My son has recently got AmazonVideo free for 6 months on an offer for students, so when his niece and nephew came to stay for the weekend he got ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ for them to watch.
We sat as a family to watch the film so had an audience aged from 74 to 9; this is the review of that film.
Film Details
Released: 10 July 2014
Directed by: Dean DeBlois
Produced by: Bonnie Arnold
Written by: Dean DeBlois, Cressida Cowell
Music: John Powell
Running Time: 102minutes
Production companies: DreamWorks Animation, Duncan Studio, Mad Hatter Entertainment
Certificate: PG
Cast
(Voices)
Jay Baruchel ... Hiccup
Cate Blanchett ... Valka
Gerard Butler ... Stoick
Craig Ferguson ... Gobber
America Ferrera ... Astrid
Jonah Hill ... Snotlout
Christopher Mintz-Plasse... Fishlegs
T.J. Miller ... Tuffnut
Kristen Wiig ... Ruffnut
Djimon Hounsou ... Drago
Kit Harington ... Eret
Kieron Elliott ... Hoark the Haggard
Philip McGrade ... Starkard
Andrew Ableson ... Ug
Gideon Emery ... Teeny
The Story
“With Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger, ”
‘How to Train your Dragon’ was adapted from the book of the same name for young adults, written by Cressida Cowell; it has been five years since the original ‘How To Train Your Dragon’ was released; this original film was basically a ‘boy-and-dog tale’ about a younger Hiccup and his pet dragon, Toothless. By the end of the film Hiccup, a young Viking, had managed to convince his fellow islanders on the Island of Berk that a dragon could be a Viking’s best friend and they could all live in peace together.
In this 102 minute sequel (rated PG for ‘mild violence and threat’), dragon racing has replaced the centuries old war between dragons and humans. Thrill-seeking Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) has grown into a handsome young man set to succeed his father, Stoick the Vast (voiced by Gerard Butler), as the chief of Berk. But rather than learn the skills from his father Hiccup would rather spend his time charting the islands around the dragon-friendly Island of Berk, on his dragon steed, Toothless and with his girlfriend, Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera). One day the trio discover an incredible fort in shards of green ice that reveals a menacing new species of dragon. The Bewilderbeast cannot fly however it ejects streams of water that turn everything to ice.
The Bewilderbeast is the slave of Drago Bludvist (voiced by Djimon Hounsou), a sullen, and evil warrior whom they come across through Eret (Voiced by ‘Game of Throne’s Kit Harington), a jaunty dragon trapper who is helping Drago amass a captive army.
It’s up to Hiccup, Astrid, and all the Vikings to stop the evil Drago before it’s too late.
My Opinion
It’s very rare that I enjoy a sequel as much as I have the original, but I have to say that all 5 of us sat enthralled as we watched this film. To me this second film – while still child friendly – seemed aimed at the more mature viewer. There are many layers to the rather sophisticated plot and my 19 year old son commented that there was something very ‘Games of Throne’ like about it – but that could just have been the fact that Kit Harington is in it!
Watching this film made me wish that we had a 3D TV as I can imagine that it must be absolutely fantastic watching it in 3-D.
The visuals are absolutely gorgeous – there is something about them that makes you feel you’re playing a video game on an X Box or PS3. There is plenty of romance, and humour in this sequel and it also has a poignant addition of a mother-son subplot and a wonderful villain in the form of Drago. Thankfully the makers of the film stayed very true to the first film and rather than change the things that made the first film so good (the temperament of the characters, the great action sequences and the truly beautiful scenery) but improved on them. I thought that the detailing of each character and dragon as well as the scenery was more sophisticated than in the first film.
I would say that there is more violence in this film than the first, but the story and the character development are far stronger. I found that I related, understood and sympathized with the characters in the sequel much more than I did in the first and I really enjoyed the story with Hiccup’s mother - Valka (voiced by Cate Blanchett). One character I wasn’t as keen on in the sequel was Astrid; she has softened from being the sarcastic, competitive tomboy that she was in the first film and in my opinion this made her much less absorbing.
I would say that this film really is computer-generated animation at its very best and I’d love to watch it in 3D.
Availability
This film is currently available on Amazon Video for £7.99, and on DVD from £5.
The Finale
I would really recommend that you watch this film; if you haven’t watched the first I would recommend that you do but it is not essential as you learn what has gone on before at the beginning of the film.
I found ‘How To Train Your Dragon 2’ to be an unadulterated pleasure from the beginning to the end. This is a perfect film for all ages, although small children may be bothered by some of the violence in it; but for most children this is a lovely family film that you can all sit and watch together. It really has it all - it is thrilling, it is heart-warming, the flying scenes continue to delight and it is a beautifully constructed animated epic that leaves you wanting more – and I do believe that we won’t have to wait too long for more as number 3 is already under way!
I really do have to give this wonderful animated film 5 stars – for animated don’t read children only, I guarantee the adults will love it too!