Animated Antic Now this is how a sequel is done. For a while, I haven't seen a sequel to animated movie that is not only good, but better than the original. Until now. "How to Train Your Dragon 2" is the perfect description of a movie that conquers the first film and keep in mind, the original movie was probably the best animated movie DreamWorks has ever put out. This movie continues the story like a good sequel should and also ups the story, characters and animation in the process. I even think this is one of the best animated movies ever made and have so much to say about it.Five years have passed since the last film and the Viking village of Berk has evolved. The island now lives with their former nemesis, the dragons, in harmony and have even turned many of their former weapons of war into items of use for the dragons like turning giant torches into feeding stations. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his dragon Toothless have been exploring and mapping islands outside of Berk in hopes of finding other dragon riders. He instead discovers dragon trappers who are seeking revenge after their fort was destroyed and solidified by ice. Led by Eret (Kit Harington), he reveals that the warlord Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou) is raising an army full of dragons in hopes of conquering the world. After warning his father, the chieftain Stoik (Gerard Butler), the island of Berk is put in a secure state to protect the dragons in preparation for a war. Hiccup, believing the war can be avoided, leaves the island with his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera) in hopes to talk with Drago and prevent the battle not knowing that they aren't the only ones protecting dragons. I could tell you what happens next, but I'd rather not spoil the movie.While the last film was directed by "Lilo and Stitch" directors Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois, this film is rather written and directed by DeBlois himself who plans to turn the series into a trilogy. He claims he mostly got inspiration from "The Empire Strikes Back" and it clearly shows. The film does what a sequel should do. The film expands the world, introduces more new characters including more species of dragons and also the fun. The story is what I love about this film the most. It ups the emotion, heart and comedy from the previous movie while also taking the movie in a more darker and serious tone. One particular scene near the end of the film was so powerful that I actually did get a little teary eyed which is a very high compliment. The animation is some of the best put to film. With help from visual consultant Roger Deakins, the animation was so beautiful and even at times very realistic. There was one shot in the film involving glaciers that looked so realistic that I initially thought it was filmed on a camera. The character are again, fantastic. They evolve like characters should, while keeping their charm that we liked about them from the previous movie. The new characters are also fantastic with the villain Drago Bludvist being a genuinely unlikeable villain while having a believable backstory to explain his actions. My favorite character is still Toothless who can be both cute and funny at times while also being epic and awesome in others. I can go on forever praising this movie, but I'd rather not."How to Train Your Dragon 2" is one the best animated sequels ever made. This is a film that has everything I expect to a sequel. A story that is as good if not better than the original, some breathtakingly real animation, and fantastic memorable characters. It's really a fantastic movie and I'm pretty excited to see where the story goes next. There are many reasons why DreamWorks is considered one of the best animation studios in the business and this is most certainly one of them.

muvi-fan-73 What I most liked about the movie is how toothless gets over control of alpha and establishes his own self as alpha. Hiccup does not give up on his dragon despite his father's death. At last everything ends on good note.It is worth watching for adults as well as children.Direction, Screenplay, Cinematography: It is excellent.Tone: The tone relies on story where it is learnt how dragons can be controlled, mainly how alpha controls them and how can one achieve control over them for good or for bad. It is constructed well.Music: Music is average.It is worth watching multiple times.

elenaphysics The reason I put 3 stars at first place it is because it had nice graphics. Other than that the movie was terrible. Spoiler alert!! Hiccup's mother left them and never came back because she was looking after dragons?? Stupid His father and mother find each other after so many years and they want to start over (WHY? she abandoned them) anw and then he dies?? He dies because of toothless who was under mind control? Sad The good alpha dragon just died?? Toothless and Hiccups remain best friends even after toothless killed Hiccups' dad? All these do not make sense The movie had no plot It was terrible Plus the person who makes Hiccups' voice has a deeply annoying voice. It is not a cartoon movie for kids. It is very dark. And the first one was dark but this one is worse. I think it should be a pg13 movie. The feeling after watching the film was sadness and disappointment. I like cartoons, I liked the first one too. But this it was a big failure

oglehannah What spurned this review is that I decided to wake up on my day off and watch both the 1st and 2nd movies. I meant for them to play in the background as I accomplished real work, but they sucked me in just like they do every time I watch them, so silly of me.First off, I LOVED the 1st movie so I had high expectations for the sequel, especially after waiting so long for it to come out. And it didn't disappoint. I love that it's not just a children's movie, that it has values and ideals in it that resonate not only as a lesson for young children, but as something relatable for adults. The friendship between Hiccup and Toothless makes me tear up (which I almost never cry when watching movies). And you can watch this movie multiple times and see the many details added to the backgrounds of the main scene, like dragons messing with one another, etc. The music speaks to me...there are so many things that I'm sure I'm not mentioning, but I think you can understand I love pretty much everything about it based on my review.My only spoiler is that I was very impressed with the scar on Hiccup's chin tying into the storyline regarding why he grew up without a mother. I didn't even notice it in the first film, and so I went home and watched the 1st movie again after watching the 2nd in theaters. Details like that make me want to go back and watch everything again to see if there are any other clues that may tie into the 3rd movie. My guess is that because we got Hiccup's background in the 2nd movie, we'll get Toothless' in the 3rd.