"How do you become someone that great, that brave, that selfless? I guess you can only try. A chief protects his own."
In the realm of storytelling, sequels are always an incredibly difficult business. Oftentimes, the financial success of the initial work can be more of a motivating factor in a follow-up’s production than respecting the nature of the story.
So I thought when I heard that Dreamworks had greenlit How to Train Your Dragon 2. The first remains one of my favourite films that Dreamworks animation has produced since their inception (still behind Prince of Egypt, which I doubt they’ll ever top) and it told a very well-written, very heartwarming, and very complete story. An excellent movie in every respect, and if Tangled hadn’t come out that same year, it may well have won my personal best picture award for 2010.
I kept my expectations low for How to Train Your Dragon 2 (especially after a disastrously made trailer was released which basically spoiled every major plot point) but remained ever hopeful that it would overcome my worries.
Having now seen it twice, I can say with certainty that it absolutely surpassed and destroyed all my expectations and is not only a worthy sequel, I would offer an argument that it is superior to the first.
It begins by doing something that I really love in good sequels. Much like Toy Story 2 and 3, it acknowledges the passage of time between the movies. Characters have grown older, their lives have progressed, and the story deals heavily in the themes of change and growing up; finding your place in a changing world, responsibility, and the importance of family.
I was around Hiccup’s age when the first movie came out, and to see him unmask and reveal himself to have joined me in his early twenties and dealing with many of the same questions and fears I grapple with today was an amazing personal bonus, and definitely enhanced my enjoyment of the film.
These ideas are not only reflected in the theme and conversations, but also in the events of the story. How to Train Your Dragon 2 does NOT play it safe at all and makes points to progress the story, its characters, and to shake up the status quo. It doesn’t set itself up for a sequel, it doesn’t rest on the character development the first film offered. Instead, it feels like a new natural new chapter in a grand epic. Everything changes very naturally, and feels like a new, genuine chapter in Toothless and Hiccup’s lives rather than a cash-grab story that lands with them back where they started in order to churn out more cheaply written sequels.
I apologize for rambling on the same topic. Long story short, it does everything a good sequel should, and does it maturely.
It is also exceptional from an animation and cinematography standpoint. The flying scenes and environmental designs are stunning. One thing that surely sticks out in my mind is a sequence in a dark cave wherein a character uses several dragons as makeshift lanterns. Extremely visually impressive and creative. The sense of scale is also well-done, with massive dragons clashing in the background of battle scenes as the camera focuses on smaller humans and dragons in the foreground.
As far as music goes, many of the brilliant leitmotifs from the first movie return. Combined with lyrics this time! The opening flying sequence set to “Where No One Goes” singlehandedly alleviated all my worries about the film, as I sat back relaxed and ready to be further impressed.
The standout musical moment in the film however, definitely goes to the lovely and extremely catchy folk song “For the Dancing and the Dreaming” sung midway through the film. A great song that will touch your heart from a storytelling standpoint, and that you shall be singing for months afterwards.
If I were to criticize the movie, (and I do have to be very nitpicky to find flaws) I would say that the villain was probably the least interesting character. He was built up VERY well through a story Stoick the Vast tells, and had a really good design and concept behind him, but his backstory receives next to no development. He has a brief speech, and a really contextually weak excuse as to why he does what he does. He comes across as just being evil because the movie needed a villain. Not a bad character, just not a very interesting one.
I do love the way Hiccup interacts with him and treats him, though. Seeing Hiccup constantly look for a peaceful way to stop him up until the very end was very cool, and an excellent thing for the young children watching to learn. Even after horrible things have been done that most would deem unforgivable, Hiccup continues to live by Matthew 5:44: “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”. Brilliant to see.
Also, there is one major plothole concerning a certain character’s survival, and the whole subplot about Ruffnut being attracted to Eret made me feel uncomfortable a lot more than I found it funny.
All in all, though, I was completely blown away by this movie, and am very optimistic for a potential third film.
It was dramatic, funny, touching, and very, very epic. I am waiting on bated breath for the blu-ray to be released, and shall be working on my Hiccup 2.0 cosplay in preparation for the next movie.
"You came early into this world. You were such a wee thing. So frail and so fragile. I feared that you wouldn't make it. But your father, he never doubted. He always said you would become the strongest of them all."
