Five years after the events of the first movie, the Viking island of Berk has become a safe haven for all kinds of dragons. Chief Stoick intends to make his son Hiccup the new chief and successor, but Hiccup would rather ride on his dragon Toothless and explore & chart the world. Their land would be threatened though when the villain known as Drago Bludvist threatens to enslave all dragons for his army and conquer the world. Hiccup, his girlfriend Astrid, Stoick and their friends won't let that happen on their watch.
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I'm sad to say that I never watched the first How to Train Your Dragon. At the time it was released I thought the movie looked generic and not worth my time. It wasn't until later where I discovered that I was wrong the whole time and I should've watched it. From what I have read, How to Train Your Dragon is loosely based on a series of books by author Cressidia Cowell. It details the adventures of a young Viking named Hiccup and his friends in a quest involving dragons. What makes the Dreamworks animated movie so good is its gripping story, its world, its memorable characters, and wonderful animation, particularly when it comes to the scenes where characters ride their dragons in the air. The animation of the movie makes you immerse yourself in it, as if you were were part of the movie. So much so, in fact, that it is one of the few movies that people say it is better to watch in 3D and IMAX.
That was certainly the feeling I got when I watched parts of the animated TV series on Cartoon Network. The TV show is set in-between the two movies and serves as a way to expound on things not touched upon in the movie, like delving into the characters, more dragons, expanding on the world of Berk, etc. It was where I got exposed to the Dragons franchise and where my fondness of it came from. So naturally, I was looking forward to the second movie and the feeling of finally seeing it on the big screen and making up for my folly last time.
In short, I felt How to Train Your Dragon 2 to be a very fun and enjoyable movie that I think can appeal to both children and adults. The children can get entertained by the pretty colors and high paced action, while the adults get sucked into the world, the characters, their relationships, their story, and their drama. A few slow moments and a rather weak villain hamper it a bit, but it's a fun ride from start to finish that makes you yearn for more. The characters are entertaining and competent, the story makes a few surprises here and there, the animation as usual is top-notch, and the design of this world and the dragons are extremely creative. Those who have seen the first movie and other supplementary media will love it even more, but newcomers will find it easy to get into also.
Five years have passed in-between the first and second movies, and we can clearly see that through the characters. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel, Tropic Thunder) has matured from a weedy, nervous teenager into a fully confident and fearless young adult who love flying on his dragon Toothless. At the same time his new-found confidence does not make him completely arrogant. He is just much more determined to finish and see things through. Something good that can be said about him is that he sticks by his morals and values, as exemplified when he goes against his parents wishes and tries to talk Drago out of fighting. Sure, in the end, it doesn't amount to much, but it also shows that he's willing to change his stance and go with the flow. Hiccup's bond with Toothless is even more exemplified and both are utterly inseparable compared to the first movie and TV show. Toothless of course doesn't talk, but he gives as much emotion as any other human character in the movie. The human and the dragon are loyal companions and will do anything and sacrifice anything for each other, as shown when Hiccup wasn't afraid to touch a mind-controlled and violent Toothless. These two are the core of the movie, and it is done extremely well. If I can give one minor nitpick, it's that Hiccup does quite a lot of speechifying in this movie, but it didn't really bother me much. This is where I found the movie to be a little cheesy, as a lot of Hiccups speeches can just simply be summarized as "Humans and Dragons together are the most awesomet thing ever".
Another changed character from the first movie is Hiccup's love interest, Astrid (America Ferrera, The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants). In the first movie, her character was shown to be tough, abrasive, and bossy towards her peers, especially Hiccup. In the TV show she still showed such traits, but she became friendlier and optimistic. This transition is complete in the second movie, where Astrid may still be tough, but she is friendly towards everybody and even has a dark sense of humor. Hiccup's and Astrid's relationship is taken to the next level where she is supportive of whatever he does, and they make playful banter in quiet moments of the movie. Though they do not say it in the movie, the two are clearly a couple, and seeing them together on-screen is very adorable. What I especially like is that, with both now in a mutual relationship, there is no forced love drama that interrupts the flow of the movie. I certainly hope that when this movie series ends, both will end up married.
To go off a tangent for a bit, I praise Dreamworks for handling the expanded material of How to Train your Dragon extremely well. A lot of the character development in-between movies culminates in the second movie, but we see that specifically in the TV show. What's neat is that you do not need to see the TV show to know why these characters act the way they do in the second movie, and just chalk it up to natural growth because of the five year gap. Kudos to them, for this is the right way to handle supplementary material. I'm looking at you, Star Wars, as a bad example.
Stoick (Gerald Butler), Hiccup's father, also changed from the first movie. The man who once hated and loathed dragons now fully accepts them and is supportive of what Hiccup does, except for a few moments. The interpersonal conflict between the two in this movie is Stoick making Hiccup the new chief of Berk, while Hiccup is unsure of what he wants to do. At the same time Stoick clearly learned from the last movie to try and give his son much more leeway. If there is any conflict between the two, it's only because Stoick is being the responsible chief and looking after his people. Stoick's friendship with the blacksmith Gobber (Craig Ferguson, stand-up comedian) still carries over, but what provides a new dynamic is Stoick's wife, Velka (Cate Blanchett, Lord of the Rings). We discover in backstory that Velka was against killing dragons, and that a lot of Stoick's original hatred of the creatures came from Velka being kidnapped by one when Hiccup was just a baby. But it is clear that Hiccup's skills came from his mom, and she is shown to be as much of a lover of dragons as well. One of my best moments of the movie is when Stoick reunites with Velka. Instead of being angry with her, Stoick and Velka tearfully reunite and are a family again with Hiccup. It's a wonderful, happy scene with just the right amount of drama and not going overboard that turns it sappy and cheesy. It's a shame it doesn't last, but more on that later.
As a fan of the TV show, I was slightly disappointed that Hiccup's other friends like Snotlout (Jonah Hill, 21 Jump Street), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kick-Ass), Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live) and Tuffnut (TJ Miller, Silicon Valley) didn't get a lot of moments, but that's to be expected when you have a one-two hour movie as opposed to a three season TV show. They do not have as much screen time, but they are definitely in the movie and have their moments. It's just great to see them again and also grown up and matured. Ruffnut in particular is memorable because she provided a lot of the humor of the movie, ignoring the advances of Snotlout and Fishlegs and instead falling for a new character, the dragon trapper Eret (Kit Harington, Game of Thrones). He starts out as a good secondary villain, but through a series of circumstances he becomes a comrade of the characters and it's nice to see fake the bad guys and join with the main characters.
Unfortunately, the villain didn't exactly blow me away, and is one of my major criticisms of the movie. In the first movie there wasn't an overarching villain per se, there was just an evil dragon. Here though the villain is the sinister Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou, Gladiator). The adults and Eret spoke of Drago, describing him as an insane madman that won't stop at anything to destroy everything in his path with a fearsome armada and an army of dragons. We would learn later on that Drago lost his family and home to dragons. While his design looks nice, he doesn't really do a whole lot and is rather hypocritical in his actions. He spoke of wanting to rid the world of dragons, but he then decides to take over the world. He wants to use dragons, but is willing to do away with them once he accomplishes his goals. I will grant him the fact that he is skilled enough to tame a gigantic Alpha dragon, but I just find him rather dull with no shades of gray and no complexity beyond a standard tragic backstory and a lost arm. It makes a lot of Hiccup's speechifying all the more annoying because it fell on deaf ears.
The story of the movie is much more straightforward than the first movie, and some may argue that it takes away lot of the "heart" from the first movie. However, I argue that makes this movie all the more different and for the better. This movie has the protagonist continue his development by maturing into a man, but still unsure of what he really wants to do. There is still definitely heart in this movie, like Hiccup's relationship with Astrid, and his familial drama. With dragons as an established thing now, this movie builds upon the TV show and showcases tons of creative and unique dragon designs, from tiny cute baby dragons, dragons of different colors and sizes, and huge gigantic dragons that definitely seem enormous on the big screen. If the first movie showcased the beginnings of humans changing their ways to accept dragons into their daily lives, this movie shows the result of that. The dragons and the humans have formed an inseparable bond. The characters are so memorable that you get sucked into their drama, and when they go through hardships, you really feel for them.
This is exemplified in one of the major moments of the movie, and where I thought the movie was originally going to go. At a crucial point in the movie, Drago seizes control of all the dragons and mind controls Toothless. Toothless shoots a blast at Hiccup, but at the last second Stoick takes it, and is killed. At the movie's bleakest moment, Stoick is given a Viking funeral, all the dragons are lost, and their home of Berk falls to Drago. I actually thought that movie would end right then and there, ending a la The Empire Strikes Back, the characters defeated and downtrodden, and all being lost except for one glimmer of hope and determination. If the movie had actually ended there, I would've loved it.
But instead we got a final climax where Hiccup overcomes Drago, rescues the dragons, and becomes the new chief of Berk, showing that he managed to forge his own path and becoming his own man. It was a nice and satisfying ending that leaves it open, though I do wish it ended after Stoick's death. But that's just nitpicking, I actually do really like the ending; Hiccup and Astrid kiss, Velka lives on Berk again, Toothless becomes the new Alpha dragon, and Berk is rebuilt with a monument to Stoick. It again shows how enthralling the characters are that you root and cheer for Hiccup and the others when they overcome adversity. And when Stoick dies, it's a completely unexpected moment that hits you in the gut, making you hopeful that Stoick will get back up and continue fighting. But nope, he dies. I give them kudos for killing off a major character and it actually having an impact rather than just senselessly killing somebody for forced drama.
The animation looked top-notch and was very bright and colorful, but also properly mixed with darker colors when the situation demanded it. Unfortunately, I do have to talk about the flying scenes and all those scenes where we watch the character soar through the air and soak in the world they live in. As good as they are, I felt that they sometimes slowed down the movie. In the first movie I think it was fine because the plot was deliberately slow to allow for characters to grow and get closer together. But in this movie, where there was an actual plot going from point A to point B, it really slowed it down. The first few times it was great, but for me, after a while, it got a little annoying.
Final thoughts:
All in all, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a wonderful movie. A combination of characters, story, and animation creates a home run, while the slow parts and the weak villain prevent it from being extremely great. On top of that, while I still personally enjoyed the movie, I find myself unable to give it that high of a score because I didn't watch the first one. On its own it is certainly good, but for fans of the franchise, it's a definite love letter. I feel it to be one of the better animated movies of the year so far.
More importantly though, it continues to set Dreamworks on fire, putting the "Dragons" franchise right up there (and possibly higher) alongside Kung Fu Panda as Dreamworks's flagship series. I eagerly await 2016 for the third and final movie.
My score: 4.1/5
Trailer thoughts:
The Book of Life-The story doesn't look all that interesting, but the design of this movie is unique, kind of looking flat, but also look very three-dimensional. The animation looks great and the design of this world is very crazy and creative. Probably won't see it in theaters.
Home-I saw a short film of this before the showing of Mr. Peabody & Sherman. The plot seems to be focusing on a small alien and a teenage girl, but it looks to be like a comedy road trip movie across worlds and universes. The comedy looks to be pretty standard for Dreamworks, which I will admit I'm not that big a fan of. I prefer Dreamworks when it does grand, epic movies like Kung Fu Panda or How to Train Your Dragon, as opposed to modern comedies like Shrek or Madagascar. Probably won't see it in theaters.
Speaking of Madagascar...
The Penguins of Madagascar-I outright groaned when I saw this trailer. I do like Madagascar to an extent, and its three movies have all been successful, but one thing I outright disliked were the 4 secret agent penguins. They were unnecessary in the movies and just stole the show from the real characters, and they even got their own TV series, which I've seen and wasn't impressed. So you can imagine my disgust when they were getting their own movie. That one penguin eating a cheese puff noisily and interrupting another person's speech was painful. The kiddies in the theater loved it though, so whatever. Definitely won't be watching it in theaters, and likely not even on TV either.
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