How To Train Your Dragon 2 better than original

It’s deeper and darker, has a potent message and still manages to retain its charm. It will also appeal to all ages.

The original animated feature came out four years ago, offering audiences an offbeat story about a Viking boy named Hiccup who made peace between his people and the army of strange looking dragons that inhabited the land.

A scene from How To Train Your Dragon 2. Image supplied

This follow-up reunites director Dean DeBlois and the original cast and it’s a swashbuckling affair of soaring, first-class animation plus a clever, witty story and characters who are appealing and engaging. The story opens with a few years having passed and the village of Berk is now home not only to Vikings but also to dragons, the former enemies now integrated peacefully into each other’s daily lives

Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is older now and his father, Stoick (Gerard Butler), the village chief of Berk, has decreed Hiccup will be his successor. The immature youngster isn’t too thrilled, because he’s quite content to be flying with Toothless, his dragon, exploring new realms away from home.

A scene from How To Train Your Dragon 2. Image supplied

Astrid (America Ferrera) is now his girlfriend, and she joins him on his journey – when she’s not winning dragon races in the village. One day the pair come upon the ruins of a village and run into Eret (Kit Harrington), a dragon hunter. He traps them and takes them to his evil boss, the mysterious Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou).

Stoick has a history with Drago and wants to fight him. Hiccup wants to negotiate, to make Drago see how humans and dragons can coexist.

While flying Toothless to meet him, Hiccup runs into a strange woman, Valka (Blanchett), a sort of supercharged dragon whisperer, with whom Hiccup forms a bond. Drago won’t be dissuaded and an intense battle erupts.

A scene from How To Train Your Dragon 2. Image supplied

Director DeBlois takes a risk by basing his script on the book series by Cressida Cowell, but it helps to propel the story ahead and it pays rich dividends.

The bond between Hiccup and the amusing little dragon he calls Toothless forms the film’s core and Baruchel is outstanding in his characterisation of a boy growing to be a man, though not leaving the things that he values most behind. He captures the nuances of the personality with a commanding style.

There are many little touches that elevate the production: observations about life and living and dialogue that ring true. The look of the film is remarkable and the animation, particularly when the dragons take flight, is seamless.

A scene from How To Train Your Dragon 2. Image supplied

It’s often difficult to reflect emotions with an animated character, but with this one they get it right.

How To Train Your Dragon 2 offers something rare in a children’s film. It has real heart.