Film Review- "How To Train Your Dragon 2"

How To Train Your Dragon 2
Directed by Dean DeBlois
Starring Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, and America Ferrera

It may not mean much for me to say How To Train Your Dragon 2 is one of the best animated sequels ever made. The likes of Disney direct-to-video aside (Not quite done talking about those by the way), many are quickly pumped out of a studio for a cash grab, and are often a significant downgrade in quality compared to their predecessors.

Regardless, I still say How To Train Your Dragon 2 is one of the best. If I had to list the top 3, it would definitely go Toy Story 3 and 2, and then Dragon 2.

Set a few years after the first film, the village of Berk has fully accepted dragons into the community. While many vikings enjoy the sport of dragon racing, Hiccup (Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless are out exploring the world outside their island. Hiccup's father Stoick (Butler) is eager for his son to take over his place as chief, but Hiccup would much rather be out with Toothless.

It's while out on one of these explorations that he and his girlfriend Astrid (Ferrara) are ambushed by a gang of dragon hunters, led by the dragon trapper Eret (Kit Harrington). They soon learn of Eret's employer, Drago Bloodfist (Djiimon Hounsou), and his plans to take over the land with an army of dragons. Hiccup and Toothless set out to confront Drago. It is then they uncover a secret dragon oasis, protected by Valka (Cate Blanchett) who is revealed to be Hiccup's long-lost mother. I'm not spoiling that by the way. They haven't made any effort to hide it in the trailers.

Dragon 2 goes bigger in emotion and action, and the animation is once again spectacular. You'll be on the edge of your seat, while at the same time reaching for some tissues. The story isn't too heavy, and it continues the "coming-of-age" tale that began in the first film. It's the characters that really drive the script. They're well-crafted and performed. This is one of the best voice casts I've ever seen in an animated film. Props to Jay Baruchel and Gerard Butler for being as incredible in their roles as they were the first time around. Once again Craig Ferguson as Gobber is one of the funniest things in the film.

One thing brings the film down though, and that's its villains. Eret is a very annoying character. Maybe it's Kit Harrington's voice, maybe it's how he was written, but I didn't like him nor did I see any real purpose for him in the film. Drago, is a weak villain. While he does do some horrible things that make you hate him, we learn virtually nothing about him. There's a few lines of expository dialogue in a scene with Hiccup, but it's not enough for the audience to connect with the character.

Weak villains aside, I still give How To Train Your Dragon 2 a 9 out of 10. It's a more than worthy successor to the original, and builds wonderfully off the foundations it set. It is definitely one of the best animated sequels ever made, and maybe even one of the best sequels ever made, in general.