''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' is a 2014 American
computer-animated
Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating animations. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both static scenes ( still images) and dynamic images (moving images), while computer animation refe ...
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
fantasy film
Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The genre is considered a form of speculative fiction alongside science fiction f ...
loosely based on the
book series of the same name by
Cressida Cowell
Cressida Cowell FRSL (born 15 April 1966) is a British children's author, popularly known for the book series, ''How to Train Your Dragon (novel series), How to Train Your Dragon'', which has subsequently become an How to Train Your Dragon (fr ...
. Produced by
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
and distributed by
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...
, it is the sequel to the 2010 film ''
How to Train Your Dragon
''How to Train Your Dragon'' (abbreviated ''HTTYD'') is an American media franchise from DreamWorks Animation and loosely based on the eponymous series of children's books by British author Cressida Cowell. It consists of three feature films: ' ...
'' and the second installment in the
trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...
. The film was written and directed by
Dean DeBlois
Dean DeBlois ( ; born 7 June 1970) is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, and animator. He is best known for writing and directing the Oscar-nominated animated films ''Lilo & Stitch'' for Walt Disney Animation Studios (with Chr ...
, and stars the returning voices of
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the ''How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
,
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as ''Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Di ...
,
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...
,
America Ferrera
America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...
,
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad (film), Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), ''21 Jump Street (film), 21 Jump Stre ...
,
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in '' Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (20 ...
,
T.J. Miller
Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American actor and comedian.
In 2008, he made his acting debut in ''Cloverfield'', and from 2010 to 2014, he voiced Tuffnut Thorston in the first two '' How to Train Your Dragon'' films. From 2014 to ...
, and
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...
, along with
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
,
Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...
, and
Kit Harington
Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor who is widely known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO epic fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019).
After studying at the Royal Central School o ...
joining the cast. The film takes place five years after the first film, featuring Hiccup and his friends as young adults as they encounter Valka, Hiccup's long-lost mother, and Drago Bludvist, a madman who wants to conquer the world.
Plans for the sequel to ''How to Train Your Dragon'' was announced in April 2010, following the success of the first film. DeBlois, who co-directed the first film, agreed to return to direct the second film on the condition that he would be allowed to turn it into a trilogy. He cited ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' and ''
My Neighbor Totoro
is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story of a ...
'' as his main inspirations, with the expanded scope of ''The Empire Strikes Back'' being particularly influential. At
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named for an early-20th-century la ...
during the final sound mix of the first film, it was later revealed that DeBlois had started drafting the outline for a sequel in February 2010. The entire voice cast from the first film returned, and Blanchett and Hounsou signed on to voice Valka and Drago, respectively. DeBlois and his creative team visited
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
and
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
to give them ideas for the setting. Composer
John Powell returned to score the film. ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' benefited from advances in animation technology and was DreamWorks' first film to use scalable multicore processing and the studio's new animation and lighting software.
''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' premiered at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
on May 16, 2014, and was released in the United States on June 13. The film received positive reviews for its animation, voice acting, musical score, action sequences, emotional depth, and darker, more serious tone compared to its predecessor. It grossed over $621 million worldwide, making it the 12th-highest-grossing film of 2014. It earned less than its predecessor at the US box office, but performed better internationally. The film won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film
The Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time at the 64th Golden Globe Awards in 2007. It was the first time that the Golden Globe Awards had created a separate category for anim ...
and six
Annie Award
The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...
s, including
Best Animated Feature, and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature
The Academy Award for Best Animated Feature is given each year for animated films. An animated feature is defined by the Academy as a film with a running time of more than 40 minutes in which characters' performances are created using a frame-by- ...
. The final installment in the trilogy, ''
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', was released on February 22, 2019.
Plot
Five years after the
Viking
Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden),
who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
villagers of Berk and the dragons made peace, they live together in harmony. Hiccup and his dragon, Toothless the Night Fury, discover and map unexplored lands. Now 20 years old, he is being pressed by his father, Stoick the Vast, to succeed him as chieftain, although Hiccup feels unsure he is ready.
While investigating a burnt forest, Hiccup and Astrid discover the remains of a fort encased in ice and meet a group of dragon-trappers. Their leader Eret attempts to capture their dragons for their employer, Drago Bludvist, who plots to capture and enslave all dragons into becoming his soldiers. Hiccup and Astrid escape and warn Stoick about Drago. Stoick fortifies Berk to prepare for battle. Hiccup, however, refuses to believe war is inevitable, and flies off to talk to Drago. Stoick tries to stop him, explaining that he once met Drago at a gathering of chieftains, where Drago had offered them protection from dragons if they pledged to serve him; when they laughed it off as a joke, he had his dragons attack them, with Stoick the sole survivor.
Undeterred, Hiccup flies off with Toothless in search of Drago to try to reason with him. They instead meet a mysterious dragon-rider, who is revealed to be Hiccup's long-lost mother Valka. She explains that she, like her son, could not bring herself to kill dragons. After being carried off during a dragon raid, she spent 20 years rescuing dragons from Drago and bringing them to an island nest created out of ice by a gigantic, ice-spewing
alpha
Alpha (uppercase , lowercase ; grc, ἄλφα, ''álpha'', or ell, άλφα, álfa) is the first letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of one. Alpha is derived from the Phoenician letter aleph , whic ...
dragon called a "Bewilderbeast", which is able to control smaller dragons by emitting hypnotic sound waves. Stoick and his lieutenant Gobber track Hiccup to the nest, where Stoick discovers his wife is alive. Meanwhile, Astrid and the other riders force Eret to lead them to Drago, who captures them and their dragons and, learning of Berk's dragons, sends his armada to attack the dragon nest. He also attempts to have Eret executed, but Astrid's dragon, Stormfly, saves him. A grateful Eret later helps her and the others escape.
At the nest, a battle ensues between the dragon-riders, Valka's dragons, and Drago's armada, during which Drago reveals he has his own Bewilderbeast to challenge the alpha. The two colossal dragons fight, ending with Drago's Bewilderbeast killing its rival and becoming the new alpha. Drago's Bewilderbeast seizes control of all the adult dragons. Hiccup tries to persuade Drago to end the violence, but Drago orders his Bewilderbeast to have Toothless kill him. The hypnotized Toothless fires a plasma bolt towards Hiccup, but Stoick pushes him out of the way and is killed instead. The Bewilderbeast momentarily relinquishes control of Toothless, but Hiccup drives Toothless away in a fit of despair over his father's death. Drago maroons Hiccup and the others on the island and rides Toothless, again under the control of the Bewilderbeast, to lead his army to conquer Berk. Stoick is given a
Viking funeral
Norse funerals, or the burial customs of Viking Age North Germanic Norsemen (early medieval Scandinavians), are known both from archaeology and from historical accounts such as the Icelandic sagas and Old Norse poetry.
Throughout Scandinavia, the ...
and Hiccup, now having lost both his father and dragon, is unsure what to do. Valka encouragingly tells him he alone can unite humans and dragons. Inspired by her words and his father's, Hiccup and his allies return to Berk to stop Drago by riding the baby dragons, which are immune to the Bewilderbeast's control.
Back at Berk, they find that Drago has attacked the village and taken control of its dragons. With a heartfelt apology, Hiccup frees Toothless from the Bewilderbeast's control, much to Drago's surprise. Hiccup and Toothless confront Drago, but the Bewilderbeast encases them in ice. However, Toothless blasts away the ice and enters a glowing super-powered state, where he is immune to the Bewilderbeast's control, enraged that the Bewilderbeast tried to hurt Hiccup. Toothless then challenges the Bewilderbeast to protect his rider, shooting it in the face repeatedly, which breaks its control over the other dragons, who side with Toothless as the new alpha. All the dragons repeatedly fire at the Bewilderbeast until Toothless fires a final massive blast, breaking its left tusk. Defeated, the Bewilderbeast retreats with Drago on his back.
The Vikings and dragons celebrate their victory and Hiccup is made chieftain of Berk, while all the dragons from both Berk and Valka's sanctuary bow before Toothless as their new king. Afterwards, Berk undergoes repairs, with Hiccup feeling certain that its dragons can defend it.
Voice cast
*
Jay Baruchel
Jonathan Adam Saunders Baruchel (; born April 9, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, director and screenwriter. He is known for his voice role as Hiccup Haddock in the ''How to Train Your Dragon'' franchise, and for his roles in comedy movies ...
– Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, the son of the Viking chief Stoick the Vast and Valka.
*
America Ferrera
America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...
– Astrid Hofferson, Hiccup's fiancee.
*
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as ''Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Di ...
– Stoick the Vast, chieftain of the Viking tribe of Berk, Hiccup's father and Valka's husband.
*
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
– Valka Haddock, Stoick's wife, Hiccup's long-lost mother and a dragon rescuer.
*
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...
– Gobber the Belch, Stoick's closest friend and a seasoned warrior.
*
Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Christopher Charles Mintz-Plasse (; born June 20, 1989) is an American actor and comedian. He has performed roles such as Fogell (McLovin) in '' Superbad'' (2007), Augie Farcques in '' Role Models'' (2008), and Chris D'Amico in '' Kick-Ass'' (20 ...
– Fishlegs Ingerman.
*
Jonah Hill
Jonah Hill Feldstein (born December 20, 1983) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is known for his comedic roles in films including ''Superbad (film), Superbad'' (2007), ''Knocked Up'' (2007), ''21 Jump Street (film), 21 Jump Stre ...
– Snotlout Jorgenson.
*
T.J. Miller
Todd Joseph Miller (born June 4, 1981) is an American actor and comedian.
In 2008, he made his acting debut in ''Cloverfield'', and from 2010 to 2014, he voiced Tuffnut Thorston in the first two '' How to Train Your Dragon'' films. From 2014 to ...
and
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Canandaigua, New York, she was raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Rochester, New York. She moved to Los Angeles, where she joi ...
– Tuffnut and Ruffnut Thorston, the fraternal twins.
*
Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...
– Drago Bludvist, a ruthless warlord and dragon hunter who seeks to take over the world with a dragon army.
*
Kit Harington
Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor who is widely known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO epic fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019).
After studying at the Royal Central School o ...
– Eret, son of Eret, a dragon trapper who sells captured dragons to Drago.
*
Randy Thom
David Randall Thom (born August 21, 1951) is an American sound designer and the current director of sound design at Skywalker Sound.
Career
Randy Thom began working at FM radio station WYSO at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio as a voluntee ...
– vocal effects for Toothless.
Production
Development
After the success of the first film, the sequel was announced on April 27, 2010.
"''How to Train Your Dragon'' … has become DreamWorks Animation's next franchise. We plan to release the sequel theatrically in 2013," said
Jeffrey Katzenberg
Jeffrey Katzenberg (; born December 21, 1950) is an American filmmaker, animator, and media proprietor. He became well known for his tenure as chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994. After departing Disney, he was a co-founder and CE ...
,
DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...
's CEO.
It was later revealed that DeBlois had started drafting the outline for a sequel in February 2010 at
Skywalker Ranch
Skywalker Ranch is a movie ranch and workplace of film director, writer and producer George Lucas located in a secluded area near Nicasio, California, in Marin County. The ranch is located on Lucas Valley Road, named for an early-20th-century la ...
, during the final sound mix of the first film.
The film was originally scheduled for release on June 20, 2014, but in August 2013 the release date was moved forward one week to June 13, 2014.
![Dean DeBlois, 2014 WonderCon-1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Dean_DeBlois%2C_2014_WonderCon-1.jpg)
The film was written, directed, and executive produced by
Dean DeBlois
Dean DeBlois ( ; born 7 June 1970) is a Canadian film director, film producer, screenwriter, and animator. He is best known for writing and directing the Oscar-nominated animated films ''Lilo & Stitch'' for Walt Disney Animation Studios (with Chr ...
, the co-writer/co-director of the first film.
Bonnie Arnold
Bonnie Arnold is an American film producer and executive who has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation. Arnold was born in Atlanta, Georgia and rose to prominence ...
, the producer of the first film, also returned, while
Chris Sanders
Christopher Michael Sanders (born March 12, 1962) is an American director, screenwriter, producer, illustrator, and voice actor. His credits include ''Lilo & Stitch'' (2002) and ''How to Train Your Dragon'' (2010), both of which he co-wrote and ...
, who co-directed and co-wrote the first film, acted only as an additional executive producer this time due to his involvement with ''
The Croods
''The Croods'' is a 2013 American computer-animated adventure comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox. The film was written and directed by Kirk DeMicco and Chris Sanders, and stars the voices of Nicola ...
''. When offered the sequel, DeBlois accepted it on condition he could turn it into a trilogy. For the sequel, he intended to revisit the films of his youth, with ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'' and ''
My Neighbor Totoro
is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film—which stars the voice actors Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, and Hitoshi Takagi—tells the story of a ...
''
having the pivotal inspirations for the film. "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."
The entire original voice cast—Baruchel, Butler, Ferguson, Ferrera, Hill, Mintz-Plasse, Miller, and Wiig—returned for the sequel. On June 19, 2012, it was announced that
Kit Harington
Christopher Catesby Harington (born 26 December 1986) is an English actor who is widely known for his role as Jon Snow in the HBO epic fantasy television series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019).
After studying at the Royal Central School o ...
, of ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' fame, was cast as one of the film's antagonists.
At the 2013
San Diego Comic-Con International
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, it was announced that
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Elise Blanchett (; born 14 May 1969) is an Australian actor. Regarded as one of the finest performers of her generation, she is known for her versatile work across independent films, blockbusters, and the stage. She has received nu ...
and
Djimon Hounsou
Djimon Gaston Hounsou (; ; born April 24, 1964) is a Beninese-American actor and model. He began his career appearing in music videos. He made his film debut in '' Without You I'm Nothing'' (1990) and earned widespread recognition for his role as ...
had joined the cast; they lent their voices to Valka and Drago Bludvist, respectively.
While the first film was set in a generic
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
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
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
,
Bergen
Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
, and the
fjord
In physical geography, a fjord or fiord () is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by a glacier. Fjords exist on the coasts of Alaska, Antarctica, British Columbia, Chile, Denmark, Germany, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Ice ...
s.
DeBlois, together with Gregg Taylor (DreamWorks' head of feature development) and
Roger Deakins
Sir Roger Alexander Deakins (born 24 May 1949) is an English cinematographer, best known for his collaborations with directors the Coen brothers, Sam Mendes and Denis Villeneuve. Deakins has been admitted to both the British Society of Cinema ...
(a cinematographer who served as visual consultant), then broke off from the group to visit
Svalbard
Svalbard ( , ), also known as Spitsbergen, or Spitzbergen, is a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. North of mainland Europe, it is about midway between the northern coast of Norway and the North Pole. The islands of the group range ...
and see
polar bear
The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...
s in the wild with the assistance of armed guides.
DeBlois explained that he had learned from directing ''
Lilo & Stitch
''Lilo & Stitch'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 42nd Disney animated feature film, it was written and directed by Chris Sande ...
'' (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."
He had wanted to visit Svalbard for some time, after learning of its stark beauty from a couple of backpackers he met during earlier visits to
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
to work with post-rock band
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
on the 2007 documentary film ''
Heima
''Heima'' (; ''at home'') is a documentary film and double DVD set about the tour around Iceland in the summer of 2006 of the band Sigur Rós. During the tour the band played two big open-air concerts at Miklatún - Reykjavík (30 July) and Ásby ...
''.
Animation
Over the five years before the film's release,
DreamWorks Animation had substantially overhauled its production workflow and animation software. ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' was the first DreamWorks Animation film that used "scalable multicore processing", developed together with
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company headquartered in Palo Alto, California. HP developed and provided a wide variety of hardware components ...
. Called by Katzenberg as "the next revolution in filmmaking", it enabled artists for the first time to work on rich, complex images in real time, instead of waiting eight hours to see the results the next day.
The film was also the studio's first film to use its new animation and lighting software through the entire production. Programs named Premo and Torch allowed 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."
By the time production was complete, over 500 people had worked on the film at DreamWorks Animation's headquarters in
Glendale Glendale is the anglicised version of the Gaelic Gleann Dail, which means ''valley of fertile, low-lying arable land''.
It may refer to:
Places Australia
* Glendale, New South Wales
** Stockland Glendale, a shopping centre
*Glendale, Queensland, ...
, as well as its branch offices at
PDI/DreamWorks
Pacific Data Images (PDI) was an American computer animation production company based in Redwood City, California, that was bought by DreamWorks SKG in 2000. It was renamed PDI/DreamWorks and was owned by DreamWorks Animation.
Founded in 1980 by ...
in
Redwood City
Redwood City is a city on the San Francisco Peninsula in Northern California's Bay Area, approximately south of San Francisco, and northwest of San Jose. Redwood City's history spans its earliest inhabitation by the Ohlone people to being a po ...
and DreamWorks India in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
.
Release
The film was screened out of competition on May 16, 2014 at the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
. In the United States, the film premiered on June 8, 2014, at the
Regency Village Theater
The Fox Theatre, Westwood Village, also known as the Fox Village Theatre, is a historic, landmark cinema in Westwood, Los Angeles, California. Westwood Village, in the heart of Westwood, is near the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA. It ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and was theatrically released on June 13, 2014.
The film was also digitally remastered into
IMAX 3D
IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating.
Graeme F ...
and released to international theaters on June 13, 2014.
Home media
''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' was released digitally on October 21, 2014, and was subsequently released on DVD, 3D Blu-ray and Blu-ray on November 11.
The Blu-ray and digital releases are accompanied by a new animated short film entitled ''
Dawn of the Dragon Racers
''Dawn of the Dragon Racers'' is a 2014 computer-animated short film by DreamWorks Animation and directed by Elaine Bogan and John Sanford. Based on the ''How to Train Your Dragon'' film series, the short features the voices of Jay Baruchel and ...
'' (2014), in which Hiccup and friends compete to become the first Dragon Racing Champion of Berk.
A double DVD pack with the film and ''Dawn of the Dragon Racers'' was released exclusively at
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
stores. , 7.5 million home entertainment units have been sold worldwide.
On January 22, 2019,
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
released a
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
version of ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' alongside
its predecessor, making them the first catalog DreamWorks Animation films to be released on that format.
Reception
Critical response
Review aggregator
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website
Rotten Tomatoes
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gives the film an approval rating of 92% based on reviews from 189 critics, with an average rating of 7.80/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Exciting, emotionally resonant, and beautifully animated, ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' builds on its predecessor's successes just the way a sequel should."
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
gives the film a score of 77 out of 100 based on reviews from 44 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences surveyed by
CinemaScore
CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data.
Background
Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
during the opening weekend gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Audiences were a mix of 47% female and 53% male. Children and Young Adults responded most strongly, with those aged under 25 giving a grade A+.
At the
2014 Cannes Film Festival
The 67th Cannes Film Festival was held from 14 to 25 May 2014. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the main competition section. The Palme d'Or was awarded to the Turkish film '' Winter Sleep'' directed by Nuri Bi ...
, Peter Debruge of ''
Variety
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Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' praised the film and its ambitions: "The pressures to make a giant four-quadrant monstrosity must be enormous, and yet, like his unflappable hero Hiccup, ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' writer-director Dean DeBlois has prevailed, serving up DreamWorks Animation's strongest sequel yet—one that breathes fresh fire into the franchise, instead of merely rehashing the original. Braver than ''
Brave'', more fun than ''
Frozen'', and more emotionally satisfying than so many of its live-action counterparts, ''Dragon'' delivers. And good thing, too, since DWA desperately needs another toon to cross the half-billion-dollar threshold." Elizabeth Weitzman of the ''
New York Daily News
The New York ''Daily News'', officially titled the ''Daily News'', is an American newspaper based in Jersey City, NJ. It was founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson as the ''Illustrated Daily News''. It was the first U.S. daily printed in ta ...
'' gave the film three out of five stars, saying "It's the unflinching edge that gives the film its unexpected depth." Jocelyn Noveck of the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
gave the film three out of four stars, saying "''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' doesn't play it safe, and that's why it's the rare sequel that doesn't feel somewhat stale."
Lou Lumenick
Louis J. Lumenick (born September 11, 1949) is an American film critic. He was the chief film critic and film editor for the ''New York Post'' where he reviewed films from 1999 until his retirement in 2016. He is currently researching the histor ...
of the ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying "''Dragon 2'' really soars when our hero is aloft, imparting some important lessons about family, ecology and war for young audiences. It should also do very healthy business for hit-starved DreamWorks Animation." Joe McGovern of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' gave the film a B, saying "The flight path needs straightening, but this is still a franchise that knows how to fly." Jody Mitori of the ''
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The ''St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' is a major regional newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the St. Louis metropolitan area. It is the largest daily newspaper in the metropolitan area by circulation, surpassing the ''Belleville News-Dem ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying "For audiences who want a sweet story, they can't beat the first film of a boy finding his best friend. For those who are ready for the next stage, try this one about a boy becoming a man."
Bill Goodykoontz of ''
The Arizona Republic
''The Arizona Republic'' is an American daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. Copies are sold at $2 daily or at $3 ...
'' gave the film four out of five stars, saying "It seemed as if there was nowhere new to go after the first film, but this is a richer story that dares to go darker and is thus more rewarding."
Peter Travers
Peter Joseph Travers (born ) is an American film critic, journalist, and television presenter. He reviews films for ABC News and previously served as a movie critic for ''People'' and ''Rolling Stone''. Travers also hosts the film interview prog ...
of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "''Dragon 2'', like ''
The Empire Strikes Back
''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...
'', takes sequels to a new level of imagination and innovation. It truly is a high-flying, depth-charging wonder to behold." Peter Hartlaub of the ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying "DeBlois, who also wrote the script, successfully juggles the multiple story lines, shifting allegiances and uncharted lands." Rafer Guzman of ''
Newsday
''Newsday'' is an American daily newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI", and f ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Gruesome? A little. Scary? You bet. But that's exactly what makes the ''Dragon'' films so different, and so much better, than the average children's fare." Michael Phillips of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "For once, we have an animated sequel free of the committee-job vibe so common at every animation house, no matter the track record." Stephen Holden of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' gave the film a negative review, saying "The story seems to be going somewhere until it comes to a halt with the inevitable showdown between the forces of darkness and the forces of light." Peter Howell of the ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Taking its cues as much from ''Star Wars'' and ''Game of Thrones'' as from its own storybook narrative, ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' breathes fire into a franchise sequel."
Claudia Puig of ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...
'' gave the film three out of four stars, saying "Nearly as exuberant as the original, ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' nimbly avoids sequel-itis." Colin Covert of the ''
Star Tribune
The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...
'' gave the film four out of four stars, saying "The impressive part is the storytelling confidence of writer/director Dean DeBlois. He has created a thoughtful tale as meaningful for grown-ups as it is pleasurable for its young primary audience." Stephanie Merry of ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "This may be the first and last time anyone says this, but if ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' is this good, why stop at 3 and 4?" Moira MacDonald of ''
The Seattle Times
''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...
'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "Young and old fans of the first movie will be lining up for the wit, for the inventiveness of the characters, for the breathtaking visuals — and just the sheer fun of it all." Tirdad Derakhshani of ''
The Philadelphia Inquirer
''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...
'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "One of this year's true surprises, the superior animated sequel not only is infused with the same independent spirit and off-kilter aesthetic that enriched the original, it also deepens the first film's major themes." Stephen Whitty of the ''
Newark Star-Ledger
Newark most commonly refers to:
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'' gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "This was not a sequel that anybody needed, outside of the accountants. And there's another already planned." John Semley of ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' gave the film four out of four stars, saying "More than just teaching kids what to think about the world they're coming into, it's a rare film that encourages them to think for themselves."
Rene Rodriguez of the ''
Miami Herald
The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by the McClatchy Company and headquartered in Doral, Florida, a List of communities in Miami-Dade County, Florida, city in western Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the M ...
'' gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying "''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' is its own standalone picture, with a surprising range of emotions that surpasses the original and a brisk pace and manner of storytelling that give it purpose and direction. The fact that it's also so much fun, no matter what your age, almost feels like a bonus." Bill Zwecker of the ''
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
'' gave the film four out of four stars, saying "Not only does this second movie match the charm, wit, animation skill and intelligent storytelling of the original, I think it even exceeds it." Lisa Kennedy of ''
The Denver Post
''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...
'' gave the film a positive review, saying "''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' is soaring, emotionally swooping, utterly satisfying fun." Bob Mondello of
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
gave the film an 8.5 out of 10, saying "It's clear that
irector Dean DeBloistook inspiration from the first ''Star Wars'' trilogy—not a bad model for breathing new life, and yes, a bit of fire, into one of Hollywood's more nuanced animated franchises." Inkoo Kang of ''
The Wrap
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' gave the film a mixed review, saying "If there isn't enough to feel, at least there's a lot to look at. Thanks to the superb 3-D direction by DeBlois, we swoop through the air, whoosh down dragons' tails, and ''juuust baaaarely''
'sic''squeeze into small crevices, but still, those experiences are only like being on a really great rollercoaster—they don't mean anything." A.A. Dowd of ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' gave the film a B−, saying "There aren't just more dragons, but more characters, more plot, more everything. The trade-off is that the charm of the original gets a little lost, a casualty of rapid-franchise expansion."
Box office
''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' grossed $177 million in North America, and $441.9 million in other countries, for a worldwide total of $618.9 million.
The film is the second-highest-grossing animated film of 2014, behind
''Big Hero 6'', and the twelfth-highest-grossing film of the year in any genre.
While ''How to Train Your Dragon 2'' only earned $177 million at the US box office, compared to $217 million for its predecessor, it performed much better at the international box office, earning $438 million to ''How to Train Your Dragons $277 million. Calculating in all expenses, ''
Deadline Hollywood
''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. The site is updated several times a day, with ...
'' estimated that the film made a profit of $107.3 million.
In the United States and Canada, the film earned $18.5 million on its opening day, and opened at number two in its first weekend, with $49,451,322. In its second weekend, the film dropped to number three, grossing an additional $24,719,312. In its third weekend, the film stayed at number three, grossing $13,237,697. In its fourth weekend, the film dropped to number five, grossing $8,961,088.
Its $25.9 million opening weekend in China was the biggest-ever for an animated film in the country, surpassing the record previously held by ''Kung Fu Panda 2''.
Accolades
Music
Composer
John Powell, who earned his first Academy Award nomination for How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture, his music in the original movie, returned to score the sequel. Powell described the project "a maturation story" and stated that he too tried to achieve the same maturation in the structure of his music by developing further every aspect of his compositions from the original film.
Recording took place during April 2014 at Abbey Road Studios in London
with a 120-piece orchestra, a 100-voice choir,
and a wide array of ethnic instruments, including celtic harp, uilleann bagpipes, tin whistle, bodhrán, and Highland bagpipes; the latter of which were performed by pipers from the Scottish group Red Hot Chilli Pipers, The Red Hot Chilli Pipers.
The ensemble was conducted by the composer's usual collaborator Gavin Greenaway.
Sigur Rós
Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band from Reykjavík, active since 1994. The band comprises singer and guitarist Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal sound, fron ...
' lead vocalist, Jónsi, who wrote and performed the song "Sticks & Stones" How to Train Your Dragon: Music from the Motion Picture, for the first film, provided two new original songs for the sequel in collaboration with Powell: "For the Dancing and the Dreaming" (performed by
Gerard Butler
Gerard James Butler (born 13 November 1969) is a Scottish actor and film producer. After studying law, he turned to acting in the mid-1990s with small roles in productions such as ''Mrs Brown'' (1997), the James Bond film ''Tomorrow Never Di ...
,
Craig Ferguson
Craig Ferguson (born 17 May 1962) is a Scottish-born American comedian, actor, writer, and television host. He is best known for hosting the CBS late-night talk show ''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' (2005–2014), for which he won a ...
& Mary Jane Wells) and "Where No One Goes" (performed by Jónsi himself).
Belarusian-Norwegian artist Alexander Rybak, who voices Hiccup in the Norwegian dub of the film, also wrote and performed the song "Into a Fantasy", which is only featured in the European versions of the film.
The soundtrack album for the film was released on June 13, 2014, by Relativity Music Group. The album features over an hour of score by Powell; additional music by Anthony Willis and Paul Mounsey, as well as the two original songs written by Powell and Jónsi. Rybak's song "Into a Fantasy" was released separately as a single. A deluxe edition, consisting of previously unreleased music, was released by Varèse Sarabande on May 2022.
Sequel
The third and final film in the trilogy, ''
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'',
was originally scheduled for release on June 17, 2016,
but in September 2014, DreamWorks Animation moved the release date to June 9, 2017. In January 2015, in the wake of the closure of Pacific Data Images and massive lay-offs, the release date was pushed back to June 29, 2018, then brought forward to May 18, 2018. On December 5, 2016, the release date was pushed back again to March 1, 2019, then on September 27, 2018, moved forward to February 22, 2019.
Dean DeBlois, the co-screenwriter/co-director of the first and writer-director of the second film, along with producer
Bonnie Arnold
Bonnie Arnold is an American film producer and executive who has worked at Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Pixar Animation Studios and DreamWorks Animation. Arnold was born in Atlanta, Georgia and rose to prominence ...
and all of the main cast (except for T.J. Miller as Tuffnut) returned, along with composer John Powell, who scored the first two films. Cate Blanchett and Kit Harington reprised their roles as Valka and Eret, respectively, from the second film.
F. Murray Abraham joined the cast as Grimmel.
Notes
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:How To Train Your Dragon 2
2014 films
2014 3D films
2014 computer-animated films
2010s American animated films
2010s fantasy comedy films
2010s children's animated films
20th Century Fox animated films
20th Century Fox films
How to Train Your Dragon
American adventure comedy films
American children's animated adventure films
American children's animated drama films
American children's animated fantasy films
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Animated films about dragons
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