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)
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