Obsessed by How to Train Your Dragon 2

Thanks to our very generous friends, we attended the India premiere of How to Train Your Dragon 2 last weekend. Obsessed that I am with the movie, it was only obvious that I would write about it here.

Among the many other things that my husband has gifted me out of love, the one I enjoy most is his taste in movies. Before marriage, movies never interested me much, I had no special preferences. So after marriage, I took up to my husband’s interest. And it was then, that I experienced this uncharted world that brought thrill that I have never known. Animated movies was one such thrill.

We are fans of animated movies, especially those made by Pixar. Well, Dreamworks makes nice movies too, but they are ‘shallow.’ Pixar, on the other hand, is the world where each character, each action and each dialogue is a life philosophy.

After living in the world created by Wall-E and Up we saw ‘How to Train Your Dragon.’ We were disappointed. It was a good movie, BUT, it was no match to Pixar. How little did we realize that this movie was the solid foundation on which the sequel ‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ will shine. May be as bright, or may be even brighter than Pixar’s stars.

We as a family were all geared by for the How to Train Your Dragon’s sequel. Little B had already fallen in love with Toothless. She was pretending to be Astrid. She was reading ‘The Art of How to Train Your Dragon 2’ for two weeks prior to the movie. We were ready to go to the premiere and see the movie.

What we saw was magic! We were spellbound!

The story line of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is predictable. This movie takes place 5 years after the first one. By now everyone in Berk was friends with dragons. The dragons and these vikings have become inseparable. Berk was finally at peace. So what does a hero do when he is done saving his country? He moves on to save the world. Hiccup meets bigger and better enemies. Of course he defeats them and of course Toothless has a major part to play.

What stands out in the movie are those little things here and there that instantly touch the mellow side of your heart and stay with you long after the movie is over.

In the beginning Hiccup mentions to Astrid something like this, ‘I am not like my father. I don’t know my mother. Who am I then?’ This is the premise on which the movie rests – of Hiccup’s journey to figure out what he is and what he is capable of.

Astrid fondly plaits a portion of Hiccup’s hair and that tiny plait stays with Hiccup all through the movie. Isn’t that cute!

When Hiccup is caught by Valka, he is surrounded by angry dragons. Hiccup uses his Inferno (a sword that can be put on fire) not to scare the dragons, but to communicate with them that he is just like them.

Valka, what an amazing character! The more I talk about her, the more fascinated I get. She rides on dragons while standing and without a saddle. She can communicate with them silently. She knows all of their secrets. She is powerful in that way. Even her costume resembles dragons. But from inside, she is a mother. In her first face-to-face with hiccup, she looks intimidating. But as soon as she finds out that Hiccup is her son, she becomes a complete different person, she becomes vulnerable.

Bewilderbeast is shown as the Alpha – mightiest of all – a king, because of his size and power. Just as Stoick the Vast is the chief of tribe because of his size and power. However, in the end, even though Toothless is much smaller in size, he becomes the Alpha. Just as our lean and petite Hiccup becomes the chief of tribe. All because of their courage and purposiveness.

Who else thinks that the scene where Cloudjumper (a dragon) was playing with baby Hiccup and Valka comes to save her baby was a little inspired by Harry Potter? Mother coming to save a baby from the beast with beast giving the baby a mark on his face that stays even when he grows old!

After seeing the movie, Little B has taken to pretending to be a viking full-time. She is even attending a pretend school that she calls ‘Viking High.’ According to her, she has got a Nader and her teacher is currently teaching her how to ride it.

Check out the movie trailer