"How to Train Your Dragon 2" Film Review

How to Train Your Dragon 2

Rating: 5/5

By: Nathaniel Simpson

    Dean DeBlois' and Chris Sanders' How to Train Your Dragon does a great job of setting up the isle of Berk, as well as this unique and crazy cast of characters. The film ends with the citizens of Berk deciding to accept dragons into their community and form bonds with different breeds of dragons. It shows how Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) was able to change everyone's mind, allowing for more peace and tranquility in the land. Because of this, it allows DeBlois to return to this world and play with these characters and these stories that him and Sanders created. Thankfully, the dreaded sequel curse doesn't apply here as we see DeBlois and this franchise at their best, crafting a movie with fantastic animation, an amazing, heartfelt story with stakes, and wonderful character development that exceeds what they were able to do in the first picture. 

    Now with dragons being accepted into society, Hiccup and his gang of dragon riders, Astrid (America Ferrera), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Tuffnut (T.J. Miller), and Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), have begun stopping dragon wranglers and sellers, trying to free every dragon they could, especially from dealer Eret (Kit Harington). Because of this and thinking they are doing the right thing by freeing the dragons, it causes concern for Hiccup's father Stoick (Gerard Butler), who believes his son should focus more on the concerns for the Isle rather than trying to help dragons.

    By doing this however, they are making themselves known by people who don't think dragons should exist freely in this world. Vikings like Drago (Djimon Hounsou) want to enslave dragons and make them into his own personal soldiers to conquer the world. When Berk is threatened by him, it forces Hiccup and his friends to find a way to defend not only their island, but their pets they have acquired. In attempting to do so, Hiccup comes across his long-lost mother (Cate Blanchett), making him decide what is truly important in his life. 

    Like I mentioned in the first movie, there was a lack of plot and character development that held it back from being amazing. There was just more I was wanting from the first movie to craft these characters and this world, and I feel like it was just missing something. However, with this movie, they take that and really craft this beautifully moving film that delivers on everything I wanted from its predecessor. This movie doesn't even feel like a movie created for kids, but rather an action-adventure film that was set to animation and made family-friendly. These are numerous elements and plot lines here that allow the older audiences to relate to and find appreciation in, while also targeting towards the children by presenting a more mature animated film. 

    The film deals with concepts like loss, friendship, reuniting with a parent, and many more heavy topics that you would find in other animated films from Pixar or Disney. Exploring heavy themes like this in a family animated film not only elevates the story to make it similar to a live-action film of a higher caliber, but also presents such complex themes to younger audiences to learn about. It allows them to expand their horizons on what can be explored in a film at a younger age, and I think it is perfect for animated films to put these themes in their films. 

    While the animation is definitely very beautiful throughout the first movie, this animation is top-notch. It is absolutely beautiful, and contains some shots that may be the best in animation during this time period. Consider the scene where Hiccup first encounters Valka (Blanchett) when riding Toothless through the clouds; the animation of the dragons, the clouds he is flying through, how the shots are framed, and the movements from all of these characters blend together to create such a beautiful scene that works so well. There are numerous instances of such amazing animation combined with computer graphics to make this movie look so beautiful and elegant from beginning to end. 

    Like I mentioned in my review for the first film, the voice actors really craft these characters and make them who they are. Baruchel is what makes Hiccup so iconic and funny, and it's perhaps impossible to have anyone else play this character. The same can be said for characters like Gobber (Craig Ferguson) and Hiccup's crew, as I feel like their voices are more iconic and recognizable than their character designs. The animations are really able to capture the vibe and atmospheric qualities of the voice actors and translate it into their character designs so well. 

    In my opinion, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is the best entry in the franchise so far, and it easily just adds on to what the first film set up so well. It does everything I wanted it to do, and outshines the first movie in multiple different aspects. DeBlois does such an amazing job of crafting this new story for this world and set of characters, and he really is at his peak here in terms of storytelling for this world.