How to Train Your Dragon 2

2010's How to Train Your Dragon was one of that year's genuine surprises.  To this day, it's a film I return to, and still stands as one of the better animated films of the past few years for me.  So, when a sequel was announced, it was met with much anticipation and hesitation.  The hesitation came from the fact that outside of the Toy Story sequels and Kung Fu Panda 2, there's not really a lot of animated sequels that feel like genuine follows ups to the original.  They either come across as a marketing cash cow (like the endless Ice Age series), or cute, but rather unnecessary.

So, with that said, let's get the two big questions facing How to Train Your Dragon 2 out of the way.  Is it a strong sequel?  Actually, yes.  The movie evolves its world and its characters just enough that it feels like a genuine follow up, rather than a retread of the first.  The tone of the film is darker, and the characters seem older and a little wiser than last time, which makes it feel like time has passed and that the filmmakers are trying to create a fantasy world that actually expands over time.  Now, onto the second question - Is this one better than the first?  For me, the answer is no.  While I appreciate the film greatly, I don't feel it has quite the impact of the original.  It has a much more conventional plot structure, along with a rather generic villain who left little impact.  What I enjoyed so much about the original Dragon is that there was not a true villain in the story.  It was simply a story of friendship and discovery.  This film is a bit more attached to a formula.  It works fine enough, and there are moments of greatness.  But there were also some moments where I found my attention waning just a little.

Don't let that dissuade you from seeing it, as like I said, this really is a strong follow up.  As we rejoin the reluctant and scrawny young viking, Hiccup (voice by Jay Baruchel), and his flying Night Fury dragon, Toothless, they are exploring the world together and charting unknown lands on an ever evolving map of the world that Hiccup is creating.  In reality, the young hero is somewhat running from his stern father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), who wishes for his son to take his place as the chief of the viking village that the two call home.  Hiccup doesn't see himself as a leader, and is still rather unsure of himself, despite the encouragement of his young girlfriend, Astrid (America Ferrera).  She supports his dreams of flying out to see the world, but also thinks he would make a great leader.

While Hiccup and Astrid are out flying their dragons, they are attacked by a small group of "Dragon Trappers" who work for a mysterious villain with the rather generic villain name of Drago Bloodfist (Djimon Hounsou).  I don't know if that's his birth name, or if he changed his name when he decided to become a supervillain.  Whatever the case, with a name like that, of course he's going to be a villain.  Either that, or a pro wrestler.  Drago and the Trappers are going around stealing dragons.  Their goal is to build a massive dragon army.  What they plan to do after that was a bit unclear to me.  I guess they plan to take over the world, or something.  As animated villains go, Drago is about as stock and underdeveloped as they come.  He's dark colored and dresses himself in a cloak of dragon scales, which makes him instantly look threatening to the kids in the audience.  I could go on a small tirade about how I'm tired of animated films using darker skin tones to represent a character being evil, but I won't.

Returning to the village after his encounter with the Dragon Trappers, Hiccup learns that his father has a history with Drago, who warns his son not to get involved.  Hiccup, however, is convinced that he can change the villain's mind, and work out a peaceful compromise.  Naturally, things don't quite work out that way, as it wouldn't be an exciting movie if the characters just sat around and talked out a peace treaty between warring parties.  There are plenty of big, epic battles between the vikings and Drago's army, all of which is impressively animated.  But most important is the reveal of Hiccup's mother, Valka (Cate Blanchett), who has been believed to be long-dead, but has actually been living in a sanctuary full of dragons that she has been protecting from Drago's forces.  And no, the reveal of the hero's lost mother is not a spoiler, as it's pretty much been plastered all over the film's ad campaign months before it came out.

According to the filmmakers, the Dragon series will one day be a trilogy.  At the very least, they play their cards right for the most part with this second installment.  Even if I do not feel it is quite as good as the original, it still feels like a natural follow up.  They acknowledge the years that have passed between the two films, and have aged them accordingly.  Young Hiccup, while still smaller than every other viking in his village, looks more mature than he did last time.  It brought to my mind how seldom it is we see characters age in animated films over the course of a series of films.  Outside of Toy Story, I can't think of another example.  We also get to see more of the film's fantasy world, which I also appreciated.  The scope is bigger, and the world these characters inhabit seems much more fleshed out. 

The tone of the film has also changed.  While the original was largely the story of a young man coming into his own, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is basically an adventure film.  There are a lot of big battle scenes, armies of villains, and lots of aerial combat sequences with the dragons fighting rampaging soldiers.  As a note to parents with small children, I should say that this is a darker and slightly more violent film than the first, and that the movie is not afraid to deal with the subject of mortality from time to time.  With that said, all of the action and battles are executed quite well.  The movie even opens with a fun little sequence where the vikings are playing a sport that revolves around flying on the backs of dragons, and comes across like something Harry Potter author, J.K. Rowlings, would have dreamed up. 

The increase in action is also what added to my mild disappointment this time around.  While it's all done great, it gets to be a bit much, as the movie seems to rely so much on the fast paced action and battles.  At times, it feels like it's the action that drives the story, not the characters.  While there are plenty of heartfelt character-driven moment throughout the film (mainly dealing with Hiccup and his family), it doesn't come across as strong as it should.  I would have liked for the movie to slow down just a little, and deal with Stoick and Valka being reunited.  They get a nice moment or two (particularly a sequence where they sing a Celtic love song together), but it still feels shortchanged.  Again, I'm not trying to emphasize the negatives here, as this is a very enjoyable film.  It just never quite reached the grand heights of the first for me.

For me, the strongest element of Dragon 2 is that it feels like a complete movie.  Should it become a trilogy, at the very least, this doesn't feel like one big set up for another film, nor does it end on a cliffhanger like so many second entries of a trilogy do.  Should by some chance the film disappoint at the box office and there not be a third, at least fans won't be left hanging.  As any fan would tell you, leaving the story unfinished is one of the worst feelings in the world.

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