Review: How To Train Your Dragon 2

When I heard about the first How To Train Your Dragon, the trailer did not intrigue me at all. It had me thinking that it would be just a generic animated film with nothing exceptional and easily forgettable.

Boy was I wrong! It was one of the big hits of 2010 and one of the highest grossing animated films of all-time. The first time I saw it was a couple of years ago during Christmas and I found it to be vintage family fun that Disney brought in the 1990's. It did not have the same type of class as those, but it did have a great modern tone and went to places most modern animated films dare not go in case they might offend someone. It definitely brought out the kid in me, and that is what successful animated films can do.

For some reason, I was not going into this with any expectations. I was just hoping to be entertained and hope for the same magic they had in the original.
I think I can safely say that everyone involved has created another romping success. From its beautiful animation that at times almost looked like live action, to the continuing sense of fun and adventure that you just do not see often enough.

Director Dean DeBlois has worked with Disney with the creations of Mulan and Lilo & Stitch which I felt both of them to be pretty solid, but a fraction short on being considered a classic in my eyes.
Since moving to Dreamworks with this franchise, he has broken through and become a well respected animation director and writer.

One thing that liked the most was the ambition to enhance the story and world the team have created. It has a really unexpected touching coming-of-age feel to it.
Whilst it still has that colorful and playful tone, it felt noticeably darker and I felt a lot more threat and risk for the main characters involved. I was really pleased to see that as that reminded of the best Disney films as they presented touching and emotional subjects that were bold and risky, but they paid off.
Some of the content may be too much for the younger kids, but I think films like this are necessary for growing up. I remember growing up with Dumbo, Bambi and The Lion King that went to dark places. But as I've grown up, I have understood why those emotional moments are important for lessons in life. This generation will definitely have that same feeling with this one.
Even with all that, there is great amount of humor, especially from some of the new characters and the supporting cast. As with all great animated films, there are gags there for people of all ages.

More positives to mention is the animation. A lot like the first one, it is visually stunning. But with the progress of technology, I was having to think twice as some of the scenes honestly looked like live action. That is something that I have never said about animated films. Whenever I hear someone say that, I just feel it to be too cliched. But now I know how those people feel, which is a huge plus for the film. There is a lot going on, so some people may want a second viewing to appreciate the artistry of the digital artists.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and give it a huge two thumbs up. I really loved the development of the story from the first installment and that it felt it needed to bring up some touchy subjects which they pulled off spectacularly. The new characters are a great addition and we see great scene-stealing moments from some of the supporting cast.
I am glad to see animated films still willing to go dark and make it emotional rather than making it all happy and tieing the ending up so neatly into a bow.
This deserves a huge taking at the box-office and will surely be the animated film of the summer due to Pixar's latest installment being pushed forward to next year.

Rating: 8/10

My Top 10: Films from Dreamworks Animation

Since it's first feature animated film in 1998, Dreamworks Animation has always been seen as a major animated film studio.
But it had always been seen as the bridesmaid to Pixar and Disney's bride. There were times in 2010 where Dreamworks were looking to be creating better films then its rivals. But with Disney shooting back up the rankings, Dreamworks could forever be seen as a second-tier animation film studio.
But with box-office successes such as Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit, Chicken Run,  the Shrek franchise and many others, Dreamworks will always manage to give us great entertainment for all the family.

I have seen 40 of the 43 feature films. So here is my full list with a short review for each of my top 10:

40) Bee Movie
39) Shark Tale
38) Sinbad: Legend Of The Seven Seas
37) Shrek The Third
36) The Road To El Dorado
35) Monsters vs. Aliens
34) Shrek Forever After
33) Home
32) The Boss Baby
31) Turbo
30) Abominable
29) Trolls
28) Penguins Of Madagascar
27) Flushed Away
26) Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
25) Puss In Boots
24) How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World

23) The Croods

22) Madagascar
21) The Croods: A New Age

20) Mr. Peabody & Sherman
19) The Prince Of Egypt
18) Kung Fu Panda 2
17) The Bad Guys

16) Spirit: Stallion Of The Cimarron
15) Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

14) Rise Of The Guardians
13) Kung Fu Panda 3
12) Puss In Boots: The Last Wish

11) Megamind

10) Antz - The film that started it all.
This is charming animated adventure that somehow manages to appeal to adults more than children.
It has very interesting characters that help the story come to a surprisingly tense conclusion.

Check for some amazing action set-pieces that set the tone for Dreamworks' future projects.

9) Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie - Despite not knowing any about the book series, this was a big surprise.

It's all thanks to surprising clever style of humor that works perfectly for both kids and adults. It has fantastic re-watchability and is such a fun story that I think could make sense a future classic.

8) Over The Hedge - Another little gem that came out of nowhere.
A scheming raccoon manages to fool a group of forest animals in a bid to repay a debt to an angry wild Bear.
It has witty humor, enjoyable characters and goes at a romping pace. A guaranteed family favorite.




7) Kung Fu Panda - A film that me and I am sure many others were not expecting to be this good.
The title for me put me off initially. But when I heard its success, I just had to watch it.

It's visually stunning, goes at a romping pace, has good solid comedy and well designed characters.

6) Wallace And Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit - Anything with Wallace and Gromit is guaranteed to be a great.
Their first animated film sees the dynamic duo discover a mysterious garden saboteur on the eve the local village vegetable growing contest.
Top-notch writing and brilliant comedy as always. It is everything you could have wanted from Aardman Animation.

5) How To Train Your Dragon 2 - This manages to surpass every expectation possible. Everything about it just works. It has some of the most amazing visuals and some of the places the writing goes is aimed to hit your emotions hard, and it worked for everyone of all ages.

It is highly enjoyable, an absolute romp and was one of the hits of the summer of 2014.

4) Chicken Run - The stop-motion of Aardman began feature films with this summer success from 2000.

In the style of The Great Escape, this highly entertaining film hits the right spots of how British comedy is presented.

3) Shrek - The film that made Dreamworks a major animated film studio.

This fairy tale with a twist became one of the biggest successes in 2001.
It has ogres, donkeys, dragons, kings, princesses, castles and the most well known characters from classic fairy tales.
It is a terrific film for everyone that has high quality action, comedy and smart writing.

2) Shrek 2 - The best of the Shrek franchise.
After the unprecedented success of Shrek, the sequel to the mischievous fairy tale manages to deliver in a massive way.

Everything is cranked up, but the clever writing and well delivered comedy is still there. We also get introduced to some new characters who steal the show so beautifully.

1) How To Train Your Dragon - Probably Dreamworks most successful films with the critics.

It sees a young Vikings who is lives in a clan that hunts dragons. He makes friends with the unlikeliest character and begins on a journey that will change his and clans lives forever.

Nominated for 2 Oscars, it appeals to anyone. It's strong visuals and well-written story are its biggest strengths.

Review: 22 Jump Street

Directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller have become some of my favorite directors at the moment.
Everything they have done has surprised me and exceeded many other peoples expectations.

From Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs to The Lego Movie, Lord and Miller are now going into their first sequel after making the huge hit 21 Jump Street.

What made 21 Jump Street so much fun was that it was completely self-aware. The film instantly made fun of its own ideas of turning an American TV series into a film. It also managed to make something that was funny on a screwball scale and turn it smart and snappy. It felt very fresh and possibly one of the best comedies of the last decade.

This is certainly a big challenge for Miller and Lord, and the reaction will give them a good bit of preparation before they release the sequel to The Lego Movie in 2017.
For me, the smart comedy and purposeful satire style of the first film is still there. But sadly, I did not feel it throughout the film compared to the original.

There are still laugh out loud moments, but there are also some jokes that felt over-worked and lost the pace of the film. It did entertain me and continues to make me admire the ideas of Lord and Miller. Sadly unlike their previous work, this is the first film that did not surprise me.

The relationship between leads Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill has not changed one bit. They definitely know how to do comedy, especially Tatum who I think has found his true calling card. Originally seen in sub-standard rom-coms, Tatum seems to have embraced this side of him and the style and timing he says his punchy one-liners is great to watch. Like Christoph Waltz is with Quentin Tarantino, Tatum seems to bring his A-game with Lord and Miller.
Just like 21 Jump Street, there are great moments for the important supporting roles. Everyone has their moment in the spotlight, including a much better performance from Ice Cube.

Overall, I am afraid I would have to call this a disappoint. Despite that, I liked and laughed fairly frequently. Even with their intentional dig into sequels and how disappointing they are, I just felt that they were trying to hard.
Tatum for me is the star of the show. But his on-screen relationship with Hill is so important to the success of this franchise. There are great moments by all the major characters, but I still cannot forget the awkward moments of the unsuccessful gags. Silence in the cinema is a killer.
Luckily, the smart ideas of Lord and Miller are still there for all to see. Sadly it's not Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs or Lego Movie.

One final thing I should mention is that I advise people to stay during the early part of the credits. It is probably the funniest part of the film. That may sound like a bad thing. But everything else before it is important for this segment in the credits to work for the audience.

Rating: 7/10