Voices: Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Kristen Wiig, Kit Harington Director: Dean DeBlois

    DreamWorks Animation takes to the skies with this epic-scaled sequel to 2010’s “How to Train Your Dragon.”

    WHAT will it take for DreamWorks Animation to finally break their losing streak? With “How to Train Your Dragon 2” the company throws everything they’ve got at the screen. This sequel to the endearing original film, which earned close to half a billion dollars in 2010, has ladled on even more expensive state-of-the-art animation and stereoscopy technology, an elaborate script that expands its fantasy world further, oodles of action set pieces, and a dragon cast of thousands — plus recent Oscar-winner Cate Blanchett in a key role. There’s even some “Game of Thrones” DNA spliced in, courtesy of the casting of Kit Harington, along with thematic elements concerning power, rival kingdoms, slavery and broken families scattered throughout.

    Clearly a bit of a late-bloomer or otherwise a beneficiary from all that fresh-air while riding the skies, hero Hiccup (voiced once again with warmth by Jay Baruchel) has filled out and grown into a dorky kind of hunk with Harry Styles hair and scratchy hipster stubble. While his girlfriend, Astrid (America Ferrera), and the other graduates of the Berk Dragon Training Academy enjoy competitive games of dragon-riding (sort of like airborne basketball using sheep instead of balls, crossed with Quidditch), Hiccup and his trusty fire-breather Toothless are off discovering new lands.

    His father Stoick (Gerard Butler) wants Hiccup to take over someday as head of the clan, but Hiccup doesn’t fancy the responsibility and stress, laying the foundation for a predictable what-it-means-to-be-a-leader narrative arc.

    On their travels, Hiccup and Astrid run up against piratical mercenary Eret (Harington) who’s trying to round up strays for an army of slave dragons ruled by his shadowy boss Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou). They escape, thanks to Toothless’ superior firepower, but not before they hear tell of another dragon-riding do-gooder who’s been trying to thwart Drago’s evil plans for regional domination.

    Soon enough, Hiccup meets this kindred spirit, Valka (Blanchett). She has been living among the dragons for 20 years in a secret ice-bound aerie presided over by a massive Alpha dragon nicknamed the Bewilderbeast, who somehow controls his flock through sound and gesture. Like some kind of Dark Ages Dian Fossey or Jane Goodall, Valka has bonded with the animals she loves and learned much about their nature and habits. In one of the film’s most magical sequences, she shows off to Hiccup her own skill at airborne acrobatics, a display of exquisitely thoughtful character movement that illustrates Valka’s serpentine poise.

    One of the core strengths of the original film was the way it infused the dragons with personality, not just through the colorful, intricate character designs, but by making them relatable to household animals. The movie expands on this repertoire beautifully. Watch Toothless, for example, while he frolics in the background or at the edge of the frame, and you’ll alternately see the playfulness and sinuous grace of a cat, the pack-animal loyalty of a dog, and the power and dignity of a horse. At the same time, he and his cohorts always have something uniquely dragonish, primal and reptilian about them. Clearly, these films are the work of people who love animals.

    More importantly though, going beyond the pat eco-conscious message that every kids’ film has to have, “How to Train Your Dragon 2” touches on how complex the emotional bond between a person and an animal can be. This is brought home with exceptional nuance in what’s arguably the film’s most powerful scene, when Toothless accidentally kills someone and Hiccup struggles with feelings of anger and the recognition that Toothless, poor bad dragon, can’t help his nature.

    Cognizant that they can’t end things on this painful lesson, the story moves on for another half-hour or so, but despite all the pyrotechnics involved in the Godzilla-like attack on Berk, nothing packs as much punch as the tragic interlude and the film struggles to right itself emotionally.

    The movie is now being screened in Shenzhen.

    (SD-Agencies)