It’s been over five years since the island Berk changed forever. Once foes to one another, dragons and Vikings now live in harmony…or at least the best they’re going to get of it. Instead of focusing on slaying dragons, the Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) and Toothless are now turning their attention toward discovering uncharted territories. While off on their travel they stumble upon a secret location that appears to house hundreds of dragons. They have a leader who turns out to be Hiccup’s long-lost mother, Valka (voiced by Cate Blanchett). Not all is peaceful in the rest of the world either as a new threat to Berk emerges, a power-hungry warrior called Drago. He’s got a serious ace up his sleeve that will change Berk forever.
Sometimes a sequel can hit a sophomore slump. Though CGI animated features may have a better track records than their 2D counterparts (ie: Cinderella 2; The Lion King 2; The Little Mermaid 2, etc.), that didn’t guarantee this film would be spared. After thoroughly enjoying the original film for the first time recently, I was curious if the sequel would aim to top it or deliver more of the same since it worked so well the last time. Why tweak a winning formula?
Well after seeing it I believe it took the franchise to another level. I have to respect its fearlessness and moments of unpredictability, though a bit of the light heartedness from the first film is sacrificed a bit. There were unexpected turns and revelations that will make more than a few people emotional if you’ve been invested in the series since the beginning.
One thing that wasn’t sacrificed was the humor. Your mood may change depending on the scene, but if you want laugh out loud moments then this film delivers strongly in that area.
The stakes are higher and the big bads are bigger and badder. Hiccup goes through pretty major character development as he continues to want to shirk his responsibilities as the successor to his father. I thought it was a smart idea to further explore how close Hiccup and Toothless are to prove that together they can overcome anything.
The themes of the three F’s: friendship, family, and forgiveness are pretty strong in this one.
Overall, though the film takes on a different and heavier tone than the original, it was very well done and engaging. I found it oddly refreshing that such a series in the safe zone decided not to rest on its laurels and take a few risks. The final product is better off for it.