Just as good as the first one.

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2014)

After watching Maleficent i was really hoping this movie would defy my expectations which were that the sequel to the 2010 original would be a pile of money-making junk, but i was wrong. I have to say, there is something about the HTTYD series, it seems as if everyone who was working on it put all the effort they could into creating an animated kids film like no other, yes the story structure is quite familiar, but the twists and turns the story undertakes is what makes the franchise unique, that and the amazing visuals, because of this HTTYD was a huge success and now i am here to talk about the sequel. The visuals were amazing in this movie, no they were more than amazing, the visuals in this movie took 3d animation to the next level, some scenes i just forgot about what was happening and watched the scenery and there were a few scenes where the audience is supposed to just soak up the environment, these animators have created. There is one problem with the story, it felt as if the writers had just adapted the story to be slightly different than the first one, except this time we had a lot more character development, actually i think that this was what the movie was all about developing the characters for the 3rd film, overall the story was believable and kept me interested but perhaps not hooked. Finally the characters, yeah the villain was interesting, didn't really feel as if he was a bad guy, i felt he was more a misled man who really didn't understand what he was doing- and that was exactly how the movie played him, he was a misled character who Hiccup tried to convince to change their ways and be one with the dragon, and i suppose the whole franchise you could say has the message of 'be one with nature, and respect the creatures who live with us', and now this is good message to tell the younger generations, and the franchise does it so well. My final verdict is that HTTYD2 is a fun family film and i highly recommend you go see it. 8/10