Minor spoiler alert - I'm going to try and write this without any major spoilers for the new film, but I will assume that you've seen the first, so if you haven't seen the original film, or want to avoid learning anything about the new one, you might want to steer clear until you've caught up. Seriously though, watch both of them. You'll be glad you did :)
The first How To Train Your Dragon movie came out of nowhere to become one of my favourite films. I remember seeing it in the cinema around the same time as Avatar and, much as I loved Avatar too, I enjoyed Dragon so much more. Everything about it was perfect - the animation is beautiful, the music is stunning, the characters are likeable and funny without ever being irritating, and the humour is understated but ever present. It also has Toothless the dragon, simply one of the greatest creations ever put on film. Empire magazine summed him up perfectly in their review of the sequel, saying that the dragons combine the best qualities of every pet you've ever had - the playfulness of a kitten, the enthusiasm and loyalty of a dog and the beauty of a parrot. It also wasn't afraid to show the consequences of violence, with Hiccup losing a leg at the end to emphasise his connection with the similarly disabled Toothless.
The sequel takes everything that made the first film great and expands it. The world, the music, the dragons, and the characters are all bigger and even more exciting than in the original. The choice to age the characters was a stroke of brilliance - not only are the younger cast, who were teenagers in the original, now visibly more adult 20-somethings (but still completely recognisable, to the point where you almost forget what they looked like before), but older characters like Stoick and Gobber look a little more weathered and grizzled.
The quality of the animation has grown up too - it is still clearly a cartoon, but every little element of detail is immaculate, from the tiny tufts of facial hair on Hiccup's face to the texture of the clouds that they fly through. It's well worth paying extra to see it in Imax to take in all the detail. Stick around at the end of the film to see some of the concept art behind the credits and marvel at the beauty of the landscapes they have created.
Even more impressive than the quality of the details though is the way the Dreamworks animators have really mastered showing emotion in their characters. It's realistically subtle, often using small gestures instead of grand ones. It makes it so much easier to sympathise with them - there are moments that feel less like watching a movie and more like watching people you know feeling joy or tragedy. There are some truly sad parts that had my 3D glasses getting a bit soggy, but also beautifully happy moments too. At one point, a couple of characters sing and dance to a romantic song which was written for the film by Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, whose lilting celtic, storytelling style fits beautifully into the tone of the film.
The rest of the music, composed by the brilliant John Powell, is just as good as the first film's Oscar nominated score, equal parts exciting and emotional. I bought the soundtrack as soon as I came out of the cinema, and could happily lie in bed with my eyes closed and the music on loud just letting it sweep over me. It is truly absorbing, and every bit as evocative as the visuals of the film - you can listen to it and feel like you're in a battle or soaring over the ocean. Like the first film, Jonsi from Sigur Ros has contributed a track, this time called Where No One Goes, which is a pounding, uplifting number that borrows themes from the original soundtrack.
The sequel takes everything that made the first film great and expands it. The world, the music, the dragons, and the characters are all bigger and even more exciting than in the original. The choice to age the characters was a stroke of brilliance - not only are the younger cast, who were teenagers in the original, now visibly more adult 20-somethings (but still completely recognisable, to the point where you almost forget what they looked like before), but older characters like Stoick and Gobber look a little more weathered and grizzled.
The quality of the animation has grown up too - it is still clearly a cartoon, but every little element of detail is immaculate, from the tiny tufts of facial hair on Hiccup's face to the texture of the clouds that they fly through. It's well worth paying extra to see it in Imax to take in all the detail. Stick around at the end of the film to see some of the concept art behind the credits and marvel at the beauty of the landscapes they have created.
Even more impressive than the quality of the details though is the way the Dreamworks animators have really mastered showing emotion in their characters. It's realistically subtle, often using small gestures instead of grand ones. It makes it so much easier to sympathise with them - there are moments that feel less like watching a movie and more like watching people you know feeling joy or tragedy. There are some truly sad parts that had my 3D glasses getting a bit soggy, but also beautifully happy moments too. At one point, a couple of characters sing and dance to a romantic song which was written for the film by Shane MacGowan of the Pogues, whose lilting celtic, storytelling style fits beautifully into the tone of the film.
The rest of the music, composed by the brilliant John Powell, is just as good as the first film's Oscar nominated score, equal parts exciting and emotional. I bought the soundtrack as soon as I came out of the cinema, and could happily lie in bed with my eyes closed and the music on loud just letting it sweep over me. It is truly absorbing, and every bit as evocative as the visuals of the film - you can listen to it and feel like you're in a battle or soaring over the ocean. Like the first film, Jonsi from Sigur Ros has contributed a track, this time called Where No One Goes, which is a pounding, uplifting number that borrows themes from the original soundtrack.
The first How To Train Your Dragon didn't really have a villain - the giant dragon was more a force of nature that had to be overcome than a character in its own right - but the sequel has a cracking one in the form of Drago Bludvist, a warlord with an army of dragons at his command. He is physically and idealistically the antithesis of Hiccup, wanting to eradicate dragons from the world by enslaving enough of them to destroy the rest. Where Hiccup uses gentle persuasion to train his dragons, Drago dominates them completely, literally crushing them under his boot or threatening them with a wave of his spear and an animalistic bellow (Djimon Hounsou manages to make one of the genuinely angriest noises I've ever heard).
The other new characters are equally well cast. Cate Blanchett manages to convey the range of emotion required for Valka beautifully, as well as giving a great Scottish accent. She actually sounds when we first meet her like I'd imagine someone who hasn't spoken to anyone in 20 years would sound - slightly unsure of her own voice and hesitant to use words when she can say the same thing with a gesture. Kit Harrington's Eret (Son of Eret) has a bit of a London accent that sounds slightly out-of-place in a film where everyone else sounds Scottish or American, not helped by the fact that Harrington has a Northern accent normally and sounds slightly too much like someone trying to do a comedy London accent. However, it kind of works for his character, who is essentially there for an amusing sub-plot involving Ruffnut and doesn't need to carry too much emotional weight.
I absolutely cannot recommend this film enough. The Dragon films are the only non-Pixar CGI films that stand up alongside Pixar's finest, and this is one of those rare films where the sequel stands up to the original (Dreamworks have been getting good at sequels recently - see also Kung Fu Panda 2). The first one lost out at the Oscars in the two categories where it was nominated, criminally losing the soundtrack award to the Social Network and, more forgivably, being unlucky enough to be released in the same year as Toy Story 3, which took best animated film. I have no doubt that the sequel will score both nominations again and should at the very least win best animation at the next awards. The director Dean Deblois agreed to make a second film on the condition that it was part of a trilogy, and I cannot wait to see how they close the series...
The other new characters are equally well cast. Cate Blanchett manages to convey the range of emotion required for Valka beautifully, as well as giving a great Scottish accent. She actually sounds when we first meet her like I'd imagine someone who hasn't spoken to anyone in 20 years would sound - slightly unsure of her own voice and hesitant to use words when she can say the same thing with a gesture. Kit Harrington's Eret (Son of Eret) has a bit of a London accent that sounds slightly out-of-place in a film where everyone else sounds Scottish or American, not helped by the fact that Harrington has a Northern accent normally and sounds slightly too much like someone trying to do a comedy London accent. However, it kind of works for his character, who is essentially there for an amusing sub-plot involving Ruffnut and doesn't need to carry too much emotional weight.
I absolutely cannot recommend this film enough. The Dragon films are the only non-Pixar CGI films that stand up alongside Pixar's finest, and this is one of those rare films where the sequel stands up to the original (Dreamworks have been getting good at sequels recently - see also Kung Fu Panda 2). The first one lost out at the Oscars in the two categories where it was nominated, criminally losing the soundtrack award to the Social Network and, more forgivably, being unlucky enough to be released in the same year as Toy Story 3, which took best animated film. I have no doubt that the sequel will score both nominations again and should at the very least win best animation at the next awards. The director Dean Deblois agreed to make a second film on the condition that it was part of a trilogy, and I cannot wait to see how they close the series...
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