But somehow he just never attained the level of awesomeness he should have. For a ruthless man amassing an army of men and dragons, his motivations and overall plan weren't entirely clear. In the end, he was kinda meh. What can I say, Disney still has the best villains.
One other nitpick. For a movie that is interested in expanding the world of the vikings and dragons, they really didn't expand a whole lot in terms of civilization. The characters find a huge new colony of dragons. And we are introduced to the villain and his armies. Other than that, we don't really know of any other peoples. Besides tiny Berk, what all is Drago planning on conquering? We sure haven't seen anything else to conquer.
Overall, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a worthy sequel. It retains enough of the charm of the original while expanding the world and characters in fresh, new ways. The animation is top notch. The music is lively and fun. Toothless is as endearing as ever. I look forward to adding this one to my movie collection and eagerly await the end of the trilogy.
***Spoiler Section***
Okay. There were a few times when I kind of wanted to knock a bit of cynical sense into Hiccup. I get that he's young and idealistic. But after a while, his dogged insistence that he could reason with Drago started seeming ridiculously naive. After Stoick related what kind of man Drago was, "a man who kills without reason," it seemed pretty clear that peaceful reasoning was not going to work. And trusting such a villain to listen ... well, that worked out about as well as you'd expect.
At some point I read that this was going to be kind of like The Empire Strikes Back of the trilogy. By which I mean it would be more expansive and with more at stake. That was certainly the case with this one. At one point though, I thought they were going to really go that route and leave us hanging in the story. After Stoick is killed and Drago rides off on Toothless, everything seems bleak for our heroes and Berk. But Hiccup refuses to be defeated and vows to protect his home: humans and dragons alike. For a moment, I really thought the film might just end there. It would have been a gutsy move for an animated film. It also might have allowed the film to be that much more epic.
Don't get me wrong. The ending was good and wrapped up nicely. But the retaking of Berk and the freeing of Toothless could have been a story on its own. It would have allowed us to better understand Drago (and thus up him on the epic villain scale). Oh well. Like I said, the ending works. And I'm not entirely sure just what became of Drago. So maybe he will be back for the third film.
Quotable Quotes
- "This is Berk. Life here is amazing. Dragons used to be a bit of a problem. But now they've all moved in." -- Hiccup
- "A man who kills without reason cannot be reasoned with." -- Stoick
- "You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon." -- Valka
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