HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON 2 DVD (2014)

SYNOPSIS: When Hiccup and Toothless discover a secret ice cave with wild dragons and a mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves in an epic battle to save the future of men and dragons!

MOVIE REVIEW:

It’s always a rewarding experience to watch an animation that doesn’t dumbed down its story for the sake of the younger audience. This year the sequel to DreamWorks’ How To Train Your Dragon is one gleaming example of how to do a sequel right.

Richly entertaining filled with compelling storytelling, the story begins five years after the event of the first. The Viking villagers are now living in peace with the dragons. Stoick (Gerald Butler) on the other hand is keen on passing his throne to Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) but the latter has other matters in mind. In the meantime, a powerful evil dragon hunter Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou) is on the loose and soon, Hiccup and Toothless will find themselves fighting against the clutches of Drago and his colossal dragon. Will Hiccup and Toothless survive the ordeal?

The story written by director Dean DeBlois expand the original characters onto a bigger canvas and simultaneously offer an insane amount of dazzlingly action to go with it. The introduction of Cate Blanchett’s Valka brought the movie to a whole new emotional level and DeBlois is also not afraid to kill off “SPOILER-ALERT” a major character! It’s a sequel that surprisingly does not hesitant to challenge the delicate topic of death and relationship.

Although some of the elements might be dark to the younger children, the animation continues to be filled with lots of colorful, weird-looking dragons and breath-taking cinematography if that’s a consolation. The high-flying and aerial dogfights truly are on a much bigger scale than the first and we are talking about the introduction of two massive dragons fighting on the big screen.

Jonah Hill’s Snoutlout and the two fraternal twins, Tuffnut (T.J. Miller) and Ruffnut (Kristen Wigg) once again provide the wacky humour and one-liners. Certainly when it comes to some heartfelt key moments, Hiccup and Toothless, this unlikely pair no doubt has us tearing and cheering at the same time.

DreamWorks Animation has come a long way since Antz. There are obvious hits  (Kung Fu Panda) and misses (Rise of the Guardians) along the way. But Jeffrey Katzenberg and his team for sure have found their crown jewel and that is undeniably the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. 

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Fishlegs' Dragon Statsis multimedia feature which teaches one about the various classes of dragons. The rest are just promotional featurettes- Theatrical Trailer, Sneak Peek, Gallery and World of DreamWorks Animation.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

The visual overall is stunning and images incredibly detailed. The audio Dolby Digital 5.1 is full of surround activity and booming sound effects. An excellent example of top notch audio and visual presentation. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee