Rating: 4.25 out of 5 Stars.
It's crazy to think that only four years ago we met the brave dragon trainer Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and the loveable toothless, amidst beautiful viking scenery and Scottish influenced music. It was a surprise hit, and one of my favorite animations to date.
And in these 4 years Hiccup has been up to quite a lot. There's been at least two seasons of Dreamworks Dragons: Defenders of Berk on Cartoon Network, which I honestly haven't seen. (I have seen several episodes of the Kung Fu Panda series on the same network, and it's FANTASTIC. So Dreamworks Dragons is probably pretty good, too.)
In How to Train Your Dragon 2 we see Hiccup, Astrid (America Ferrera), and the gang looking older. They're not the same age as before, which we see a lot in animation (are those Simpson kids Ever going to grow up?). I love the change and maturity. I love the fact that the gap between both films are noted, and that we're ready to see the next adventure village Berk is about to embark.
The village is fully embracing dragons now, no longer deathly terrified. They're everywhere! And the dragons are loyal friends to everyone. This change is fun to see.
Yet Hiccup is restless, wanting more, curious to see what is beyond the horizon. Curiosity killed the cat, and though there's no cats in Berkland, curiosity has it's consequences, which Hiccup will learn in a huge way. Hiccup's journey also leads him to the mystery of his Mother and personal self discovery. (Love how vague I made that? The trailer gives away too much!)
The music is just as stunning as before, with new themes and elaborated old motifs.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a fun ride, and in my humble opinion better then the first. (Though my brothers do prefer its predecessor.)
MPAA: Rated PG for adventure action and some mild rude humor.
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