How to Train Your Dragon 2 VS. Kung Fu Panda 2

Rating: 5/10 (30 November 2017)

What these two films have in common is that they are both DreamWorks Animation sequels and both of them have darker content compared to the first installments and both have two plots, in which one is about family related and the other one is about stopping a central villain. The difference between those films however is that one of them managed to tell these plots right and therefore I compare them in this review. (Spoilers for KFP 2)
KFP 2 starts with a short intro about the past of a character that becomes the main villain of the story, followed by a village raid for resources. Po (who is now the Dragonwarrior) tried to stop them but meanwhile gets a short vision of his mother, by seeing a symbol carried by the evil leader. Later he asked his "father" about his past, but in the end Po learned nothing other that he is adopted. After that we see how Shen uses his secret weapon that can outmatch Kung Fu and both plots are settled in only 20 minutes of the film.
Now in HTTYD 2 we have to wait 30 minutes before one of the plots comes in light(Hiccup's missing mother) and we have to wait another 15 minutes before they finally introduced the main villain. The only things we know before that is that Eret works for him and that this villain went once to Berk and killed plenty of Vikings there, because they didn't want to obey him, but why not intimidate those Berkians with his dragons like the way he intimidates them? Oh and apparently he also managed to control an alpha dragon. How he did this is beyond me, but most of all his motive to conquer other people. After one hour Drago explains why he needs to intimidate all these dragons by literally showing his lose, caused by dragons and his motive is therefore to force dragons to work for him? He does not kill them though, he just uses them in his advantage to conquer other lands for no good reason actually, because his past is barely related to this. In short we got a villain with an illogical match between motive and that simply gives no satisfaction to Drago's character whatsoever.
Now in KFP 2 the main villain is 'Shen' who is heir to the throne of Gongmen City and he discovered a way to transform firework into a weapon of distruction. This makes it believable (enough) that this position makes him hungry for more power. And it was from the message from a soothsayer that Shen went out to destroy those (the panda) who could be a thread to him should he continue with his plan. He got banned by his own parents and he return after they were gone.
This is something I am willing to buy. It was not perfect, but Shen's actions made far more sense in contrast to Drago. KFP 2 managed to connect the two plots too. I am not saying that different plots should be connected, but this way the story is more complex and conherent and therefore it was more interesting than HTTYD 2 imo.
Yes, HTTYD 2 kept the two plots separate and it was only at the middle where they come together, which is not that interesting because the film lost therefore the pace. It was after 30 minutes Hiccup coincidentally found his mother Valka(really do love the voice of Cate Blanchett) and after they got to her hideout. She said that she only left in order to 'protect' Hiccup, but against what? Dragons will still come to raid the village anyway. If she truly wanted to protect Hiccup and the villagers, then she would've taken every dragon away from Berk. The only reason why she left is because she disagrees about killing dragons, but that is nearly not good enough to disappear for good without even visiting the place. Valka's dicision just does not make sense.
There are plenty other questions I have for this film, for example: Why is everyone okay with that Valka left for 20 years, if that is the only reason? Hiccup did not care at all (only surprised), Stoick sang together with Valka like nothing of that ever happened and the rest did not bother. Also why does Valka continuously act that she knows who Hiccup is after knowing him in about 2 days? Saying that being Chief is who Hiccup is, while the one thing that we know for sure in HTTYD is that Hiccup is an explorer rather than a leader. Astrid on the other hand was more capable to lead, so why does Hiccup not name Astrid as Chief? She could've been a great leader, but in this film she is rather a tag-along than an independent character and that is not Astrid I knew from HTTYD. Speaking of characters, Stoick died during the battle and surprisingly Drago just left Hiccup and the rest unharmed after he could finish them, but why? Shen from KFP 2 would not have taken any risks. He would have finished the job, if it wasn't for Po's counter ability with 'inner peace'. Also why did no one either spoke or mentioned Stoick again after the funeral, they just got over it? This is very rushed and forced writing at this point. In KFP 2 the story started very early with emotional investment with Po and his dad(Goose), that last through the entire film. So why didn't they start with at least one emotional gripping conversation between father and son that also last through the whole film to make his death more emotional and memorable?
In conclusion: The story of HTTYD 2 did not satisfy partly due to the pace. They went for a slow mysterious approach rather than a swift, dynamic pace like in KFP. The beginning was too slow in order to tell all there is and as a result we got a very rushed middle and end. In my eyes the seperate plots was a mistake. The choices of the characters Drago and Valka did not make sense. Astrid was not the real Astrid and the death of Stoick did not have anything memorable to it. I can only say that KFP 2 tells their both plots pretty clever. It had a clear direction and the story had a very compelling villain with an interesting goal and motive, but above all it made sense, along with improvement of certain characters with Po, his father and Tigress.
HTTYD 2 is not a bad film, but it has very questionable elements. Valka might had her reasons to leave the village. Drago might had his reasons to conquer Berk. But in this context they are just plot movers not actual characters with good motive. Hiccup's character arc(from explorer to leader) could be interesting, but it was unfortunately too little too late.