**********SPOILER ALERT!!!!!**********
I will fully admit that I only just discovered the beauty of the first How To Train Your Dragon movie a couple of months ago. Based solely on the enthusiasm of Mark Reilly over at www.schmoesknow.com, I decided to check it out. Never knew what I was missing... and it was a lot! The movie has a great story, a hauntingly beautiful score and amazing visuals. It was love at first sight... or watch... or whatever you want to call it. I fell completely head over heels in love with the film. Just in time for the sequel...
It's been five years since the residents of Berk discovered that dragons were not the fearsome monsters that they thought. The dragons have become their companions, a part of their everyday lives... and that includes dragon racing. The villagers race upon the backs of their dragons, collecting sheep in a complicated points system. The one with the most points at the end of the race, wins. Stoick, Hiccup's father and the village chief, is disappointed to see that Hiccup and Toothless are nowhere to be found during the race. That's because, they are off exploring the world in a way that was never before possible, expanding the map that Hiccup has created, as they discover new lands and civilizations. Hiccup also practices his flying, having created his own set of wings. They crash land in an area that is unexplored, soon joined by Astrid, after she has won the dragon race back at Berk. In the distance they spot a plume of smoke and decide to go investigate. When they get closer, they find a village destroyed by large pieces of ice. Suddenly, they are trapped by dragon hunters, who are out looking for prey. Eret, their leader, lets it be known that Drago Bloodfist is amassing a dragon army and that he pays well for captured dragons. Hiccup and Astrid get free and return to Berk, trying to get Stoick and the other to help them find Drago so that they can reason with him. Stoick refuses, and instead orders Berk to be fortified for the coming attack. Hiccup, deciding that the only way to win is to convince Drago to give up his fight, flees Berk, quickly followed by Astrid, and promptly turns them in to Eret, in the hopes that he will take them to Drogo. Stoick, Gobber and the other follow them, and Stoick grudgingly admits that he has met Drago before, that he is fanatical and can't be reasoned with. He demands that they return home. Hiccup, still angry, flies off with Toothless, determined to end the conflict his way. Hiccup and Toothless, on their way to Drago, are kidnapped by the dragon-rider, Valka, who it turns out is Hiccup's mother. She also has the gift of dragon mastery, and tried 20 years before to get the residents of Berk to listen to her about the dragons. She was taken by the dragons when Hiccup was a baby, and decided that it was her responsibility to see that the dragons remained safe, choosing to not return to Berk. Instead, she lives at a dragon island, made of ice, that was created by the alpha dragon, known as a Bewilderbeast. All dragons answer to the alpha. Stoick and Gobber find Hiccup at the haven, where Stoick learns that the wife he thought was dead for 20 years, is actually alive. He and Valka share a moment and she decides to return to Berk and be with her human family. In the meantime, Astrid and the other riders kidnap Eret and force him to take them to Drago. They accidentally let it slip that Berk is full of Dragon riders and that they will never give up looking for them, so Drago should really let them go. Drago chooses to take the fight to them, and his army sets sail for the dragon island. They attack the dragons full force, forcing the alpha from inside the sanctuary. Drago then reveals that he has his own Bewilderbeast, who emerges from the depths, completely under his control. The two colossal beasts fight, and Drago's alpha wins the battle, killing the other alpha. All of the dragons come under the control of the new alpha, and by extension, Drago. To prove his new power, he takes control of Toothless, forcing the dragon to attack Hiccup. Just as he's about to hit Hiccup with a plasma blast, Stoick pushes his son out of the way and is killed by the dragon. Distraught, Hiccup lashes out at Toothless, who turns away and is taken by Drago. The Vikings send Stoick to Valhalla, and Hiccup realizes that with his dad's death, he is the new chief of Berk and is responsible for it's safety. Realizing that Drago will be headed to Berk to get the dragons that live there, he and the others fly the baby dragons home, as the babies are the only ones that aren't effected by the alpha's spell. When they arrive, they realize that they're too late, Drago and his army have already arrived and taken control of the dragons. Hiccup confronts Drago, who orders Toothless to kill him once again. Hiccup reaches out to Toothless, who is finally able to break the alpha's enchantment, reuniting with Hiccup. Drago then orders the Bewilderbeast to attack them, blasting them with ice and seemingly killing them. The ice begins to glow and then blows apart, as Toothless uses his new found plasma glow to rescue them. Toothless then challenges the alpha, firing plasma blasts at the large beast. As he is injured, the other dragons come back under their own control and side with Toothless and the humans. Defeated, the Bewilderbeast and Drago retreat to the ocean as the villagers celebrate their victory. The other dragons bow down to Toothless, their new alpha. Hiccup is officially made chief by the village elder, as they go about repairing the village and erecting a statue of the late Stoick. Others may have armies and soldiers, but Berk has dragons.
To say that I loved this film would be a complete understatement. This film is incredible. It is everything that you want your sequel to be. The story is interesting and engaging and visually the film is stunning. I am not a huge fan of 3D, but I completely recommend that you see this one in that format. The scenes where Hiccup and Toothless are flying through the clouds, over the ocean are spectacular. There is a gorgeous scene where Hiccup and his mother, Valka, go soaring through the air on their way to the feeding grounds, and it's breathtaking. The film is once again scored by John Powell, and just like the first time, he easily captures the beauty and elegance of the film with his score. The score is sweeping and epic in it's complexity and I also highly recommend that you check it out as well. The entire production is grand and stunning, full of heart and soul... everything that you hope for in a film.
I am excited to know that the production team has at least a trilogy in mind (word did leak last week that Dreamworks is thinking of adding a fourth film to the slate, so we'll see what happens with that, although I say go for it, especially if all of the films are as stunning as these first two), as I cannot wait to see what other adventures they have in store for us. While I really enjoyed The Lego movie, this film is now at the top of my list for best animated film of the year. Hell, I think it's actually in my top five movies overall for the year so far. The upcoming releases The Book of Life and Big Hero 6 have big shoes to fill, and I'm not sure they're going to be able to do it. I guess we'll see.
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