PART ONE: THE TRAILER(S)
So far there has only been one trailer for How To Train Your Dragon 2-actually a teaser, but it's given us enough to wonder about. You can watch the teaser on Youtube here, but just remember, I'm not responsible for any content seen outside my page.
PART TWO: BACKGROUND INFO
Dreamworks Animation has announced they have intentions of making at least three How To Train Your Dragon films. That's not surprising, given the original's financial success and lasting popularity. The HTTYD films are set to become Dreamwork's newest big franchise, which they themselves have stated.
All the original cast members from the original HTTYD film will be returning and reprising their roles, despite some doubt early on in pre-production. Also, the composer of the HTTYD soundtrack, John Powell, will be returning to create the score for the new movie, which probably has me more excited than anything.
The film will be written, directed and executive-produced by Dean DeBlois, who co-wrote and co-directed the first film, along with the return of Bonnie Arnold as producer and former co-writer/director Chris Sanders as an additional executive producer.
New characters and voice talents have been hired for the sequel, including Game of Thrones's Kit Harington as the film's new villain, Eret, Cate Blanchett as Valka, a vigilante dragon rescuer, and Djimon Hounsou as Drago Bludvist, a dragon trapper.
Dreamworks is now using two new programs, Premo and Torch for the film's animation, which they say will 'allow more subtlety, in facial animation, the sense of fat, jiggle, loose skin, the sensation of skin moving over muscle instead of masses moving together'.
As far as the new animation goes, the teaser trailer has
Photos for the new movie are not abundant yet, as the sequel is scheduled for June 13, 2014, almost a year away (Oohh...I can't wait!), but a few photos have been released, which I'll spread throughout this blogpost.
So, what do you think about the new animation and redesign?
One more note I thought would be of interest is that the same cast, producers etc. are set to not only return for HTTYD 2, but for the third film as well.
Good stuff.
PART TWO: REVIEW, ANALYSIS AND SPECULATIONS
Dreamworks Animation gave us a brief blurb for the plot of How To Train Your Dragon 2, which I would have put in the background info section if not for the fact that I'm going to dissect it here for information.
Here it is:
It has been five years since Hiccup and Toothless successfully united dragons and vikings on the island of Berk. While Astrid, Snotlout and the rest of the gang are challenging each other to dragon races (the island's new favorite contact sport), the now inseparable pair journey through the skies, charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds. At the beginning, Hiccup is pressured by Stoick to start a family and become chief, but Hiccup rebels by flying away from Berk and exploring new lands. When one of their adventures leads to the discovery of a secret ice cave that is home to hundreds of new wild dragons and the mysterious Dragon Rider, the two friends find themselves at the center of a battle to protect the peace. Now, Hiccup and Toothless must unite to stand up for what they believe while recognizing that only together do they have the power to change the future of both men and dragons.
Now, you may have noticed how I conveniently highlighted the key details described in the blurb, and the reason for that is because I'm going to break them down and speculate on their meanings.
So--by charting unmapped territories and exploring new worlds, what did Dreamworks mean? Well, DeBlois pretty much answered that question for us in an interview, when he said:
"At the end of last film, all these Vikings who were previously somewhat landlocked are now on the backs of dragons so the entire Northern Hemisphere opens up to them. And with that Hiccup's curiosity increases, the map expands and inevitably they are going to come across new dragons, new cultures."
My assumption is that, as Hiccup and Toothless explore, they are going to run across lands and cultures that may or may not be influenced by places in the books by Cressida Cowell. The author of the original book herself has said that the HTTYD films and books will 'share their ends', so whether or not that means elements, characters, lands from the books will be incorporated into the next couple of films or not I can only imagine. I have only read the first book by Cressida Cowell, but as far as I've read, the series really takes a more mature twist near the end of the series. The 12th and final book has yet to be published, so we won't know what 'end' Cressida was talking about until 2014, at its release.
Now onto the next tidbit: Hiccup is apparently again being pressured by his father, Stoick the Vast, to start a family and become chief. This isn't surprising, given how old Hiccup is now (I estimate about nineteen, if he was fourteen in the first movie). But why Stoick's newfound pressure? If he himself is still well and able to be chief of Berk, why is he pushing his son? Could he be aging, ailing or have some kind of new fear or enemy bothering him?
Next, we're told the ice cave is the home of many new and wild dragons, and of a mysterious character called the Dragon Rider. I cannot speculate about what other, new dragons there could be, but it seems obvious that the Dragon Rider will be Hiccup's new archenemy--a character who rides dragons but uses them for evil.
Finally, the blurb reads that Hiccup and Toothless find themselves 'at the center of a battle' to protect the peace, and that only together can they solve the problem between man and dragon. My idea of what 'at the center of a battle' means is that Hiccup and Toothless will be a median force in between human and dragon again, and that they will have to settle differences between each other to fix it. It would be interesting to see a human vs. human battle involving dragons on both sides--for instance, aerial combat between the forces of Berk and the forces of the Dragon Rider.
I wouldn't be surprised if another character, the old lady character from the first movie, called the Elder, plays a more important role in this movie, given that she was originally going to have a larger role in the first film. But that's just a random thought of mine.
All in all, I'm incredibly excited about How To Train Your Dragon 2. How could you not like that high flyin', Toothless/Hiccup teamwork (Teamed with a trailer song by my favorite epic music band Audiomachine)? As the #1 HTTYD fan, I can honestly say I'm not worried about the sequel--not worried about Hiccup and the others being five years older, not worried about the new animation, and most surprisingly, not worried about a Dreamwork's sequel ruining the original, which the company has a bad habit of doing. I think making the characters be five years older is a great move for the story, seeing as the kids like me who were four years younger when the original came out will now again be able to relate with Hiccup and his problems. The animation and redesign, though surprising at first, I now am excited about, along with the direction of the story.
Best of all, it appears Hiccup and Toothless have retained their personalities. Judging by Hiccup's new gear, including the flying squirrel flaps and newly designed prosthetic foot, it looks like he's been expanding and improving everything he uses to ride Toothless.
So, there it is, my first Trailer Review. I hope you've enjoyed hearing my speculations and hopes for the movie, and also that the solid facts I've presented have satisfied your taste for knowledge about the upcoming film. If so, please feel free to return for more, and comment if you have any more questions or thoughts on the review!
Peace.
Matt~
