There’s always a lot of pressure when it comes to making a sequel, especially when it’s to a beloved movie. While there are a fair amount of sequels that are considered equally as good as their predecessors - and in some cases, there are a few that arguably even surpass the first film - these are usually the exceptions, and not the rule. So when a sequel was announced to How to Train Your Dragon, the bar was set extremely high. The first film in the franchise was not just good, but astonishingly good, with an Oscar-nominated soundtrack, stunning animation, and richly-written characters. It seemed almost impossible for lightning to strike twice, but its direct sequel, simply titled How to Train Your Dragon 2 (they honestly could have come up with a better name than that), managed to recapture the magic of the first film. For the most part.
Set five years after the first movie, the film once again follows Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless, who discover a plot in which a warlord named Drago (Djimon Hounsou) is planning to capture and brainwash all the dragons to make them a part of his army. As Hiccup goes to reason with him, he discovers his mother (Cate Blanchett) is still alive after having thought to be dead for twenty years, finding her on an island with all the dragons she’s rescued over the years. As Hiccup and his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) quickly get readjusted to having their family matriarch back in their lives, Drago and his dragon army prepare their attack on Berk.
As opposed to the first film’s more simplistic plot, there’s a lot more going on in this sequel. And it’s understandable, as many sequels tend to be more ambitious than their predecessors, aiming for bigger and better. And for the most part, the movie succeeds in telling a more ambitious story, though it does manage to hit a few very minor bumps in the road as it treads new territory.
For starters, the story of bringing Hiccup’s mother into the fray does seem like it comes just a bit out of nowhere. Cate Blanchett does an excellent job as Valka and winds up being the most welcome addition to the cast, which other than three new major players, still keeps things relatively small. And the reunion between her and Stoick early on in the film winds up being one of the most emotional moments in probably the entire franchise.
Though while the story itself is overall excellent, introducing it just seemed to come slightly out of nowhere, in the sense that neither Hiccup nor Stoick once ever mention Valka having gone missing once in the first film. And more than likely, when the first film was released, maybe there weren’t any plans to introduce Valka at the time, though if that was the plan from the get-go, it would have been nice to plant that idea ahead of time, as it feels like it’s a lot to take in all at once.
The other two major characters, Drago and his major henchman Eret (Kit Harington) also have some slightly shoddy character development. It seems the point of Drago is that he’s meant to be essentially pure evil. Because of that, he’s never the most well-developed character, essentially having only one agenda and being unconvinced of it otherwise. And it’s totally fine in the sense that he’s a character who can’t be swayed at all, and stands by his convictions. It could be that when he’s pitted against such a strong set of well-written, three-dimensional protagonists that to have someone with such an extremely one-note background makes him feel weak in comparison. With that being said, Djimon Hounsou still does a great job as the character, and he is a menacing enough villain whose threat we do feel. He’s just not as memorable of a character compared to the others.
Likewise, Eret, the only other major addition to the cast, feels sort of a wasted character. While Drago is a character who can’t be swayed, it’s almost incredibly easy to convince this guy to go against his original convictions, and it’s not some sort of shtick that he has. He has a couple of moments where it feels like he changes his mind too easily as a way to serve the plot, and while he has some funny lines in the first act, he becomes totally sidelined by the second half of the movie. He’s still regularly seen, but given considerably less to do. And it’s a shame, as Kit Harington is a very talented actor, and for one of his first major film roles, it’s disappointing not to see him as a regular part of the action.
Despite all this, these gripes are minor compared to everything else that this movie does right. The positives vastly outweigh the negatives here. While there are some hiccups (get it?) when it comes to the newer characters’ stories, there are a lot of improvements made when it comes to the already-established characters. While nearly everyone was already well-developed by the end of the first movie, they’re expanded upon even more in the sequel.
Stoick sees the biggest leap in character development here. While he was essentially the closest thing to an antagonist that we got in the first movie (and I’m using that word in the loosest sense possible), here he gets some of the most emotional moments in the entire movie. As mentioned, his reunion with Valka can easily turn on the waterworks, and through the (extremely brief) flashbacks where he recounts Drago’s history, we even get a little more backstory for his character too. Gerard Butler is known for his mostly grandiose and over-the-top roles, and here, his delivery is a bit more subdued, yet much more effective, leading to what may easily be his best work to date.
A lot of the younger characters are also given considerably much more to do here than in the first movie. While they were consistently seen throughout the first movie, characters like Snotlout, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut don’t get to jump into the action until the third act of the movie. This time around, they’re completely relevant right from the start, giving them even more moments to shine, and still providing plenty of hilarious comic relief. And leading the charge is Astrid, who matures greatly from when we saw her in the first movie, leading her to be one of the strongest characters in the entire movie, as she gets plenty of moments to command the scene without being in Hiccup’s wake. America Ferrera’s voice work is stellar here, and arguably gives one of her best performances in this film, while Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, and Kristen Wiig are as funny as ever.
Hiccup himself also sees a lot of maturity this time around. While he still gets in some comedic moments here and there, the sequel sees him play it mostly straight. Baruchel has ventured into dramatic territory before this movie, but this sees him at his most fine-tuned. There’s much more passion in his delivery than in the first movie, and we almost view Hiccup in a totally different light than we did in the first movie, forgetting that he was mostly played for laughs the first time around.
Once again, the animation is absolutely top-notch, and it really benefits for a movie that’s a little more action-oriented than its predecessor. Some of the battle scenes are absolutely breath-taking to watch, especially seeing Drago’s gargantuan Alpha Dragon in action. They’re all the sort of images that if one were to pause the movie, the static image would still be highly appreciated. While DreamWorks has always been seen as a lesser Pixar, the HTTYD movies have such a greater attention to detail than even some of Pixar’s best movies when it comes to the images created in their animation style.
And just like in the first movie, once again the animation used to bring Toothless to life is a joy to watch. While the dragon is more a part in a much bigger ensemble this time around, the simple facial expressions conveyed by the dragon are still a joy to watch, and while the film isn’t as focused on the relationship between Toothless and Hiccup this time around, there are some truly emotional exchanges that still manage to pull at the heartstrings due to some of the great detail given to the dragon. The animation is one again supported by an excellent soundtrack, which gives off a truly epic sort of feel to the film, especially in some of the top-notch battle scenes.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a worthy sequel to a modern-day classic. While it encounters some very small bumps in the road when it comes to setting up their newer characters, it otherwise is just as much of a joy to watch as the first movie. It’s full of the same emotional depth, big laughs, and gigantic heart that made the first movie such a massive hit and easily holds up for multiple viewings. One of the rare sequels that’s not just good, but truly soars.
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