DVD Movie Review - How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2 brings back all the charming characters from the first movie, while adding even more fantastical lore.

STORY:

Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) is now five years older and his relationship with his village Berk, main squeeze, Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera), father (Stoick voiced by Gerard Butler), and lovable dragon, Toothless, has grown.  While Hiccup's father wants him to become Berk's chief, Hiccup has dreams of exploring new worlds and finding new dragons.  During his travels, he discovers an icy land full of dragon poachers and learns of a man that is trying to conquer the world with a dragon army.  Hearing the news, Hiccup's father prepares for war, but Hiccup is determined to make peace.  Can Hiccup and his cohorts save the day before Berk is turned into rubble from an evil invading force?  Only fantastic storytelling, wonderful animation, and hysterical dialogue will tell.  Fire-breathing dragons, obese dragons, dopey dragons, baby dragons, and silly Vikings ensue.

"The problem with you, Hiccup, is you're just not that attractive.  Take a look at me for 

instance.  A perfectly well-groomed man."

THOUGHTS:

It's very simple: if you liked the first How to Train Your Dragon, then prepare for a film just as good.  Not only is the story as engrossing as the first, but the characters have evolved (except for Hiccup's friends, they're still the same goofballs, but they do help even out the film's serious tone with humor), the story has grown up, and the dragons are every bit as interesting and charismatic as the first go-around. 

Since the previous movie revolved around unlikely friendships, the second is able to dig deeper into Hiccup's character.  He now has hopes and dreams of his own, but also dilemmas that he must overcome.  Hiccup isn't just a teenager discovering the world anymore.  He's now becoming a man that constantly thinks about his future and the future of the ones he loves.  So the tone of How to Train Your Dragon 2 sits a little more on the drama/mature side of the two films.  But don't misunderstand; this movie has just as much silly humor spread throughout. 

Dragons, no matter how nice they seem, are still dangerous.  Exhibit A: this Night Fury was

photographed wearing his owner as a necktie.

THE VOICE TALENT AND DRAGONS:

The bulk of the nuttiness is handed off to Hiccup's pals, Snotlout (voiced by Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (voiced by Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Tuffnut (voiced by T. J. Miller), and Ruffnut (voiced by Kristen Wiig).  Not only do they bring comedic backgrounds to the film, but they also unleash truly laugh-out-loud moments in the story.  And Gobber (expertly voiced by Craig Ferguson) has some of the best one-liners in the film.

Jay Baruchel as Hiccup is of course, the heart of the movie.  Without him putting his all into the performance the film would sink to disaster levels. Luckily, he pulls off Hiccup with ease, even adding a slightly older feel to his voice and emotional range.  Gerard Butler gives his best performance since the last How to Train Your Dragon and America Ferrera fills the role of Astrid perfectly—especially when she's mimicking Hiccup.  There are a few other roles that have been added to the roster, but they'd give away some of the story, so they'll remain omitted from this review.  But their performance is every bit as good as everyone else's.

Now, what dragon movie would be complete without dragons?  Toothless is every part as remarkable as his human friend.  Just like the first movie, his animation and personality, along with body movements and facial expressions are nothing short of amazing.  And watching the rest of the dragons interact with the Vikings never ever gets old.

"No, no, no...I'm completely serious.  This Night Fury is absolutely, one hundred percent, 

paper-trained.  And he won't eat the furniture or your children while you're away."

THE ANIMATION:

People say Avatar has some of the most beautiful CG seen in the film industry, but How to Train Your Dragon's flying sequences are easily just as breathtaking…and this movie is no different.  From dragon riders flying through clouds, skimming across water, and now crashing into snow and ice, How to Train Your Dragon 2's scenes are beyond beautiful.  If you didn't catch this film in the theaters, you're doing yourself a disservice by not watching it in the highest definition available.  But not only are the environments gorgeous, the characters have also had some minor tweaks.  This second film could have been lazy like most animated features that take old character designs and bring them into a new film (animated characters seem to never age, no matter how many films they're in), but How to Train Your Dragon 2 took what they already had and added maturity to each and every character without hurting the look of a single design.  Hiccup now has a slight beard beginning to show, and Astrid's face has been shaped to resemble more of a women's instead of a young girl.  From a pure technical stand point, this is the best tiny detail of the film.  It shows the animation department put not only love, but also care into creating each and every character.

"You have to remember to floss, or you'll just keep getting crap stuck between your teeth.  What 

is that? A femur?"

CONCLUSION:

How to Train Your Dragon 2 continues the story of Hiccup and Toothless and adds more depth to an already fantastic world.  As stated above, if you enjoyed the first film, then have no fear purchasing this one for your collection.  With gorgeous animation, wonderful character additions, excellent writing, and a loving studio to put it all together, there's not one thing wrong with How to Train Your Dragon 2.  It's what every sequel to an animated movie should be…and more.

5 out of 5 Stars (well done DreamWorks…well done)