It’s no exaggeration to say that the How To Train Your Dragon franchise is one of the most beloved and most popular franchises that the animation studio Dreamworks has ever dished out. With the first movie being a solid entry for the studio the second movie titled How To Train Your Dragon 2 does everything a great sequel should do by giving us a new story with many character arcs and high flying adventure.
Taking place five years after the events of the first movie as dragon’s and viking’s relationships with each other are now better than ever before. Meanwhile, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is now a young adult and is nervous about taking over his father’s Stoick (Gerard Butler) place as the head Viking of Berk. While discovering new areas of land, he, unfortunately, comes across a group of vikings known as dragon snatchers as they work under the control of a man named Drago (Djimon Hounsou) who wants to take control of dragon’s minds and use them for bad deeds instead of good ones. Despite his father’s wishes, Hiccup goes on a quest in search of answers when he suddenly bumps into the last person he expects which happens to be his long-lost mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) who also is found to be fond of training dragons herself. After she and hiccup reconnect, they, along with many other familiar faces aim to stop Drago in his path before things can get any more worse than they already are.
The story in the original was a very well-done liar reveal type story that felt like it was being told for the first time. This sequel brings upon a whole new story that builds on what the first movie established and ups the stakes, the action, and even the character relationships. It does go a bit darker from the previous movie but it still never forgets the core of what made the first movie so beloved in the first place. Writer and director Dean DeBlois know how to make a sequel without running out of ideas that the first movie gave us. It’s great that the filmmakers had the idea of Hiccup aging along with each passing movie as it gives the character new challenges and adventures to face. One of the biggest story arcs in the movie is when Hiccup and his mother Valka finally meet each other for the first time and their relationship is so good that you to can believe how the two would be able to bond even after a long period of them not being with each other. There is also a pretty good story arc about hiccup learning to become his own man even when he feels like he can never live up to his father’s bravery and wisdom. These new plot threads are great additions to Hiccups character growth and each of the plot points that get set up are concluded very nicely. Like before, the character relationships are great and Hiccup and Toothless’s relationship is as strong as ever while still throwing in challenges that put their friendship to the test.
The Animation could arguably be an improvement on its predecessor as it provides a level of detail that even most movies by DreamWorks Animation have not attempted yet. There are many new set pieces the movie likes to introduce us with and a lot of them have so much eye candy thrown in that you’d have to see this movie many times to catch all the little things. We even get to see many new dragon designs and they look amazing with the attention to detail of their look and how they manage to fly. There are even little details like the single strands of hair on the vikings and the wet but rough edges along the dragons skin. The action in this movie is also outstanding and much like the Kung Fu Panda movies, Dreamworks really knows how to create smooth and precise action that not only looks amazing but also manages to utilize their concepts of action in the most creative ways possible. John Powell returns with a bang as he delivers on a music score that is epic and adventurous with its Scottish viking tunes and both old and new scores that bring out the grand scale of the adventures of Hiccup and Toothless.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 manages to do the unthinkable as it not only succeeded at telling an epic story with even higher stakes and soaring action sequences, but it may have managed to become an even better movie from its surprising emotional punch, new character arcs, and great storytelling. This is by far one of the best movies Dreamworks Animation has ever created and it may have just set the standard not only for the studio but for the franchise in general.
(Final Grade: A)