How to Train Your Dragon 2

Note: This review contains spoilers for How to Train Your Dragon.

Four years after the release of How to Train Your Dragon, DreamWorks Animation released the first sequel, How to Train Your Dragon 2, but distributed this time through 20th Century Fox instead of Paramount Pictures. Interestingly, Dean DeBlois, who co-directed the original film, agreed to direct this film on the condition that he could turn it into a trilogy. Additionally, DreamWorks Animation had overhauled their animation and lighting software during the production, which gave this film the honor as their first to use it. The end result is a sequel that feels different from the original, both in tone and storytelling, but is still great to watch on its own merits.

Five years after the first movie, the Viking villagers of Berk live in harmony with dragons. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), now 20 years old, is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), to succeed him as the village chieftain, but doesn’t feel he’s up to the task. While Hiccup is mapping unknown lands, he and Astrid (America Ferrera) discover remains of a fort encased in ice and housing a group of dragon-trappers. The trappers’ leader, Eret (Kit Harington), tries to capture their dragons for their leader, Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou), who is building a dragon army. Hiccup and Astrid make it back to Berk and warn Stoick, who tries to prepare Hiccup for war. Hiccup, however, wonders if there’s a more peaceful solution.

Stoick (Gerard Butler, left) tries to prepare Hiccup (Jay Baruchel, right) for war.

While How to Train Your Dragon 2 may not have the same charm as the original film, due in part to its more mature tone, it’s still a well-written follow-up. Themes of family are explored well, both in the relationships between fellow humans, fellow dragons or the context of humans living with dragons. This also opens the door for touching on succession, loss and feelings of betrayal in a way that feels fairly realistic while suiting the setting. Darker subjects are also explored, mainly war, and the film doesn’t shy away from the idea that while peaceful solutions are possible, there are some people who cannot be reasoned with no matter how much you try. As such, there are times where peace is impossible and violence is unfortunately the only solution. A harsh lesson, but a bold and respectable one for a PG-rated film.

When not discussing harder topics, the movie also expands on the world and lore of the series very well. The audience learns more about dragon behavior and how they function as a group composed of otherwise disparate species. Berk also feels like a different society thanks to the coexistence between the villagers and their dragons and it feels like a lot of thought went into how that functions.

Like the previous film, however, Hiccup’s other friends outside of Astrid have one-note personalities and don’t have too much to do outside of what’s required for certain scenes. I also made the observation that the climax also involves a giant dragon controlling a swarm of other dragons, but the execution at least felt different enough that it didn’t get in the way of enjoying the film as a whole.

Visually, the film also impresses thanks to the overhauled animation software, with a noticeably more detailed art style that still feels familiar. Characters actually look five years older and the smaller details are more impressive the longer you look at them. Improved lighting adds a good sense of depth and models are more expressive, not to mention that, alongside better cloth and hair physics, the shots and battles involving swarms of dragons are a visual treat.

The animation is greatly improved.

Not only do the characters look older, but also, especially in the case of the younger characters, sound a little older due in part to the four-year gap between films. While everyone turns in a good performance, Djimon Hounsou stands out for his genuinely threatening performance as Drago Bludvist.

As a follow-up to How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2 proves how well DreamWorks can make well-written films and lives up to the standard set by both the original film and its animal-focused and martial art-themed counterpart, Kung Fu Panda. If you liked How to Train Your Dragon, it’s worth watching the sequel. If you haven’t seen either film, then I would still recommend this, though it’s better if you’ve also seen the original.