Ryan McNeil
Some of the greatest tales of adventure involve heroes longing to be something more. Humble people from humble beginnings wanting badly to be leaders, warriors, or great thrill seekers. What stokes their quest is about how they manage to become that “something more”. If the best stories are to be believed – the very best stories – the path to becoming something more is strewn with risk, darkness, stakes, guts, and legacy. These qualities teach our heroes something deeper about themselves, and teach us in the audience something more about ourselves.
It just so happens one of the very best stories is unfolding in theatres right now.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 brings us back to the island village of Berk five years after the events of the first film. Dragons are now embedded into the culture of this small viking town, something between beasts of burden and family pets. Sometimes they are used for transportation, sometimes companionship, but one thing is clear – no longer are they hunted.
On the outskirts of the community wanders Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel). Not content to tend to the home fires, he wants to harness the amazing abilities of his own dragon – the Night Fury named “Toothless” – to see what else lays beyond the shores of Berk. This desire is encouraged by his girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera) who is happy to see him growing more confident every day, and endured by his father Stoick (Gerard Butler), who wants him to begin training to one day be Berk’s chief.
Soon, Hiccup’s wanderings lead him to several amazing discoveries. The first is an unknown fort encased in large ice formations. It’s there that they meet a dragon hunter named Eret (Kit Harrington), who believes that Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless may well be responsible for the destruction of his camp. During their encounter, the next discovery comes to light; that Berk is about to become a target of a mysterious stranger named Drago Bluvist (Djimon Honsou). Drago is amassing a dragon army for reasons unknown. So to that end, a town like Berk that not only harbours dragons but is populated with dragon-riders, is rife with possibilities.
While making an effort to counter Drago’s plans, Hiccup and Toothless run into a dragon-rescuer named Valka. Unsure what to make of this mysterious stranger, Hiccup nevertheless follows her to her dragon sanctuary. It’s there, in an ecosystem protected by icy walls where Valka is able to protect the dragons thanks to a gigantic alpha-dragon named The Bewilderbeast.
In seeing all of this, Hiccup soon believes there may be a way to resist Drago’s advances. Also in seeing all of this, Hiccup’s eyes are opened to a previously unknown part of his past.
Much like its predecessor four years ago, HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 is a marvel of modern animation. It has once again simulated the wonder of flight with great aplomb, and created a truly lush world in the island chain surrounding Berk. The film has stayed true to its original cast of characters, while seamlessly weaving in three new ones as both friend, foe, and foe-then-friend. Many filmgoers – like myself – considered the origin story of this series to be a true marvel of animated film. So what could this new entry do that could possibly raise the bar?
What sets this film apart from so many other modern bits of animation is its grasp of darkness and stakes. When one looks back at the golden age of animated films, one sees movie after movie that featured some truly frightening sequences. Often times, these sequences could even result in the demise of a major character. For years, animation has slowly been drifting away from this sort of story trope, perhaps in the notion that it was “too much” for kids. However, one wonders if such direction is actually a disservice to children watching the cartoons that they watch. Rather than learning that it’s okay to be afraid, and that death is a part of life, cartoons have begun to teach them that everything will work out fine – and with that, there have been a lot of very mundane cartoons.
HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2, on the other hand, is not afraid to lead us into the darker parts of the woods. It wants us to understand that there is much to lose when we fly so close to the sun, and mere mortals place themselves at great risk when they do so. While it wants us to experience the jubilation of flight and the heroism that comes with overcoming our shortcomings, it wants to temper all of that with sadness and loss. It knows that without the bitter, the sweet just ain’t that sweet. And so it brings us there; under the darkened canopy to a place we fear we might not be leaving. It frightens us and saddens us which makes its moments of joy burn that much brighter.
What it comes down to is being able to get back up. The core lesson inside of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 is that we need to be able to push forward. At the end of the first film, Hiccup easily could have taken a step back considering the physical toll his first adventure took on his body. Here, he very easily could have turtled considering the gigantic emotional toll his latest adventure has taken on his family. But in both cases, he gets back up. He looks to his heart and his head to make up for his physical and strategic handicaps, and gives us a valuable lesson in what is possible.
What’s possible – as the film puts it – is that if one can control the alpha, one can control all dragons. It’s a suggestion of manipulation and power thirst that has plagued every society through all of recorded history. If one looks beyond that though, one sees a whole other possibility – to act like an alpha. To take on the heart of a chief and the soul of a dragon, and become the very best, most courageous version of oneself. Only then can one face that darkness and walk through it into the light. Only then can one become the alpha.
Nice review. I absolutely loved it. I still think the first one is better and I kick myself for not having watched it in the theatre, but this was pretty spectacular too. It was very beautiful and funny and touching and everything a great adventure tale should be. The final climax with Toothless coming to his own was fantastic. He’s still my dream dog and Hiccup has officially become one of the hottest cartoon characters ever.
I rewatched the first one afterwards, and while its novelty originally moved me a great deal (original story, few films with such glorious flight sequences) I think the story to part 2 is stronger. Part one rests heavily on Stoick getting past his stubbornness…and it’s not hard to figure out when that will come.
Hiccup does wear that little bit of scruff on his chin well, doesn’t he?
The marvel of this film, besides it’s obvious visual majesty, was that it made my kids cry… Not out of fear – even though there were some pretty scary parts – but out of sadness. There was real emotional gravitas here that sweetened the characters’ eventual triumph. There’s a very important distinction there, and I’m glad you picked up on it to mention it in your review.
I also dug that it continued to make use of the theme of injury/amputation and look at it as a personality trait or characteristic, rather than as a limiting factor. I haven’t really seen all that much in the way of propaganda from groups like War Amps around this film, or its predecessor, but perhaps I haven’t looked hard enough. It managed to capitalize on an opportunity that Return of the Jedi barely scraped the surface of.
Great review, Hatter!
The most curious thing about that, dude? The thing that makes the impact on children most curious? Look around a little bit and you will see a lot of parents online pointing to that plot point as a reason for parents not to bring their children to this.
How messed-up is that?
Excellent review! I loved this so much, I think I even liked it more than the original. You really have to marvel at how Dreamworks “aged” their characters. That’s great animation.
I really noticed it when Stoick gets to the sanctuary and we get a close-up of his eyes. I thought to myself “Jeez, The Vast is getting up there!”
Little touches like that are what I love: The way that even animators can mark the passage of time.
Lovely review, I guess I should haul out to a theater and see this while I still can, huh? I enjoyed the first film but it wasn’t one that left me aching for a sequel, so I wasn’t particularly interested in this one. But it sounds so exciting!
It’s not often that I say this, but do see this in 3-D if you can (or if you haven’t already!). There’s some really beautiful design going on in it that might impress you, and seeing a lot of those moments play out fully is quite endearing.