The original How to Train Your Dragon(2010) was a coming of age tale of a young Viking, Hiccup, who sought to fit in with his tribe. Through his bravery and with the help of his dragon, Toothless, he turns around his village’s view about dragons and even wins over the respect of his father, the village chieftain.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 starts five years down the road from where the original left off. By now, returning hero Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) has grown up and his father Stoick (Gerard Butler) is looking to him to take over leadership of the tribe. However, Hiccup is faced with internal turmoil as he struggles with his sense of identity and the weight of living up to his father’s expectations.
Written and directed by Dean DeBlois, How to Train Your Dragon 2, follows Hiccup as he has to take on the villainous Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou), a deranged adventurer driven to create a dragon army. Once again, the idealistic Hiccup has his own ideas on how to tackle this menace and this takes him down the path in his personal journey of self-discovery.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is beautifully animated. The sweeping scenes with flying dragons are perfectly paired with the sweeping musical score by John Powell. The variety of dragons on display in some of the scenes provides an amazing spectacle of colour and makes it almost believable that they could have co-existed alongside the Vikings.
Ultimately, the film hinges on relationships. The relationship between Hiccup and Toothless, Hiccup’s familial relationships with his father and long-lost mother (Cate Blanchett) and his standing with the tribe on the Isle of Berk.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is now in cinemas around Singapore.
