How To Train Your Dragon 2 packs twice the amount of emotion and beautifully rendered dragon scales.

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2019)

When I said the first film caught me off guard with its surprising amount of intensity. Well, its sequel may have just bested it. From epic large scale battles on land, sea and air to investing character development between a broken family. This a near-perfect family adventure that is hands-down the best film from DreamWorks since 'Shrek 2'. Hiccup's village has now embraced dragons, and his thirst for exploration grows. Whilst venturing across the vast seas, he comes across an antagonising maniac who wants to conquer the world by controlling dragons. What this sequel does, which many fail to do, is mature the franchise. Hiccup and his viking friends are now young adults, and so their thought process and understanding of the world has matured with its audience. And I cannot understate how important that is. They could've easily replicated the original and played it safe, but evolving the characters through age allows more emotion to come through. The enamoured relationship between Hiccup and Toothless juxtaposes the fragmented bonds between Hiccup and his parents, and it works! It so works! And I found myself quickly becoming connected with every character and the tangible connections between them. Upon the arrival of the third act, DeBlois just puts everything on the table. Soaring dragon battles that lead to a sense of loss where Hiccup may actually not prevail. With so much at stake, you are automatically absorbed. The absolute gorgeous animation just complements the fantastical world that is presented. Lighting was improved, character models were smoother and the animation itself was divine. Improvements all round! Plenty of comic relief (particularly from Ruffnut) to ease the grandeur of its story and, well, packed with so much heart and sincerity that it often overwhelms. If it wasn't for Drago being underdeveloped as a villain, this may have got the perfect rating. Alas, it is an outstanding piece of animation from a series of high-flying films that came out of nowhere.