TGLM: How To Train Your Dragon 2

How To Train Your Dragon 2

(2014) PG

Starring:
Jay Baruchel, Djimon Hounsou, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Junah Hill

Plot:
Five years after the events of HTTYD, Hiccup and friends are living happily, as their homeland, Berk, has embraced dragons into their daily life, both for riding and for companionship. Hiccup continues to explore the world with Toothless, and during his journey, discovers that they aren't the only ones who are harnessing the might of dragons. They discover that Drago, a ruthless viking from far away, has been capturing dragons to create an army. Confident that he can change Drago's outlook on dragons, Hiccup sets off to find him, and on the way runs into something and someone that he never expected...

The Good:
I'm loving animated movies more and more lately. Now that we're past the dawn of 3D technology, and the beginnings of computer animation, it seems like companies are more so working on how to push these existing technologies to their absolute limits. HTTYD 2 is an absolute delight to the eyes, and to me, a very close second to Frozen in terms of visuals. If you've seen any of the trailers, chances are you have caught a glimpse of the massive Viking army, or the behemoth dragons (referred to in the movie as "alphas"). The sight of both of these in the movie itself were spectacular, and it was a joy to see that they weren't half-assed in any way.

What I loved just as much as the visuals was the story itself. I'm sure most of you are familiar with the first big twist of the movie (involving the woman in all of the trailers), but that, to me, was nothing compared to later plot twists. This movie is not afraid to take risks in its story, which I was overjoyed to see. It will definitely interest an older audience just as much, if not more than the younger crowd.

The score, produced by John Powell, wows just as strongly as the first movie. A solid mix of adventurous score, and modern music blend perfectly and match each scene of the movie very well.

This movie did something that I don't think I've seen another animated sequel do yet: It aged the protagonists. When the first poster came out late 2013, it showed a much more adult-looking Hiccup, with more defined features, varied hair, etc. I love this and I hope that more studios take this into account in the future. Since the movie takes place five years after the first, every character had aged, and it showed not only in their appearance, but their actions and dialogue, leading to a far more engrossing plot.


The Bad:
I'm really having a hard time thinking of anything at all that I disliked about this movie. If I had to pick something, I feel like a few members of the voice cast didn't perform up to snuff with the others. America Ferrera (Astrid) gave a fairly passable performance as Hiccup's love interest. At times it seemed like she was trying a bit too hard, but this is definitely a nit pick of an otherwise perfect movie.

Verdict:
This movie is a must-see for fans of the original, and if you haven't seen the first, rent it, then go see this one!
How To Train Your Dragon 2 gets an easy 5 out of 5.