How To Train Your Dragon was one of 2010’s most pleasant surprises, becoming a critical and financial success while launching another potentially lucrative animated franchise for DreamWorks. Its sequel, How To Train Your Dragon 2, hits theaters this summer and is hands down one of my most anticipated films of the year.
HTTYD 2 takes place five years after its predecessor, which means Hiccup and the other children are now in their late teens. The island of Berk has settled into a peaceful coexistence with their new winged pets, and the residents are no longer confined to their home island and are free to explore the world beyond their borders.
As hiccup and his pal Toothless explore other lands and fill in the blank edges of the map, they meet the mysterious Dragon Rider (voiced by Cate Blanchett) and get drawn into a war against the fearsome Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou).
In order to remind audiences that the film is still coming (as the marketing machine has been a bit quiet lately), DreamWorks released a handful of new images from the film today that showcase the incredibly detailed and beautiful animation. We get to see Hiccup and his friends on the backs of their dragons, a great shot of the Dragon Rider, and a glimpse at one of the new characters, Cloudhopper.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 is set to be one of the biggest animated features of the year and at this point, I’m feeling pretty confident about it. Visually, the film looks gorgeous, and the first trailer definitely had me impressed. If the sequel can retain the same charm and wit that we saw with the original, then I think that DreamWorks could have another hit on their hands.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 is set to fly into theatres on June 13th, 2014.
