How To Train Your Dragon 2, (Dean Deblois, 2014): US

Reviewed by Thiago Coelho. Viewed at the Metro 4, Santa Barbara.

How to Train Your Dragon 2, directed by Dean DeBlois, surpassed the first film (2010), a Great film produced by DreamWorks.

Different from the first movie, Hiccup now is a teenager, and now his village everyone loves Dragon, in fact, everyone has one dragon as own. Even with all things that Hiccup achieved for his village, which for everyone his a hero now, the successor of his father. Hiccup still doesn’t know who he is, he still missing something, which brings him to start exploring and searching for new lands.

A fun and animated history with adventure, where the fiction can be taken to the real world, with charismatic characters like the young Hiccup who dreams and believe in a world of peace between humans and animals, and always supported by his “girlfriend” Astrid, his mother Valka (Cate Blanchett voice), who everyone thought was death, but for everyone surprises, she is alive and a woman who fight for her ideals, and his father, a man who is concerned about his people, and to their dangerous enemy Drago, who wants to conquer and tame dragons.

Great script and production great soundtrack, photography and amazing special effects, ideal to watch in 3D, specially during the flights of dragons.

The movie transmit messages of value, such as love and union in the family, trust and loyalty between man and beast. The importance of believing and chasing our dreams and ideals, believing that it can come true. Different of the first movie there are many lost and suffering, which make this movie even more special since is not common in this kind of movie transmitted to the audience the pain of death.

I think that the biggest accomplishment by Dean Deblois in this movie is how he made the characters keep with those who were children in the first movie, and now probably they are teenagers, like Hiccup and his friends, a style very common used in Japanese animations, where the characters grow up together with the audience. In this movie Hiccup is dating with Astrid (even that it was not explicit said), his friends trying to find a girlfriend or a boyfriend, the conflict that happen between Hiccup and his father, a problem very common that many of us can relative to ourselves, and the lost of the loves ones. All these facts without losing the innocence of the characters, which is very smart, because even that it was more direct to connect with children and teenagers, it still have some details that people from all ages can identify themselves.

A story exposed with courage and determination that thrills us with their brave and selfless characters in rhythm adventure with emotional and captivating touch.

The Hiccup and Toothless friendship is sensational, a bond of loyalty and trust. When Hiccup sell Toothless eyes so that he not get mesmerized by the enemy, and he consents, it shows a great significance of friendship. An animation that reaches children and adults, with charismatic characters and built on simple story with great overcoming lessons, peaceful experience between people and animals, including deals with physical disabilities. Filled with dramatic battles with a certain comic timing merged the personal dramas.

Surely with all the hit and success, we can wait one more animation with this dynamic duo, Hiccup and his pet, Toothless.