I've only seen the first one on DVD. I remember when it came out in the theater, but the trailer didn't really grab me, and I skipped at the time. That was a mistake! After I finally got to see it on DVD, I was surprised and delighted to find out it was a totally different movie than what I had been expecting. I loved the characters, loved the story, loved the dragons -- particularly Toothless, who ranks as my second favorite cinematic dragon behind Dragonslayer's Vermithrax. How to Train Your Dragon popped right onto my top ten favorite animated movies list.
I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised that the trailer for the sequel didn't grab me either, but once again, the movie turned out to be quite different and far better than my expectations.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is set in a bright, colorful, and beautiful world. The first one used a much darker and somber color palette until the very end, and that is not a bad thing. It's exactly what the first film required. But, I can't help but love how beautiful the second film is. This is a world I want to go into. I also loved the characters a lot more in the second movie. All of the setup is out of the way, the initial character conflicts are behind us. Everything has moved forward, there are new issues, everyone works together, and I really like the direction the movie took. The second movie has more lighter moments than the first one (Ruffnut was particularly hilarious), and at the same time, the sequel has the same wonderful heart as the first film. I cared even more for what happened to the characters, and I personally found the plot and outcome very satisfying. Lots of action, lots of dragons, lots of beauty, lots of emotion. John Powell's score was quite good, better than the first movie's score.
I wasn't sure when I got out of the theater on Saturday which of the two movies I liked better, but we watched the first one again tonight, and yep, as much as I love it -- which is a lot -- I enjoyed the second one even more.
3 comments:
I haven't seen the first one -- should I try to see the second one in theaters anyway?
Hm. That's a question! My first thought was no, cuz the first one introduces everybody and everything, and half the fun of this one is seeing how everybody's grown and how they work together. But my second thought was, so what if you see them out of order? L hardly remembered the first one at all beyond the basics, and she isn't sure she even ever saw it all the way through, and she really loved the second one. So I'd say the first one is not required viewing.
But I'm also not sure if you'd think it worth seeing big screen? Both movies hit a bunch of my sweet spots. Lots of protection, saving, sacrifice, redemption, etc.
Right! Well, I'll say this: if X:DOFP is still out and has a good showtime next time I go to see a movie, I'm going to see that. But if it doesn't, or else the next time, I'll probably see this :-)
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