HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 – The Review

DreamWorks Animation has made us wait four years for the sequel to their most beloved toon HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON (DESPICABLE ME, RIO and both of their sequels were released between the two DRAGON films). They clearly wanted to get it right and they did. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 does not disappoint. It’s darker and more ambitious than the original, perhaps less well structured, but combines gorgeous visuals with surprisingly deep emotions. It’s the best animated film I’ve seen this year.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 soars from the start with an opening dragon-racing competition, a sport that plays like Quidditch with sheep. Reintroduced are the main characters: our hero Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), now in a serious relationship with Astrid (America Ferrera), his wacky comrades Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), and twins Tuffnut and Ruffnut (T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig). Everything is idyllic in the village of Burk, where dragons and humans coexist peacefully. Hiccup isn’t too keen on the idea of succeeding his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) as the new leader. He would rather be out exploring the world with Toothless, which he does whenever gets the chance. An encounter with dragon trappers leads Hiccup to the realization that not all the world is at peace with dragons, putting him in further conflict his father. Hiccup is given the chance to grow in to more of a warrior after teaming up with his long-lost mother (Cate Blanchett) and witnessing the brute power of the nasty, scar-faced Drago Bloodfist (Djimon Hounsou) who has mastered the dark side of dragon training.

Apart from the story and plot, director Dean DeBlois’ HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 is worth seeing simply for its sights. Sights like the many dragon battles, some with an evil mammoth who spews translucent green ice and sights like the land of Berk, a CGI environment so photorealistic you can reach out and touch it (be sure to see this one in 3D!) Throughout, the animation is superb. Toothless, with his golden expressive eyes and smooth black scales, has personality to burn. The addition of Blanchett is welcome but the best new character is the irredeemable, dragon-skin cape-clad Drago, who’s given his own frightening Kaiser Soze-like introduction. A major character’s death at the halfway point packs a punch not just because they so boldly went there but how they did it. It’s not as heavy as perhaps I’m making it sound – there are plenty of solid laughs along the way (many from Ms Wiig), but what the film and its predecessor share is a refusal to pander to youngest-common-denominators and that never lets whiz-bang technical wizardry take the place of narrative integrity. Like TOY STORY 2, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 is the best kind of animated sequel and a third chapter is set up nicely.

4 1/2 of 5 Stars