We find ourselves back in the Viking village of Berk, five years after the events of How To Train Your Dragon. Dragons and humans coexist in harmony. They even work and play together.
When reintroduced to the older, much hunkier, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless the Night Fury, we see that they have been spending their time exploring new territories and documenting their findings.
One day, while Hiccup and Astrid (America Ferrara) are exploring a suspicious wildfire, they discover a gigantic ice formation. As they both examine it, they are ambushed by a dragon trapper named Eret (Kit Harington), who accuses them of destroying it. In retaliation he makes it his mission to capture all of Berk’s dragons with the intention of bringing them to the film’s main antagonist and dragon hunter, Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou).
The minute Hiccup’s father and chieftain of Berk, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler), gets word of the threat, he immediately orders that the village prepare for war. Hiccup, Toothless, and the entire gang must band together to protect their dragons and Berk’s future.
With as good as the first film was I was curious to see if the creators would be able to carry on that legacy. Luckily they totally did. This film was just as visually stunning, heartfelt, and entertaining as it’s predecessor. Definitely worth going into debt to see it in IMAX 3D. This is the type of movie that the technology was made for.
The flight scenes are ridiculously impressive, the storyline is very original, and the ensemble voice cast includes: Jay Baruchel as Hiccup, Gerard Butler as Stoick, America Ferrara as Astrid, Jonah Hill as Snotlout, Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs, Craig Ferguson as Gobber, Kristen Wiig as Ruffnut, T.J. Miller as Tuffnut, Kit Harington as Eret, Cate Blanchett as Valka, and Djimon Hounsou as Drago Bludvist.
If I had to pick I would have to say that the first in the series is still my favorite, but in no way am I downplaying this new installment. Fans of the first will definitely appreciate How To Train Your Dragon 2, and as you walk out of the theater you’ll be begging to give away your money to see How To Train Your Dragon 3. Unfortunately you’ll have to wait until 2016 for that one.
DreamWorks Animation’s How To Train Your Dragon 2 stars Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, and Djimon Hounsou. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois. In theaters June 13.
