First reaction: the new “How To Train Your Dragon 2” trailer looks great. I think this is going to be one of those situations where a first film was big but the sequel is GIGANTIC. I have a feeling kids are going to be ranting and raving and generally flipping out for this one, and on a big giant screen, I’ll bet it looks amazing.
Second reaction: oh, so that’s what it’s about.
Third reaction: wait, what is it with Dreamworks and long-lost parents?
I thought “Kung-Fu Panda 2” took an interesting approach to dealing with the very real issues that arise with being adopted, particularly into a family that is in some significant external way different than your birth family. One of the few choices they made that really threw me was resolving the story the way they did and then adding on the post-credits scene where Po’s real family is revealed suddenly to be alive. If sets up some big dynamics that the next film has to deal with, and i’m curious to see how they handle that. Here, though, we’ve got a different sort of parental reveal as Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) discovers an entire world he had no idea existed, and he reclaims something he thought he lost.
Yes, I’m being vague in case you’re reading this before you watch the trailer.
Here’s the official synopsis released by DreamWorks:
The thrilling second chapter of the epic HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON trilogy brings us back to the fantastical world of Hiccup and Toothless five years after the two have successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snoutlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island’s new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.
It makes it look like they’re doing a very interesting job of filling out the world, and a line as simple as “For Vikings with dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger” suggests so many story possibilities. So it just seems a little odd to me that this would share a very particular narrative twist with another animated franchise from the same studio. If it works for both films thematically, great, but I’d love to know how that happened.
Curious to see what you guys think, but this one looks like it’s poised to blow up, and with “Game Of Thrones” returning soon and the final chapter of “The Hobbit” coming as well, dragons look like they’re going to be everywhere in 2013.
“How To Train Your Dragon 2” arrives in theaters June 13, 2014.