| How to Train Your Dragon 2 | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Dean DeBlois |
| Produced by | Bonnie Arnold |
| Screenplay by | Dean DeBlois |
| Based on | How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell |
| Starring | |
| Music by | John Powell |
| Cinematography | Roger Deakins (Visual Consultant) |
| Editing by | John K. Carr |
| Studio | DreamWorks Animation |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
| Release dates |
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| Running time | 102 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a 2014 American 3D computer-animated comedy action fantasy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, loosely based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell. It is the sequel to the 2010 computer-animated film How to Train Your Dragon and the second in the trilogy.[2] The film is being written and directed by Dean DeBlois, and stars the voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig with the addition of Kit Harrington, Cate Blanchett and Djimon Hounsou. The film is to be released on June 13, 2014.
The film will take place five years after the first film, featuring Hiccup and his friends as young adults.[2]
DeBlois revealed in an interview about the story: "At the end of last
film, all these Vikings who were previously somewhat landlocked are now
on the backs of dragons so the entire Northern Hemisphere opens up to
them. And with that Hiccup's curiosity increases, the map expands and
inevitably they are going to come across new dragons, new cultures."[3] Hiccup then "discovers a larger conflict brewing between humans and dragons and he finds himself at the center of it".[2]
Plot
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This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (June 2014) |
Five years after the the Vikings
of Berk have made peace with the dragons, dragon riders participate in a
race. Stoick notices his son Hiccup's absence. Hiccup is on adventures
with his dragon Toothless, as they discover uncharted lands and new
territories. Hiccup reveals to his girlfriend Astrid that he has been
avoiding his father, who intends to make Hiccup the Chief of Berk due to
his coming of age, which Hiccup is reluctant to accept. During one of
their adventures, Hiccup and Toothless are mapping the known world
around Berk. They meet a dragon hunter named Eret who has been capturing
Dragons for an insane conqueror called Drago Bludvist, whose goal is to
take control of the dragons and then the world. Eventually, Hiccup and
his friends come across an ice cave that serves as a haven for the
dragons where Hiccup meets his long-lost mother, Valka. They learn in
the cave that the dragons answer to an Alpha dragon called a
Bewilderbeast, who can control all dragons and has the ability to shoot
ice instead of fire.
Stoick tracks Hiccup to this cave where he discovers that his wife is
still alive, and after they rekindle their love, they decide to return
to Berk. Drago has also tracked them to the island and unveils his
secret weapon--another Bewilderbeast, which is the same breed as the
Alpha, but both bigger and stronger. Eret betrays Drago and joins forces
with the riders, before a titanic battle ensues and the two
Bewilderbeasts face off, during Drago's Bewilderbeast defeats the Alpha,
thereby ending the fight by becoming the new Alpha and taking control
over all the dragons, including Toothless, who has now been hypnotized
by the Alpha and will not respond to Hiccup's command. Drago gives the
order for the Alpha to kill Hiccup, and it decides to send Toothless.
Drago leaves Hiccup to his fate as he prepares his now larger army for
the invasion of Berk. Even Stormfly, Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch,
Cloudjumper, Grump and Skullcrusher succumb to the Alpha and joined
Drago's army. Stoick and Valka sees Hiccup in trouble and rushes to
rescue him. Toothless prepares to fire a fatal plasma blast at Hiccup
while the latter tries to smack the former out of its trance but fails.
Toothless fires the shot, but Stoick pushes Hiccup out of the way and is
shot himself. Valka and the other dragon riders rush over to Hiccup and
Stoick, and Valka solemnly announces that Stoick has been killed.
Toothless snaps out of his trance and realizes that he had committed a
great sin, and attempts to help Stoick but is chased away by an enraged
Hiccup. Toothless is then under the Alpha's control again and Drago
rides Toothless to lead the final invasion of Berk. Hiccup, Valka and
the dragon riders hold a cremation ceremony for Stoick. Hiccup, now
filled with vengeance, decides that they will fly back to Berk and
defeat Drago once and for all.
The dragons on Berk start to behave weirdly just as Drago and his
Bewilderbeast arrive. Drago promptly announces that Stoick is dead and
his Bewilderbeast freezes Berk. The dragon riders ride the baby dragons
back to Berk as Hiccup learns from Valka earlier on that the baby
dragons are not affected by the Bewilderbeast's control as they listen
to nobody.
Hiccup and the dragon riders return to find Berk completely frozen
just as Drago's Bewilderbeast begins its attack on the village. Valka,
Gobber, Astrid, Snotlout, Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut and Eret work
together to distract the Alpha while a vengeful Hiccup confronts Drago
and a brainwashed Toothless. Drago is surprised to see Hiccup still
alive and orders Toothless to shoot Hiccup again, promising that he will
not miss this time. Hiccup attempts to snap Toothless out of its trance
and is succeeding, much to Drago's surprise, who immediately orders his
Bewilderbeast to try and regain control of Toothless. However, Hiccup
eventually gets through to Toothless who frees himself from the
Bewilderbeast's control. Drago falls onto his Bewilderbeast while Hiccup
manages to get onto Toothless and fly him to safety before they crash
into the ocean. Hiccup decides to blindfold Toothless to prevent the
Alpha from controlling him again and Toothless trusts Hiccup to be his
eyes. Drago orders his Bewilderbeast to shoot Hiccup and Toothless once
more, and successfully freezes the both of them in a big blast of ice,
seemingly killing them. As Valka and the villagers of Berk grief over
their apparent death, Toothless, now glowing with plasma charge, blows
the ice up, revealing that he and Hiccup are safe. Toothless, now with
enhanced fire powers, challenges the Alpha Bewilderbeast. All the
dragons, including those enslaved by Drago, are touched by the bond
Hiccup and Toothless shared and freed themselves from the
Bewilderbeast's control, joining the people of Berk in a final standoff
against Drago and his dragon. Enraged, Drago has his Bewilderbeast to
destroy everything, but Toothless and all the other dragons retaliate by
firing at the Bewilderbeast simultaneously, severely injuring the
latter and causing it to lose its left horn in the process while Drago's
mechanical arm is also destroyed. Defeated, Drago and his Bewilderbeast
retreat into the ocean as the villagers celebrate their victory and
Toothless is crowned the new Alpha of the dragons, gaining the respect
of all the dragons, including Cloudjumper.
Hiccup looks over the horizon in remembrance of Stoick and decides to
carry on his father's legacy. He is officially appointed chief by Gothi
the Elder and Gobber proclaims that the chief has finally come home as
the villagers cheer. Astrid, happy that Hiccup has finally found what he
was searching for, kisses him. Eret jokingly teases that Hiccup would
make a great dragon-knapper and Hiccup sees that his father's dragon
Skullcrusher now needs a new rider and thus allows Eret to successfully
bond with it. As Hiccup does the closing narration, Berk is being
rebuilt with a statue of Stoick erected in his honor while Hiccup,
Toothless, Eret and Skullcrusher join the others in a dragon racing
match. The film ends with Hiccup proudly declaring that, while Drago may
have armies and armadas, Berk has their own dragons.
Cast
- Jay Baruchel as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, teenage son of the Viking chief. His best friend and dragon is Toothless, a Night Fury.
- Cate Blanchett as Valka, a reclusive vigilante from the Arctic, Stoick's wife and Hiccup's long lost mother.[4][5][6] She also rides on her dragon Cloudjumper, a Stormcutter.
- Gerard Butler as Stoick the Vast, the chieftain of the Viking tribe and Hiccup's father. He rides his new dragon Skullcrusher, a Rumblehorn.
- Djimon Hounsou as Drago Bludvist, a dragon hunter.[7][8]
- America Ferrera as Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's girlfriend.[9] She rides her dragon Stormfly, a Deadly Nadder.
- Kit Harington as Eret, a dragon trapper who sells captured dragons to Drago.[4][10]
- Craig Ferguson as Gobber the Belch, Stoick's closest friend and a seasoned Viking warrior. He rides his new dragon Grump, a Hotburple.
- Jonah Hill as Snotlout Jorgenson. He rides his dragon Hookfang, a Monstrous Nightmare.
- Christopher Mintz-Plasse as Fishlegs Ingerman. He rides his dragon Meatlug, a Gronckle.
- T.J. Miller and Kristen Wiig as Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston, fraternal twins. They share a two-headed Hideous Zippleback named Barf and Belch.
Production
Development
After the success of the first film, the sequel was announced on April 27, 2010.[11][12] "How to Train Your Dragon ... has become DreamWorks Animation's next franchise. We plan to release the sequel theatrically in 2013," said Jeffrey Katzenberg, DreamWorks Animation's CEO.[12] It was later revealed that DeBlois had started drafting the outline for a sequel in February 2010 at Skywalker Ranch, during the final sound mix of the first film.[13]:10 The film was originally scheduled for release on June 20, 2014,[14] but in August 2013 the release date was moved forward one week to June 13, 2014.[15]
The film is being written, directed, and executive produced by Dean DeBlois, the co-writer/co-director of the first film.[14] Bonnie Arnold, the producer of the first film, is also returning, with Chris Sanders,
who co-directed and co-wrote the first film, acting only as an
additional executive producer this time due to his involvement with The Croods.[16]
When offered the sequel, DeBlois accepted it on condition he can turn
it into a trilogy. For the sequel, he intends to revisit the films of
his youth, with The Empire Strikes Back and My Neighbor Totoro[17] having the pivotal inspirations for the film.[18] "What I loved especially about Empire is that it expanded Star Wars in every direction: emotionally, its scope, characters, fun. It felt like an embellishment and that's the goal."[19]
It was announced that the entire original voice cast – Baruchel,
Butler, Ferguson, Ferrera, Hill, Mintz-Plasse, Miller and Wiig – would
return for the sequel.[20] On June 19, 2012, it was announced that Kit Harington, of Game of Thrones fame, was cast as the film's antagonist.[10] At the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con International, it was announced that Cate Blanchett and Djimon Hounsou have joined the cast, lending their voices to Valka and Drago Bludvist, respectively.[21]
While the first film was set in a generic North Sea environment, the creative team decided to focus on Norway
this time around. Early in the sequel's development, about a dozen of
them traveled there for a week-long research trip, where they toured Oslo, Bergen, and the fjords.[13]:12–13 DeBlois, together with Gregg Taylor (DreamWorks' head of feature development) and Roger Deakins (a cinematographer who served as visual consultant), then broke off from the group to visit Svalbard and see polar bears in the wild with the assistance of armed guides.[13]:12–16
DeBlois explained that he had learned from directing Lilo and Stitch (2002) that "if you set an animated film in a place you want to visit, there's a chance you might get to go there."[13]:14
He had wanted to visit Svalbard for quite some time, after learning of
its stark beauty from a couple of backpackers he met during earlier
visits to Iceland to work with post-rock band Sigur Rós.[13]:14
Animation
In the years before the film's release, DreamWorks Animation had
substantially over-hauled its production workflow and animation
software. How to Train Your Dragon 2 will be the first DreamWorks Animation film that will utilize "scalable multi-core processing", developed together with Hewlett-Packard.
Called by Katzenberg as "the next revolution in filmmaking," it will
enable artists for the first time to work on rich complex images in real
time, instead of waiting eight hours to see the results next day.[23]
The film will also be the studio's first film to use its new animation
and lighting software through the entire production. Programs, named Premo[24] and Torch,
will allow much more subtlety, improving facial animation and enabling
"the sense of fat, jiggle, loose skin, the sensation of skin moving over
muscle instead of masses moving together."[2]
By the time production was complete, over 500 people had worked on the film at DreamWorks Animation's headquarters in Glendale as well as its branch offices at PDI/DreamWorks in Redwood City and DreamWorks India in Bangalore.[13]:158–159
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