Just after the epic feet Hiccup and Toothless to merge the dragons and Vikings of Berk. Five years down the lane, Hiccup and Toothless find themselves at the center of a battle to protect Berk from a power-hungry warrior named Drago.
"How to Train Your Dragon 2" rises above its animated peers with more troubling themes, outstanding character design and innovative "camera" movements. And it rarely, if ever, takes the easy way out.
The writer and director Dean DeBlois takes the comedy to a deeper, more satisfying place than he did in the original franchise-launching animated film.
If every installment can capture the same sense of escapism and passionate dedication to its ideas and images, then I'd be delighted to go on more flights of fancy with Hiccup and Toothless.
It's clear that [director Dean DeBlois] took 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.
How to Train Your Dragon is peppered with plenty of wit to keep parents and kids alike happy, but is not afraid to get a bit dark at times, which may be challenging for younger audiences.
Although there are times when bits of the movie feel extraneous, the production as a whole comes across more like an organic extension of the original tale than something tacked on purely to score at the box office.
Hats off to Dreamworks for offering some bold surprises in a respectable sequel filled with moments of humour and emotion among its ample noise and movement.