Equals, If Not Surpasses, The First

Rating: 8/10 (16 March 2017)

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is the rare animated sequel that both goes deeper and is just as exciting as the original. The story takes place some years after the events in How to Train Your Dragon, the kid characters notably having matured to about their mid-teenage phase, and notably more experienced in their flying-dragons trade. From the beginning, it accepts the cooperation between Viking and dragon, flying and diving through the air, and we never doubt the logic of it.
As the characters are more mature, so is, appropriately, the story, being more complex and darker than the original, without ever feeling like it's trying too hard to accomplish that. Hiccup and his loyal dragon Toothless are back, doing more impressive feats, going further and further from their home, exploring beautiful new environments and encountering new things, some friendly and many not. Our other Vikings and giant flying lizards in all their varieties (and solid voice work) are back from the original, and we see some new ones, including terrific sinister villain. But I hold back on telling too much, for to give much beyond the premise, and early scenes of discovery, would be a disservice to viewers coming to see it.
This is an exhilarating, creative, and gorgeous piece of work, with hardly a dull moment to be found. It's not quite a perfect or near perfect animated film, with some tired humor and a bit of a rushed ending. Still it's one of DreamWorks' best efforts to date, so definitely see it.