How To Train Your Dragon 2

It's basically his last heartwarming moment with his wife after losing so many years. It's arguably the climax of his Character Development across the Movies and the series (which I hear the writer of this movie didn't watch, though I don't think this sequel contradicts anything that happened Riders or Defenders of berk).

Maybe I just hate it because...well...let's just say I reacted like Toothless at the end. SENSITIVITY I TELLS YA.

I really enjoyed the "folk song" vibe of that tune - I don't think they could have chosen a better melody or lyrics for fitting in with the setting and the characters. I like the traditional world around the characters in general, and it's always great to see it come into the forefront, though it's usually through the music.

It's also the scene that made me kind of want a spinoff about Stoick, Valka and Gobber's adventures as Three Vikingteers growing up on Berk.

I really liked that scene, though it felt to me like the writers had trouble committing to it because they worried the audience might lose interest in it. Hence why it gets sporadically interrupted with Gobber mischief and then Drago arrives two seconds after the scene's over to hijack the story again. But on its own, it's a great scene.

I found it to be a Suspiciously Similar Song to "Noble Maiden Fair" from Brave. It's still a really good scene, though.

In general, though, I find I like How to Train Your Dragon 2 less and less as I think about it. I still think it's worth watching — it feels like the creators had a lot of great ideas and ambitions, but didn't assemble them together all that well. I think it all comes down to the decision to include Drago instead of Valka as the antagonist, which I still think was a mistake. It leaves Valka as almost completely superfluous to the main plot, and Drago as sorely underdeveloped, and the main plot as just a generic "stop the evil conquerer" story.

I will admit that compared to the other animated films from last year, it's not a film that sticks out in my mind.

I agree. It's far from bad, but I preferred The LEGO Movie and Big Hero 6.

I'm actually not sure if I'd stack Dragon below or above Big Hero 6. Dragon has lots of really good stuff hampered by some cripplingly bad stuff. Big Hero 6, on the other hand, is consistently... okay, but rarely if ever more than that.

What about Lego?

By contrast, I wholeheartedly adore both.

I like The Lego Movie more than either of them. I don't dislike the others, though.

I can hardly stand The Lego Movie, but the robot/dragon engineering movies were pretty tolerable for the most part!

HTTYD 2 is still my favorite animated movie from last year. I dug Lego Movie, but like 22 Jump Street, though whole "Self-Aware" humor made the jokes start to feel telegraphed.

I like the LEGO Movie. Screw all the guys saying "IT'S AN ADVERTISEMENT NEEEERRRRRRRRR" cause I love it to bits. Why? Cause it's a movie about our childhood. And growing up. And parodying EVERY. GODDAMN. BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE. EVER.

machop, nobody said so(Here in this thread). Dont put words into people's mouths. We didnt mind that you didnt like that scene HTTYD 2. At least I dont.

^ Agree With Dr Doughs, I like the film but both Valka and Drago were wasted opportunities. Either Valka should have been kept the villain or Drago should have a more fleshed out backstory. Because of it, the film doesn't reach the same level of perfection that Kung Fu Panda 2 did, in my opinion, which had a perfect story and Shen, one of the greatest villains ever produced by Dreamworks. I feel like the strengths of the HTTYD films are their focus on heart and friendship, while their weaknesses are their villains. The Red Death had sort of a funny design with its tiny wings on a giant body, and the battle could have done with some better shots and angles when the vikings are fighting. The aerial angles when Hiccup and Toothless fought and defeat it however were great. Still, both films have had pretty forgettable villains, so here's hoping they do better for the last one.

I don't think you can equate Drago's blandness with the Red Death, though, because the Red Death wasn't actually the main antagonist of the first movie. The main antagonists were Stoick and the villagers of Berk, and the conflict was about fighting their prejudices against the Dragons, and Hiccup's more peaceful, "un-vikingly" method of dealing with them. The Red Death was just a complication for the last act, that served to escalate things and give Hiccup a way of proving himself.

Drago, by contrast, is very much the main antagonist of the second movie. He's the one who instigates the main conflict of the movie, and Hiccup's physical and ideological victory comes through defeating him. Therefore, there was much more of a pressing need for Drago to be an interesting character than there was for the Red Death.