How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014)

This time around, the pacing didn't seem so jarring to me.  I was struck more by how much more emotional this film was over its predecessor, like they were really aiming for the gut.  I also watched the accompanying short, Dawn of the Dragon Racers, which was incredibly disappointing.  I found myself spacing out during it and it's only 26 minutes long.  Maybe if you have really little kids, they'll be amused but it doesn't hold a candle to the feature.  Originally posted 22 Jun 14.    Christy's birthday was this past week and she asked us to take her to see How to Train Your Dragon 2.  It was one of her better ideas.

This sequel works hard to channel the magic of the original, picking up five years after the events of the first.  The island of Berk has been transformed into a human-dragon paradise but Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) cannot help searching ever farther afield.  His partnership with Toothless is stronger than ever but he wants his dragon to possibly find his own kind, maybe even a mate.  There's also the fact that Stoick (Gerard Butler) is grooming him to take over as Chief, which Hiccup doesn't feel ready to do just yet.  Then he runs into a set of dragon hunters, led by Eret (Kit Harrington), looking for conscripts to the army of Drago (Djimon Hounsou), and suddenly his personal problems diminish in stature.  With help from an unexpected ally named Valka (Cate Blanchett), Hiccup and his friends must save their dragons and their community from enslavement.

The animation is beautiful, as always, and the characters are already established, but something about the pacing felt off to me.  It lagged in bits and felt rushed in others.  That is serious nitpicking, however, so you should feel prepared to enjoy yourself when you go see it.  We had a great time, Christy's boyfriend (who doesn't watch animated movies because he apparently hates joy) included.  I don't know if they'll make a third volume, since this one has underperformed at the box office so far, but we can always hope.