How to Train Your Dragon 2
was a very anticipated film for me back in the summer of 2014. I went so far as to avoid all trailers and
spoilers so as not to sully the experience, including avoiding looking at McDonald's
cartons that had pictures of what Hiccup and friends looked like as young
adults. Sounds crazy, definitely kind of
crazy, but that's just how hyped and determined I was to see this film with a
fresh mind. I had seen and loved the
first film and watched both seasons of its TV series DreamWorks Dragons
that had aired at the time. This wasn't
just a sequel to a previous film for me, but rather a continuation of a story I
had become genuinely invested in.
Note: This is my second review of How to Train Your Dragon 2. Here's my original review from 2015, written back when the film first released.
At the time, the original review was the longest I'd ever written. My opening paragraph boldly claimed that How
to Train Your Dragon 2 succeeded in being better in every way to the
original; "with rich animation, fantastic pacing, wonderful music, a
beautifully animated world with a life of its own, and a new, mature story to
back it all up!" I stand by many of
these statements. The film certainly has
rich, gorgeous visuals brought to life in the most breathtaking of ways, builds
upon the previous soundtrack in a new, delightful manner and contains a new,
mature story to back it all up. Yet hype
has a way of making one blind to the overarching faults and missteps a story
can have.
Revisiting the film all these years
later—back to back after the original without the rose-colored glasses on—and
How to Train Your Dragon 2’s more glaring issues became apparent. Irrelevant characters, contrived story elements, and a very generic, forgettable villain are the
highlight faults within the film. The
first film has its faults as well, yet the faults in the sequel are more
numerous and disruptive. That
said, How to Train Your Dragon 2 still remains a great film and
magnificent work of animation, just maybe not as much as I originally hyped it
to be.
Five years have passed, and a lot
has changed since the first film’s events.
Dragons and Vikings now live in (relative) complete harmony on Berk. Instead of fighting dragons, the Berk Vikings
now ride them and play a sporting activity called Dragon Racing—though contrary
to its name, it does not involve racing but rather catching sheep and throwing them into wooden holes to get points (with the participants and cheering
onlookers all wearing colorful face paint).
Their leader, Stoick the Vast, has made a complete one-eighty for the
dragons—embracing them as their own kin and getting zealously into cheering
the Dragon Racers, enthusiastically cheering Astrid while calling her his
future daughter in law. The village has
adapted to the dragons’s incorporation, building a giant housing for them with
a cave-like interior and custom stables, feeding stations across Berk, and even
fire prevention precautions for the accidental sneeze that burns a house. Gobber has even switched from being a weapons
blacksmith to a saddle builder and dragon dentist, making saddles and metal
teeth for both Vikings and their dragon companions.
Hiccup, the bringer of such harmony, is not around to participate in the sporting event—rather, he’s off with
his loyal dragon Toothless exploring the world outside of Berk. It's here the film shows off its first, big
flying experience. The animation has taken an incredible leap in quality since
the original, beautifully showcased as Toothless and Hiccup soar through
the clouds spinning rapidly as one with the air and wind. The growth these two have experienced is
showcased when Hiccup purposefully detaches and drops off of Toothless,
reminiscent to their near-death experience in the first film’s Test Drive scene. Yet Hiccup’s been advancing in his inventors
and reveals a pair of base-jumping wings, allowing him to glide in the air
along with Toothless who fires small firebolts underneath Hiccup—letting the
heat push the Viking upward. It’s all
magical for Hiccup until the clouds clear and those pesky giant rock pillars
spring out of nowhere—Toothless, fortunately, coming to his rescue last second,
avoiding injury.
The soundtrack playing here is
Jónsi's Where No One Goes, a beautiful song with lyrics that I find past 2014 me gushes about ideally: “Where No One Goes is a lovely song, perfectly
encompassing the tone of the How to Train Your Dragon series. It captures the feeling of the film’s
majestic flying scenes; the feeling of freedom, of soaring through the clouds
and skies. The song’s Nordic tone fits
ideally with the film’s Viking setting, even incorporating pieces of the
previous film’s soundtrack (namely Test Drive which, in itself, is an amazing
masterpiece of music). It’s a beautiful
piece of music, fitting for a beautiful scene in an overall beautiful movie.”
The pair are mapping out the world—explorers
discovering new things, new dragons, and new lands while being free and
happy. Yet not all is fun and games,
such as when dragon trappers show up and steal Astrid's dragon—though Hiccup’s
deadpan sense of humor definitely makes it more fun than it could be; “Just
give us back our dragon and we'll go, Strange-Hostile-Person-Whom-We've-Never-Met.” This strange hostile person is named Eret (Kit Harington),
who is trapping and delivering dragons to the film's main antagonist Drago
Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou).
The award for most irrelevant
character and waste of filler in a How to Train Your Dragon film goes to
Eret. Even hyped-up me five years ago
noted how pointless this character was and how he ends up taking away from
other previously established characters that could have used additional
development and/or screen time. This
characters entire character arc, that's right, he gets an arc, is simply a
retread of the original film’s themes—guy traps dragons, viewing them as
beasts, ends up getting saved by one, sees the beauty and goodness within them,
teams up with dragons to help fight the big bad. Now, there is a point to Eret’s character—to
showcase Hiccup’s ability to sway people to his peaceful mindset. Yet this point is highly unnecessary to
emphasize seeing as Hiccup's already displayed such ability in the first film.
And then there's Drago. I compare him to Mickey Rourke's all-too-forgettable character in Iron Man 2. He’s not as bad
as Ivan Vanko, but merely comparing them as similar should show my unfavorable
impression of the antagonist. He doesn't
start off this way, however, actually having some rather effective buildup
thanks to Stoick’s past history with him:
Stoick: Years ago, there was
a great gathering of chieftains to discuss the dragon scourge we all faced.
Into our midst came a stranger from a strange land, covered in scars and draped
in a cloak of dragon skin. He carried no weapon and spoke softly, saying that
he, Drago Bludvist, was a man of the people, devoted to freeing mankind from
the tyranny of dragons. He claimed that he alone could control the dragons and
he alone could keep us safe, if we chose to bow down and follow him.
The group laughs
Stoick: Aye. We laughed,
too... Until he wrapped himself in his cloak and cried out, "Then see how
well you do without me!". The
rooftop suddenly burst into flames, and from it, armored dragons descended,
burning the hall to the ground. I… was the only one to escape.
Stoick’s descriptors of soft-spoken
and weaponless conjures the imagery of a sinister, intimidating being capable
of striking fear and terror through their presence alone and what destruction it
brings—someone that can match Hiccup in taming ability and intelligence yet
uses it for nefarious purposes. Yet when
Drago actually makes his formal appearance, there is no menace or intimidation enveloping him—only a loud, angry man with a knack for being stereotypically
dastardly and almost comically cliché. There's
a scene where Drago gives Hiccup this big speech about his motives and goal to
liberate the world of the dragon menace; “You see, I know what it is to live in
fear. To see my village burned, my family taken. But even as a boy, left with
nothing, I vowed to rise above the fear of dragons and liberate the people of
this world.” Yet Hiccup immediately
calls him out on this bull****, and Drago immediately drops all pretense and
admits he's right:
Hiccup: Then why a dragon
army?
Drago: Well, you need
dragons to conquer other dragons.
Hiccup: Or maybe you need dragons
to conquer people. To control those who follow you... and to get rid of those
who won’t.
Drago: (Laughs) Clever boy.
With no signs of charisma or a single charm bone in his body, it’s baffling how exactly Drago amassed such a
dragon army. Given his large physical
bulk, I can understand intimidating men under his control, but dragons? Particularly the monstrously
large and powerful Bewilderbeast, who rivals, if not surpasses the Red Death in
size, strength, and ability—having the ability to fire a powerful burst of ice
from its mouth and hypnotize dragons to obey it. How exactly a crude barbarian like Drago
could tame such a beast, let alone gain its absolute loyalty…well, it just
doesn’t add up aside from contrived plot convenience.
Drago, at least, does lead to some
interesting ideas, such as putting Hiccup’s pacifistic ideology to the test. Hiccup becomes determined that he can change Drago’s
mind—reason with him, show how wonderful dragons are and that they can all live
in peace and harmony together. The
approach makes sense from Hiccup’s standpoint—after all, his ideology has
effectively worked on Berk for the better.
Yet Stoick disagrees with Hiccup's idea, displaying great wisdom and experience
that seemed lacking in the first film; “Men who kill without reason cannot be
reasoned with.”
Stoick may be a stubborn man, but his heart is in the right place—meaning Hiccup’s reasonable beliefs were bound to get through to him eventually. Drago, on the other hand, is a cruel and malicious person—one only seeking self-betterment by gaining power and control over others. The scenario flips their previous dynamic from the first film in a refreshing manner, giving Stoick his time to shine as a great leader while displaying Hiccup’s room for further growth and experience. Hiccup, unfortunately, learns the hard way that his father is correct—very unfortunately, but I'll get to that later.
Stoick may be a stubborn man, but his heart is in the right place—meaning Hiccup’s reasonable beliefs were bound to get through to him eventually. Drago, on the other hand, is a cruel and malicious person—one only seeking self-betterment by gaining power and control over others. The scenario flips their previous dynamic from the first film in a refreshing manner, giving Stoick his time to shine as a great leader while displaying Hiccup’s room for further growth and experience. Hiccup, unfortunately, learns the hard way that his father is correct—very unfortunately, but I'll get to that later.
The film’s major sub-plot involves
Hiccup coming across a mysterious dragon shaman he mistakes as Drago, who turns
out to be his long-lost mother Valka (though it would have been very
interesting if Drago was a codename for Hiccup’s mother, who could have been a
complex, well-intentioned extremist fighting for dragon rights by trying to
destroy the "bad" humans—thereby conflicting with Hiccups harmonious
ideas. Feels like a big missed
opportunity). Valka is pretty much the
Viking equivalent of a hippie, having been against fighting the dragons and
ultimately left the village to be with them, believing Stoick could not change.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is
by far one of the best-looking animated features of the decade, with absolutely
stunning visuals and animation. It's
clear that a ton of effort was placed into making this film as gorgeous eye
candy as it could possibly be. I cannot
gush enough about how magnificent this film looks. Take the scene where Hiccup is surrounded by
a bunch of dragons under the protection of Valka's own Bewilderbeast.
Hiccup shows off some advanced taming techniques by pulling out a sword
that ignites on fire using stored gas from a Zippleback—then spread the
remaining gas around and creating flame circles from the chemical
reaction. The light show mesmerizes the
creatures and the audience, pacifying them as his mother watches in the
background. Valka then shows off her own
skills, using various rattles inside a hooked cane to orchestrate the dragons
to ignite their mouth in flames without actually firing. The flames start off a bright blue glow
before becoming fiery red, creating an ominous, yet mystical vibe to the
meeting.
Valka then brings Hiccup and
Toothless to her Bewilderbeast’s lair where a spectacle of hundreds of
different dragons are seen flying through the air in this gorgeous landscape
that looks like a preserved time zone of prehistoric times with its plants and
vegetation. There are so many different
elements to look at within every frame, particularly the multitude of unique dragons
soring around in this utopia. The film
treats the audience to another visually gorgeous flight sequence as Hiccup and
Valka travel with the dragon heard to go fishing. The Bewilderbeast appears from under the sea,
spewing out hundreds of fish into the air for the dragons to catch. It's a great bonding scene between Hiccup and
his mother, and a beautiful one at that.
In an area with a powerful upward gust, Valka playfully jumps from
gliding dragon to dragon much to Hiccup’s amazement. The music playing during this sequence is
called Flying with Mother and it has this wondrous sound to it—a wintery,
Scandinavian atmosphere ideally fitting with the scene’s wonderous, icy scenery.
Oh, and then there are the battle
sequences. When Drago comes attacking,
looking to take over all the dragons Valka has been protecting, it leads to a massive-scale,
epic battle between his forces and Valka, Hiccup, and Stoick’s side. This is something out of a Lord of the Rings
type movie—armies amounting for battle, boas firing, dragons diving in firing
blasts, a kaiju-style battle between
Drago’s Alpha Bewilderbeast and Valka’s, Astrid and the other younger Vikings surprise
attacking Drago’s troops, Drago vs Valka and Stoick, etc. There’s an insane amount of effort placed into
this battle sequence and it is phenomenal.
It does, however, lead to what I
would consider one of the darker moments in an animated film aimed at families
and younger audiences. Drago's Alpha
ends up defeating and killing Valka’s Alpha, taking control of all the dragons
including Toothless, who is commanded to go and kill Hiccup. What follows is an incredibly dark scene where
Stoick gets killed by Toothless while defending Hiccup, causing Hiccup to lash
out in irrational despair at Toothless for something the poor dragon had no control
over.
What makes the scene so twisted is having the protagonist's loyal, friendly, lovable companion, as well as the mascot of the series, murder the protagonist’s beloved father. It’s like if Pikachu was shown killing Ash’s mom—it’s just really twisted and messed up. To the film’s credit, it does handle the situation well, with Hiccup getting a pep talk from Valka and going to snap Toothless out of the Bewilderbeast’s control. It’s a very potent scene that, for a moment, almost makes it seem like Drago is about to become an interesting character:
What makes the scene so twisted is having the protagonist's loyal, friendly, lovable companion, as well as the mascot of the series, murder the protagonist’s beloved father. It’s like if Pikachu was shown killing Ash’s mom—it’s just really twisted and messed up. To the film’s credit, it does handle the situation well, with Hiccup getting a pep talk from Valka and going to snap Toothless out of the Bewilderbeast’s control. It’s a very potent scene that, for a moment, almost makes it seem like Drago is about to become an interesting character:
Drago: He is not yours
anymore. He belongs to the Alpha! But, please, oh great Dragon Master, try to
take him. He will not miss a second time.
Hiccup: It wasn't your
fault, bud. They made you do it. You’d never hurt him. You’d never hurt me!
(Hiccup puts his hand on
Toothless's snout. His eyes widen and narrow as he mentally struggles against
the Alpha.)
Drago: (Fascinated) How are
you doing that?
Hiccup: Please. You are my
best friend, bud.
Toothless appears to almost break
free, but the Alpha concentrates harder and Toothless's eyes narrow again.
Hiccup: My best friend.
Toothless breaks from the Alpha's
control. His eyes widen and he smiles at Hiccup, whimpering happily
Hiccup: Atta boy, that's it!
I'm here!
The film concludes with another
epic battle between Hiccup and Toothless vs Drago and the Bewilderbeast. Hiccup comes to realize that he can't solve everything
with pacifism and knows that he must fight this battle to save his
village. Using strategy and ingenuity
the duo is able to get the upper hand on Drago and the Alpha, yet it's still
not enough as they get encased in an icy blast. Yet in probably one of the most amusingly anime sequences of the series, Toothless—for better terms of the word—uses his
love for Hiccup to evolve Pokémon-style into his Mega Form and challenges the Bewilderbeast
for control as the Alpha. Toothless viciously
and ferociously blasts the far larger dragon in the face with bolts of blue
fire—the force breaking the Bewilderbeast’s spell on the other dragons who join
Toothless in an epic barrage of attacks that breaks off one of its tusks and
drives it back into the sea dragging Drago with him. Toothless ends up becoming the dragon herd’s
Alpha and Hiccup accepts and takes over his father’s role as chief of the
village.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 succeeds
on multiple levels and even exceeds the original in certain areas. At the same time, it finds fault with its
main antagonist, some contrived story elements, and its pacing regarding unnecessary filler. It succeeds beautifully in a massive jump in animation
and an explosion of visuals. The sound
takes from the original and gives it its own unique wintery spin. It also expands the How to Train Your Dragon
series with new advancements, character development, and world-building. The sequel does not try to surpass the
original in innovation and novelty but seeks to build upon its predecessor’s
strengths that both complements and effectively progresses the story. I’ve seen Hidden World and while I
enjoyed it, it felt a huge step down in quality compared to the first two. Its animation is largely the same as 2’s (a
lower budget most likely from the slightly underwhelming ticket sales of 2)
though it lacks in jaw-dropping visuals pieces.
It recycles a lot of the series's previously told stories and introduces
a main antagonist that’s both more interesting than the previous two yet also somehow
more stock villainous and bland. How
to Train Your Dragon 2 is a more satisfying conclusion to the
series, and remains one of the best animated, and non-animated films of the
decade.
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