Formal Review of "How to Train Your Dragon 2"

                How to Train Your Dragon 2 picks up five years after the events of the first film. Hiccup and the gang are now in their early twenties, the cohabitation between dragons and the Vikings of Berk is flourishing, and Stoic has named Hiccup his official heir. However, things go awry when the gang stumbles across a group of dragon catchers who say they are helping a man called Drago Bludvist, who is building an army of dragons. Things get even more interesting when Hiccup finds his long lost mother, Valka, who rejoins her family in order to thwart Drago and save the dragons.

How to Train Your Dragon 2, much like many of Dreamworks’ better films, does a fantastic job of creating and maintaining a world and telling a story about the strength of a family.

                The world and characters that were presented in How to Train Your Dragon have not only been preserved, but expanded upon. The village of Berk has been modified to accommodate the dragons by installing perches for the dragons to land on, strategically placed pipes and water buckets to put out accidental fires, the conversion of the forge into a saddle making shop, and even the introduction of a new sport called dragon racing. After the world is reestablished, it is revealed that not only has Hiccup continued to invent dragon inspired creations, such as a flight suit and a flame sword, but he has been exploring the areas surrounding Berk in search of new islands and different dragons to study. Not only that, but it is also revealed that both Drago and Valka train dragons using techniques similar to those used by Hiccup, and that Valka has discovered even more about dragons than Hiccup has. How to Train Your Dragon 2 makes more use of Norse traditions than the first film did; the most notable of which was Stoic’s burial at sea. After Stoic is accidentally killed by Toothless, his body is set placed in a boat, which is then pushed out to sea and set on fire

                Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron, The Croods, and the first How to Train Your Dragon, are all films that showcase what Dreamworks does best: telling stories about strong familial bonds and friendships. In How to Train Your Dragon 2 we see two very strong families: the Isle of Berk, led by Hiccup’s father, Stoic, and the dragons’ nest, which is watched over by Valka. Both leaders have a strong sense of preservation and are willing to take care of the ones they love at any cost. This resolve only grows stronger when the two finally reunite. In fact, the relationship between Hiccup’s parents may have been the best part of the film. When Stoic first approaches Valka after twenty years she expects him to yell and be angry with her for letting him think she was dead all that time. However, instead of chastising her, Stoic gently embraces her and gives her a kiss. After he woos her by singing their song, which was an extremely fun and touching scene, Valka agrees to rejoin Stoic and Hiccup and be a family again. Soon after they wage war against Drago in order to protect both the dragons and the inhabitants of Berk. Even after Stoic’s death Valka continues to encourage and guide Hiccup. She is able not only to help Hiccup overcome Drago and his alpha dragon, but to help Hiccup forgive Toothess for killing Stoic against his will. The first How to Train Your Dragon Film focused on the forming of the bond between Hiccup and Toothless, but How to Train Your Dragon 2 shows us how that friendship has grown and how it is being maintained against all odds.

                Although I was initially concerned that How to Train Your Dragon 2 would suffer the same fate as most sequels, I am overjoyed to report that it did not. Instead of trying to give fans more of the first film by telling the same story, the creators of the film told a different story about the same characters in the same setting with the same lore. This film expanded on what we already knew form the first film and took it to new and exciting places. It didn’t hesitate to pull out all the stops by expanding its lore, creating new dynamics between characters, killing off some old ones, and upping the stakes for our heroes and their home. How to Train Your Dragon 2 simultaneously shares enough differences from and similarities to the film that came before it, making it a much more powerful film than your average sequel. I highly recommend How to Train Your Dragon 2, especially if you loved the original How to Train Your Dragon movie.