Four years after Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) captured our imagination with his bonding with dragons, the perky Viking is back with Toothless to conquer new frontiers with his message of peace and friendship and in the process director Dean DeBlois delivers dazzling 3D imagery with more meat and a bonus moral dimension.
After moments of revelry in Berth where dragons have become part of everyday life Hiccup takes wings to map the unseen. He has not seen his mother and he is not like his father. In search of his identity he comes across a new threat to Vikings and dragons in the form of Drago Bludvist (Djimon Honsou). Both have a way with dragons but while Drago wants to enslave them, Viking sees them as companions. Here DeBlois slips in the message of understanding the true face of what seems scary and unfriendly on the surface. It has a contemporary ring to it where perception often masks reality. In the original Hiccup changed his father Stoick’s (voice by Gerard Butler) mindset but Drago is evil and egoistic and in humungous Alpha dragon he has the power to be arrogant. It steps up an awe-inspiring climax. DeBlois ensures that the action set pieces are fuelled by emotional upsurge and the humour doesn’t dry up in the face of dragon fire.
So before Hiccup has a one-on-one with Drago, he runs into his mother Valka (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and discovers why he is different from his fellow Vikings. The bond provides the film its softer moments and with father Stoick joining in, the mood gets gooey. Here the seasoned actors behind the figures come into play. The animation is immersive with a flurry of colourful dragons flying through the screen but the best moments are still reserved for Toothless with retractable teeth, very much like the narrative!
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Voice cast: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Jonah Hill.
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