Western Animation / How to Train Your Dragon 2

"We go where no one goes."

"This is Berk. Life here is amazing. Dragons used to be a bit of a problem, but now they've all moved in! And with Vikings on the backs of dragons, the world just got a whole lot bigger."

— Hiccup, Opening Monologue

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is the 2014 sequel to the animated film adaptation of How to Train Your Dragon. It was written and directed by Dean DeBlois (co-writer and co-director of the first film). Set five years after the first film, Berk and the dragons have learned to live in harmony, but now face a new enemy, Drago Bludvist, who seeks to enslave all dragons.

The DVD/Blu-Ray edition includes a mini-prequel called Dawn of the Dragon Racers, in which the young dragon riders start competing with each other as they round up a flock of runaway sheep, resulting in the first official Dragon Races on Berk.

Was followed by one last sequel, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 provides examples of:

Tropes # to F

• 11th-Hour Superpower: During the climax, Toothless protects Hiccup from a point-blank shot of ice breath from Drago's Bewilderbeast and after a few harrowing moments pass, he erupts from the ice with his back scales/fins glowing blue and his breath attacks greatly amplified in force and speed. As he didn't get to do more aside from launching a barrage of these amplified plasma blasts during the film itself, any other effects of the power-up are unknown.
• Actor Allusion:
  • Astrid lectures Eret about not taking toys away from dragons, asking "Don't you know anything?" Which is just another way of telling him he knows nothing. Jon Snow learned to train dragons. Let that sink in for a moment.
  • During the battle scene where Stoick is fighting Drago, Stoick (Gerard Butler) makes an allusion to Butler's role in Reign of Fire, another dragon movie.
• All Animals Are Dogs:
  • Stormfly loves to play fetch, and at one point gets broody and curls up on Eret like a chicken. While felines influenced much of Toothless's behavior in the first film, his puppy-dog side shines through more in this film. The crew even stated that they'd watch dog and cat videos on YouTube for inspiration.
  • The way Drago makes Hookfang cower is also similar to how an animal trainer can aggressively dominate a potentially aggressive animal. Drago is basically an abusive circus trainer in terms of how he deals with the dragons.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Ruffnut's obsession with Eret. That, and his huge biceps.
• All There in the Manual: The official website contains all the details of the new dragons. Some highlights include: Stormcutters (Valka's Cloudjumper), Rumblehorns (Stoick's new mount; Skullcrusher), Hotburples (a sort of Great Granddaddy Gronckle, and Gobber's Grump), Hobblegrunts, and of course, the Bewilderbeasts a.k.a. the Alpha Dragons. The website also states that the Deadly Nadder, once considered a Sharp Class dragon, is now considered a Tracker Class.
• Alternative Foreign Theme Song: The Norwegian release was accompanied by "Into a Fantasy" by Alexander Rybak, who also voiced Hiccup in the Norwegian dub, although the song itself is in English.
• Animal Motifs:
  • Cloudjumper has features resembling an owl, as well as turning his head all the way round. He also displays some of the owl's imagery of wisdom, being second-in-command to the Bewilderbeast and displaying a gentle curiosity to the baby Hiccup.
  • The Bewilderbeast has the build and tusks resembling an elephant, which also fits the theme of Drago's Bewilderbeast being like an abused circus or war elephant that had been subjected to fear-based cruel training since it was a baby.
  • Stoick's dragon Skullcrusher has features of Scarab beetles as well as buffaloes and the Triceratops.
• Aren't You Going to Ravish Me?: Ruffnut allows herself to get captured by the pirates after seeing Eret.
• Asskicking Leads to Leadership: Toothless becomes the Alpha dragon after inciting the entire flock of dragons to lay a brutal beatdown on Drago's Alpha.
• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Hiccup becoming the new Chief of Berk, and Toothless becoming the new Alpha Dragon.
• Badass Adorable:
  • Hiccup and company ride the Glacial Sanctuary's baby dragons back to Berk. The Dark Alpha can't command them because they're too young to understand and they're undoubtedly cute.
  • Toothless. With emphasis on both the badass and the adorable.
• Badass Boast:
  • Drago, in a line meant to instill terror throughout Berk.
    Drago: Your chief IS DEAD!
  • Hiccup's closing narration is one for Berk:
    Hiccup: You see, we have something they don't. Oh sure, they have armies, they have armadas, but we have... our dragons!
• Badass in Distress:
  • Happens when Toothless falls through the ice and can't scramble out on his own.
  • Toothless is mind-controlled by the Dark Alpha during the beginning of the attack on Berk and Drago seizes him as a mount. Luckily Hiccup manages to get through to him.
• Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Played straight with Valka. We see her as a young woman in her flashback. When we see her in the present, there are only the faintest of lines around her eyes, and few strands of grey in her hair. This is lampshaded by the line Stoick says upon seeing her after twenty years:
  Stoick: You're as beautiful as the day I lost you.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Mentioned by name when Astrid kidnaps Eret:
  Eret: If we don't turn up with dragons and fast— [Astrid's dragon Stormfly snatches Eret off his ship] YEAGGH!
  Astrid: Careful what you wish for.
• Behemoth Battle: Bewilderbeasts are massive, ice-breathing Dragons. Two show up during the film — a white one that's the alpha of Valka's sanctuary, and a grey one under Drago's orders. They clash at one point, and Drago's one ends up beating Valka's one after hitting its underbelly with its tusks.
• The Big Damn Kiss: Hiccup and Astrid.
• Big "NEVER!": Toward the end:
  Hiccup: Now do you see? This is what it means to win a dragon's loyalty! Let this end now!
  Drago: NEVER!
• Big "NO!": Delivered by Hiccup in the climax when a Brainwashed and Crazy Toothless is about to fire at him.
• Bioluminescence Is Cool: Toothless' back in the climax.
• Bittersweet Ending: Drago has been stopped, Hiccup has become chief of Berk, Toothless the Alpha of the dragons and Valka has returned to her son's life. But Stoick and the benevolent Bewilderbeast have been killed and Drago is alive and still has his Bewilderbeast.
• Bizarre Alien Locomotion: Turns out that properly-trained Zipplebacks can curl up and roll around like gas-and-flame-spewing battle-wheels.
• Bloodless Carnage:
  • Standard, but reaches big levels when Drago's Bewilderbeast kills Valka's by goring him to death. There's not a drop of red on those massive tusks once he pulls away from the body.
  • Stoick is rather... intact and unburnt considering Toothless' fireblasts have been shown to cause small explosions.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: After Stoick sacrifices himself to save Hiccup, Drago just scoffs off Hiccup as a threat and leaves without killing him or his companions. In the climax, he once again has the chance to easily finish Hiccup, but decides to go out of his way to show Hiccup that he's wrong. This backfires.
• Book Ends:
  • The movie near the beginning and near the end has a playful moment between Hiccup and Toothless involving the Night Fury licking his human, and Hiccup complaining:
    Hiccup: You know that doesn't wash out!
  • In a Continuity Nod to the first movie, Hiccup begins and ends the movie with a "This is Berk... We have Dragons" speech.
  • A more subtle one is Stoick the Vast's introduction and death. We see him in the first movie pulling Hiccup out of danger and yelling at him to stay inside, and taking on a Monstrous Nightmare to protect his son. Stoick's last action in the film is to get between a dragon (hypnotized Toothless) and his son before Toothless can fire a fatal blow on Hiccup.
  • The movie starts and ends with a round of dragon-racing.
• Boring Insult: Referenced;
  Hiccup: It's not every day that you find out your mother is some kind of crazy, feral, vigilante dragon lady!
  Valka: Well, at least I'm not boring, right?
• Both Sides Have a Point: Hiccup and Stoick disagree about how to treat the threat of Drago Bludivist. Stoick immediately goes for the lockdown route, telling everyone on Berk to stay put and prepare for war. He knows this from experience with Drago personally, to have your weapons on hand and a will to fight back. Hiccup counters that perhaps Drago doesn't know about another way and he has to at least try and prevent a war before lives are lost. In the end, Stoick is right that Drago can't be reasoned with, but Hiccup's persuasion does eventually work on Eret, when the latter sees that dragons can be loyal if you are kind to them.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Toothless and the other dragons get brainjacked by the King/Alpha Dragon.
• Broad Strokes:
  • The first film had a scene where Stoick gave Hiccup a helmet which was said to be half of his mother's Breast Plate. The size of it implied that she was an enormous Brawn Hilda of a woman with breasts the size of human heads, and the fact that she had armor at all implied that she fought dragons with everyone else. This scene was completely ignored in the sequel, in favor of introducing Hiccup's long-lost mother as someone with absolutely none of those traits.
  • Dean DeBlois wasn't involved with the TV series and says that he didn't take it into consideration when writing this movie, but that doesn't necessarily make it non-canon. The third season of the show will apparently bridge the gap between the two.
• Butt-Monkey: Sheep are having a hard life in Berk.
• Call-Back:
  • The idea of a humongous dragon taking control of several other dragons is used again here — it's more or less confirmed that the crooning of the Red Death is what kept the dragons under its control, and the Bewilderbeast uses a similar hypnotic song plus eye contact. In fact, Drago uses his own Bewilderbeast to take control of both Valka's and Berk's dragons.
  • Toothless, when he was around the Red Death, showed he was only partially susceptible to its hypnotic song. That partial resistance proves decisive when, with Hiccup's help, he breaks out of the Bewilderbeast's control at Berk.
  • Just like the first movie, prior to the climax, Hiccup is found contemplating the next course of action while standing at a high point, looking out at the horizon. The first time, it is over his actions leading his father and father's men to what was, undoubtedly, their deaths. This time, however... it is over the death of Stoick and the loss of their dragons to Drago's Alpha, who leads his dragon army to destroy Berk. But just like the first movie, it is also when Hiccup is convinced by an ally that all is not lost, and he is inspired into action.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: This exchange between Hiccup and Astrid in the middle of a fierce battle with Drago's forces:
  Astrid: Where have you been?
  Hiccup: Oh y'know, catching up with mom. [points to Valka, in full armor, standing atop Cloudjumper, behind whom the Alpha is rising]
  Astrid: [amazed] That's your mother?
  Hiccup: Well, now you know where I get my dramatic flair.
• The Centerpiece Spectacular: The battle between the dragons of the island nest and Drago's forces.
• Chekhov M.I.A.: Hiccup's mother was never confirmed dead so it was only a matter of time before she would enter the story.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The sheep from the opening game become a plot point during the Final Battle.
  • "Every dragon has its secrets."
  • Hiccup's helmet only exists to allow Stoick to track Hiccup back to Valka's location.
• Chekhov's Skill:
  • Hiccup has created a gliding suit so he can fly alongside Toothless, though Toothless hasn't mastered keeping pace with and then catching Hiccup, resulting in crash-landings. He finally makes the catch during the final battle.
  • Hiccup learns that all dragons obey the Alpha, except for the baby dragons who listen to no-one. This leaves Hiccup and company with a group of dragons to ride back to Berk when Drago's Alpha forces the loyalty of all of the others.
  • Valka shows Hiccup the protruding scales on Toothless's back that could help him make harder turns when flying. This comes in handy near the end when he and Hiccup narrowly avoid hitting the Alpha's tail.
• Childhood Friend Romance: It's maturing along with Hiccup and Astrid. You can see it in the casual way they touch each other in that the way only two people in love would allow. Stoick even shouts out to Astrid during the game "THAT'S MY FUTURE DAUGHTER-IN-LAW!"
• Circling Monologue: After the fight at the dragon cave, Bludvist does some Evil Gloating while circling around Hiccup.
• Close on Title: The movie's title is the last thing to appear before the credits.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Gobber's dragon dentistry is taken from the cartoon series, as is the fact that they converted his weapon-making shop into a general dragon tack supply.
  • Just like the first movie, it opens with some poor sheep being grabbed by a dragon. It's not due to dragons plundering the village, however, but the sheep being a target in Berk's new sport of Dragon Racing.
  • On one occasion after being knocked down, Fishlegs quickly shouts out "I'm okay!", as he had done in the first movie after a crash-landing on Meatlug.
  • Like in the first movie, Toothless watches a character trace out a drawing in the ground, and "copies" the act to create his own doodle.
  • Hiccup and Toothless nearly hit the Alpha's tail, as they did in the last movie with the Red Death's tail. Hiccup even says "Oh, not again."
  • In the first film, Stoick was nearly roasted by Toothless before Hiccup managed to call him off. Stoick doesn't survive the second attempt, from a Brainwashed and Crazy Toothless. The musical cue before the event is even similar.
  • Multiple dragons resembling juvenile Red Deaths appear in the Dragon's Nest, in addition to other dragon species introduced in the animated series.
  • Some of the dragons drawn on Hiccup's map are species seen on the tv series, such as the Typhoomerang, Scauldron, Whispering Death, Changewing, and Smothering Smokebreath.
  • The first film ended on The Big Damn Kiss just before Hiccup's closing monologue, as does this one — only this time, Hiccup turns the tables on Astrid. She doesn't seem to mind.
  • "I did this": Hiccup and Stoick say this in HTTYD to express their guilt that their actions led to someone getting hurt. After Toothless breaks the mind control and sees Stoick's dead body, he stays absolutely still for a moment and just looks at him, realizing what happened. There may not be words, but they are not necessary: facial expressions and body language just scream guilt and horror. "I did this"
  • A minor one; the warpaint Astrid and Stormfly sport in the Dragon Races◊ at the start of the movie matches the colors of the shield Astrid carried during Dragon Training class in ''HTTYD''.◊
  • Early on in both movies, Hiccup does impressions of his father Stoick. In the first movie, he complains in his Stoick-voice "Barmaid, you've brought me the wrong offspring!" In the sequel, he repeats his father's statement, "You're the pride of Berk, son, and I couldn't be prouder." Also, while he was being snarky in the first movie, Astrid was the one being snarky in the second, doing her surprisingly on-target impression of Hiccup.
  • In the finale, the theme was a reprisal of the first movie's song "Counter-Attack". Only the parties were reversed: This time, the counterattacking party was Toothless and the dragon flock against the Dark Alpha!
  • Also during the final battle, Hiccup has the gang distract the massive dragon they're facing while he goes to get Toothless. Ruffnut and Tuffnut (with the help of Snotlout this time) once again irritate the dragon to accomplish this goal, this time using the sheep tosser from dragon racing, while Fishlegs reprises his "I'm okay".
  • Hiccup's imitation of his father's accent makes a return, with Astrid imitating him.
  • Hiccup's closing narration in both movies is similar:
    HTTYD: The food that grows here is tough and tasteless. The people that grow here, even more so.
    HTTYD 2: Those who attacked us, are relentless and crazy, but those who stopped them, oh, even more so!
    [also...]
    HTTYD: Where other places may have ponies or parrots, we have... dragons!
    HTTYD 2: Oh sure, they have armies, and they have armadas, but we, we have... OUR DRAGONS!
• Convection, Schmonvection: Holding a piece of dragon hide in front of you apparently allows you to survive a direct blast of dragonfire, without even a single singed hair.
• Costume Evolution: The kids are grown up, so they get pretty fancy outfits this time, such as Hiccup's◊ leather armor and Astrid◊ getting a fur-lined hood and fur underskirt.
• Creative Closing Credits: The credits roll over the film's concept art, which is just as gorgeous as the film itself.
• Curse Cut Short:
  • Astrid is about to finish an insult with "Steaming pile of dragon..." only to be interrupted with Eret's "...duck!"
  • Later in the film, Hiccup announces his plan is to "Get our dragons back and kick Drago's..." only to be interrupted by a giant ice floe.
• Dance of Romance: A sweet moment after Stoick is reunited with Valka, and he sings to her the same song he sang when they were courting. She starts singing back and they dance together.
• Darker and Edgier: Some parents who found the original film alright for their children on home video balked at this sequel. With many intense sustained battle sequences and scenes such as a mind-controlled Toothless killing Stoick, this was in many ways a darker film as compared with its predecessor.^note The producers actually stated that the film was originally going to be even darker (see e.g. the alternate opening) but they were afraid of alienating little kids so they altered it accordingly.
• Darkest Hour: Stoick is dead, and Drago's Alpha has taken control of all the riders' dragons to conquer Berk, even Toothless. Hiccup just doesn't know what to do, but he talks himself into knowing.
• Dark Is Evil: Played with. The Big Bad Drago Bludvist has black dreadlocks and a black coat made of dragon hide, and his enslaved Bewilderbeast is much darker than the white, benevolent Bewilderbeast he usurps. At the same time, Toothless is a darker pitch-black and firmly on the side of the heroes, and even takes over as Alpha from Drago's dragon.
• David Versus Goliath: Toothless takes on Drago's Bewilderbeast in the climax, whose size even exceeds the Red Death. What's more, he even fights him from a stationary position.
• Dead Hat Shot: Played with when Stoick and Gobber find Hiccup's helmet floating on the water after being taken by Valka's dragons, even though he is in no harm.
• Decapitated Army: The free dragons of the Glacial Sanctuary become this when their Bewilderbeast is killed, leaving them exposed to being controlled by Drago's.
• Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: After Stoick decides to name Hiccup his successor, Hiccup admits to Astrid that he feels he can't live up to his legacy because he is so unlike his father. He also never knew his mother and so wonders about his identity. Eventually deconstructed. Hiccup tries to find his own purpose as a "peacekeeper," reasoning it's what he's good at, but even his own mother, a kindred peacekeeper with dragons, tells him that some minds can't be changed, and war is sometimes needed. She and Stoick turn out to be right. Hiccup can only overcome his identity crisis when he admits his insufficiency, but still resolves to try to be more than he currently is anyways.
• Disability Immunity: The baby dragons are not susceptible to the Alpha dragon's brainwashing because their brains are not mature enough yet.
• Distracted by the Sexy: Happens to Ruffnut when she sees Eret, leading her to get caught in a net.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?:
  • Stoick realizes that Drago cannot be reasoned with and immediately tries to prepare for a war he knows will be coming. Meanwhile, Hiccup believes that everyone can be reasoned with and tries to force his idea for a diplomatic approach despite the evidence that Drago is a madman. This is essentially how groups debate about how to handle terrorists and extremists.
  • Likewise, Drago creating an army by turning innocent dragons Brainwashed and Crazy, having them commit murder under his command and Hiccup attempting to make Toothless come to his senses by telling him "It wasn't your fault. They made you do it." sounds like the manner in which some terrorists create Child Soldiers under their wing.
• Do I Really Sound Like That?: Hiccup doesn't think much of Astrid's impression of him. (She's actually got his body language down pretty well!)
  Hiccup: When have I ever done that with my hands?
  Astrid: [laughing] You just did!
• Do You Trust Me?: Outright stated by Hiccup to Toothless at the climax, shortly before blindfolding Toothless mid-air to help negate the mind-control abilities of Drago's Bewilderbeast.
• Due to the Dead: Stoick the Vast is given a Viking Funeral, his boat being set alight by arrows fired first by his son, and then his wife, Gobber, and others. Later at Berk a stone statue of his likeness is being carved.
• Easily Forgiven:
  • Nobody really seems to have a moral problem with Valka's refusal to return home for twenty years because of her stubborn ideological disagreement with her husband. The movie also ignores that a not-insignificant portion of the dragon wars as depicted in the first film involved raids on the Vikings' sheep, which meant her attempts to prevent Stoick from action likely threatened the whole tribe's resources and livelihood. Of course, since the first film proved the dragons could be befriended, Valka did ultimately turn out to be right in said ideological disagreement. Stoick and Hiccup both don't mind chiefly because they thought she was dead, and were just happy she was alive.
  • Eret was willing to help Drago trap and enslave dragons, but once he completed his Heel–Face Turn and joined the battle riding with Astrid on Stormfly, Hiccup cheerfully announced, "Welcome aboard, Dragon Rider."
• Environmental Symbolism:
  • Berk is at peace with the Dragons, so it is colorful and vibrant, with a mix of advanced tech (for the time) and various forms of progress for being friendly with the Dragons, such as taller buildings and ways to maneuver them in three-dimensions. Architecture is organic in design with bits of a geometric motif, symbolic for man's peace with dragons.
  • The Valka's den is primitive by comparison, but is full of dragons and foliage, virtually untouched by man and is a paradise for it. Colors are much colder with a lower color palette thanks to the ice-roof, with the shape of the rock primarily geometric.
  • Drago's ships and fleet are made completely out of metal, devoid of color and light and any semblance of hope for ''anyone'' in a 100% industrial environment.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: As Drago sees it, dragons can only be controlled through intimidation and fear. Working with dragons, nurturing them instead of enslaving them, is unthinkable to him. Exemplified when Toothless overrides the Dark Alpha's control to protect Hiccup.
• Exactly Exty Years Ago: The film is set 5 years after How to Train Your Dragon, and 20 years after Hiccup's mother went missing.
• Expecting Someone Taller: When Drago finally meets Hiccup, son of Stoick the Vast and dragon trainer extraordinaire, he's surprised by Hiccup being a scrawny teenager and takes a jab at him by saying Stoick must be ashamed.
• Expy: Hiccup's sword is a flaming lightsaber. It doesn't even have a solid blade - it's just a sharp, collapsible frame that folds out from the hilt.
• The Extremist Was Right: Stoick believes that Drago cannot be reasoned with and wants to lock down and fortify the village; Hiccup believes that diplomacy can convince Drago to leave Berk in peace. Stoick is ultimately shown to be correct; although Drago sympathizes with Hiccup in some ways, he will never allow anyone else who controls dragons to live unless they are utterly subservient to him, and he remains unconvinced of Hiccup's philosophy of earning a dragon's willing loyalty (as opposed to subjugating them through fear and intimidation) to the end.
• Family-Unfriendly Death:
  • Though it's mostly offscreen, Drago's Alpha gores Valka's Alpha with its tusks.
  • The same could be said of Stoick, who takes a shot of explosive plasma straight to the chest.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: Just like Frozen, the animators were inspired by Norwegian nature when creating the settings of the movie, or more specifically the island Svalbard.
• Female Gaze: Ruffnut is quite... appreciative of Eret's biceps.
• Flaming Sword: Hiccup has a retractable sword coated in Monstrous Nightmare spit, allowing it to catch fire. A gas capsule in the handle can release Zippleback gas for a larger explosion. Hiccup uses it to tame dragons by being able to create fire like they can.
• Flashback Effect: The flashbacks of Stoick and his wife to events involving Drago are shown with blurred out edges.
• Foil:
  • Eret is this to both Drago and Hiccup. Like both of them, he has a natural talent with dragons. As with Drago, his initial motivation comes from fear (of Drago). But as with Hiccup, he eventually looks into a dragon's eye, approaches said dragon with a calm rather than a raised sword, and comes to realize what Hiccup has learned.
  • Drago's a 3-in-1 example not just to Hiccup but to both of his parents as well —
    • To Stoick — Both are strongmen and intelligent and respected leaders, but Stoick is clearly concerned with caring for his people, while Drago is out for domination. They also have similar builds, noteworthy hair, and are excellent fighters.
    • To Hiccup — Both are powerful dragon tamers with Artificial Limbs that lost their families to dragons. But where Hiccup tames dragons with love and compassion, Drago controls them by force. You can see one of the greatest differences in how they approach dragons: Hiccup reaches out his hand for the dragon to touch, while Drago makes the dragon bow so he can grind its head under his heel.
    • To Valka too — both wield staff weapons, seek out dragons for their own purposes, and command the respect of a Bewilderbeast. But while Valka's staff is more of a shepherd's crook, Drago's bullhook is used as a tool of domination; where Valka seeks out dragons to bring them into the Sanctuary, Drago hunts down dragons to grow his army; and while Valka's Alpha seems to treat her as an equal, Drago's Alpha was cowed into submission.
• Follow in My Footsteps: A positive (if hard to swallow) example: Stoick wants Hiccup to be his successor as chief, but Hiccup is reluctant, partly because he fears he can't live up to his father, and partly because he's uncertain of who he is. Becomes a double example when Hiccup meets his mother for the first time; he's at first excited, but disappointed when she, like Stoick, advises Hiccup that they need to "protect our own." Hiccup finally accepting this advice gives him the confidence to embrace his role as a leader.
• Foreshadowing:
  • Valka makes a connection with a vast powerful beast who then falls before an equally powerful foe. This is both her Alpha as well as Stoick.
  • The fact that Drago possessed a Bewilderbeast was foreshadowed early in the movie. First with the ice base then with various close up shots of the water under Drago's fleet.
  • Early in the movie, after Valka played with him, Toothless was shown excitedly moving his back fin. This is how he activated his alpha mode later in the movie.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: When he hears his masked, fully-armored Arch-Enemy speak for the first time, Drago briefly raises an eyebrow and softly goes, "Unh..." when the voice reveals it's a woman; it's quick but enough to show he wasn't quite expecting that.
• Freudian Excuse: Drago could be said to have this. Having lost an entire arm, his family and his village to dragons he became obsessed with never feeling powerless again before anyone. While he preaches a desire to create peace by controlling dragons, he admits Hiccup is right when he points out that in effect he just wants to dominate everyone. This is also seen with the sheer rage he reacts with upon hearing of Hiccup's accomplishments, his pride cannot allow anyone but him to be known as a master of dragons.
• Frigid Water Is Harmless: Hiccup gets snatched up by Valka's dragons and, because Toothless needs Hiccup to fly via his artificial tail-fin, Toothless ends up careening miles out of the air into a thick sheet of ice, breaking through into the freezing ocean. He is then brought to Hiccup completely fine.
• Funny Background Event: Any time Hiccup is in the foreground with some other character, it's worth keeping an eye on Toothless in the background.
  • One example that doesn't involve Toothless: while Hiccup, Valka, and Stoick are talking during dinner, after Gobber eats Valka's meatballs, he reacts in disgust and feeds the rest to his dragon.
  • In the beginning of the scene where Astrid convinces the others to go after Hiccup while it's zoomed out, Tuffnut's got a chicken leg hanging from his hand lazily. Just before it zooms in to Ruffnut you can see one of the Zippleback heads make a move to eat it.

Tropes G to L

• Golden Snitch: Dragon Racing involves the riders grabbing marked sheep and tossing them into their respective bins for points. This seemingly consists of 12 sheep, each worth one point, and at the end a black sheep is launched which is worth ten points, and there are five players. If one player dominates the early part of the game (say, scoring nine of the twelve points like the twins), then the black sheep allows for the possibility of an upset. This is necessary because if a player were to score the first six points, all the other players could hope for is a tie, and if the same player were to score seven, then the game would effectively be over.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Used in a mild sense; Hiccup for most of the film is insistent on trying to reason with Drago. Events transpire to teach him that, unfortunately, some people just can't be reasoned with. Hiccup is at first optimistic that he can talk Drago out of his warmongering, but upon meeting Drago and hearing his story and witnessing his conviction/insanity, he rapidly realizes that there is no reasoning with him. Drago's actions are not based on ignorance or fear like so many Hiccup has encountered before, but rather a deeply dark view of the world.
• Good Eyes, Evil Eyes: As with the last movie, slitted "reptilian" pupils mean bad news. When he falls under the spell of Drago's Bewilderbeast song, Toothless' pupils go narrower than ever before — right before he kills Stoick.
• Good Colors, Evil Colors: A lot of the dragons inhabiting Valka's Dragon Sanctuary have bright, colorful patterns. Drago's dragon army is made up of dragons who are colored dull grays with only patches of blue or red patterns.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: Hiccup has a small scar on his chin from where Cloudjumper accidentally cut him when he was a baby. Drago's got a number of large scars across his face.
• Good Taming, Evil Taming: Hiccup and Valka train dragons through patience, humility and friendship, getting to know the dragons on a personal level and earning their loyalty. In contrast, Drago Bludvist uses intimidation to frighten individual dragons in a "beat the dog until it stops barking" sort of way and even tortured a Bewilderbeast after it first hatched so that he could have an alpha to mind-control all other dragons. Because he did not earn the loyalty of his dragon army, all of his enslaved dragons turn on him after Toothless overpowers the Bewilderbeast. One lost a foot and uses a gentle hand, the other lost an arm and uses a crushing heel.
• Good Weapon, Evil Weapon: Valka and Drago both wield staff-like weapons as a means of controlling their dragons. Valka's crook-staff possesses rattles used to signal her dragons to do certain commands willingly, resembling a shepard's crook carved out of wood to gently guide her herd. Drago's bull-hook is a metal weapon he uses as a means of torturing and injuring dragons into submissiveness, having possibly done so to control his Bewilderbeast and his dragon army by-proxy.
• Gory Discretion Shot: As Drago's Alpha staggers and gores Valka's Alpha, the shot cuts away to the characters' reaction just before the usurper's tusks make contact.
• Hard Truth Aesop: Some people are just so evil, crazy or rotten to the core that they cannot ever be negotiated or reasoned with, so fighting is the only option.
• Headbutt of Love: Hiccup and Toothless share one towards the end. It shows that Hiccup really has forgiven Toothless for killing his father while mind-controlled and that their relationship is stronger than ever.
• Heel–Face Turn: Eret joins the crew after Drago orders him killed, but Stormfly (Astrid's dragon) saves him. He is completely astonished that Stormfly would save his life, not so different from Hiccup's in the first film when he realized Toothless wasn't a murderous creature - and returns the favor, telling a trapped Stormfly, "You saved my life, now let me save yours." He even earns Hiccup's trust and is given Stoick's dragon at the end. It's implied it wasn't much of a Turn since Drago was such a Bad Boss, and Eret was more of a contractor than employee.
• Held Gaze: Astrid and Hiccup share one right after coming out of The Big Damn Kiss at the end of the film, and is very short due to Gothi's interrupting of it. The gaze Hiccup and Astrid share is one filled with love for each other.
• Hell Is That Noise: The hypnotic song of the Alpha makes its return from the first film and is used to even more chilling effect by seizing control of Toothless and making him attack Hiccup.
• Heroic BSoD: Hiccup falls into a massive one after Stoick's death.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Stoick takes a fatal shot meant for Hiccup.
• He's Dead, Jim: Head to the chest to listen for the heart (through fur and armor), check. Lifeless hand dropping when raised, check. Stoick is no more.
• High-Altitude Interrogation: After kidnapping Eret off of the deck of his ship, Astrid promptly asks him to take the Dragon Riders to Drago. He refuses, saying he would rather die. Astrid immediately complies and tells Stormfly to drop him. Eret quickly agrees to Astrid's request while falling, at which point Astrid has Stormfly catch him again.
  Astrid: [with a smile] Works every time.
• Hijacking Cthulhu: Bludvist hijacked the Bewilderbeast to use it against the protagonists.
• I Am X, Son of Y: Parodied with "Eret, Son of Eret."
• Idiot Ball: Minor; When Stoick gets disarmed of his axe, he seems to forget he still has a sword - granted he was focused on Gobber's immediate offer of help (a thrown mace), which landed on a nice hit on Drago's jaw, yet still.
• I Got Bigger: The film is set five years after the first, and the characters aged accordingly.
• "I Know You're in There Somewhere" Fight: Used in the climax when Hiccup manages to break the control of Drago's Alpha dragon over Toothless.
• Incredibly Long Note: Gobber, at the end of Stoick and Valka's song:
  Gobber: MeeeeeeeeeeeI'mstillgoinnnnnnnng. [Hiccup dope slap] I'm done.
• Indirect Kiss: Ruffnut forces one of these on Eret by kissing her hand and pressing it to his lips while he's pinned down, much to his disgust.
• Intergenerational Friendship: Toothless and Cloudjumper, especially since Toothless and Hiccup are the same age.
• I Owe You My Life: Stormfly shields Eret from what would be a fatal injury, prompting the dragon trapper to question his belief that dragons are simply animals and undergo his Heel–Face Turn. He even says as such as he frees Stormfly from her restraints.
• Ironic Echo: Hiccup attempts to tell Drago "Let me show you [that dragons are kind]" like he'd done with his tribe and father in the first film, only to get the same line thrown back at him by Drago, showing him that Toothless can be mind controlled into attacking his own best friend without mercy. More so tragic is the fact that Stoick had been trying to do what Hiccup had done in the previous film, The Chief was so dead set on eliminating the dragon scourge to Berk that any reasoning Hiccup tried to offer fell on deaf ears till it was all too late. Here the reverse is applied when Stoick tries to convince Hiccup that talking Drago out of his mania was a bad idea.
• I Surrender, Suckers: Hiccup tries this by gleefully surrendering himself, Astrid (who, while not sure of his plan, demonstrates unwavering faith in him by going along), Toothless and Stormfly to Eret's dragon hunters, hoping to meet Drago and reason with him. The other dragon riders, followed by Stoick and Gobber, prevent his plan from getting past the "I surrender" stage. Judging from his later encounter with Drago it wouldn't have worked anyway.
• Kidnapped by the Call: Hiccup finds himself here after his father tries to stop him from going on his mission to find Drago Bludvist. Hiccup flies away and ends up getting kidnapped by a mysterious, masked dragon rider who turns out to be his mother and takes him to the dragons' hidden sanctuary.
• Kill It with Ice: The Bewilderbeast has icy breath instead of fire breath.
• Kneel Before Frodo: The dragons acknowledging Toothless as the new Alpha.
• Knight of Cerebus: Compared to the Red Death, Drago is much nastier. While the former was content to stay in one place and be Orcus on His Throne, Drago sets out to capture all dragons so that he can use them to conquer the world, for no reason more apparent than For the Evulz.
• Kryptonite-Proof Suit: Drago's dragon-scale cape is not only fashionable and a sign of his power, but can block dragon fire.
• Last of His Kind: Hiccup and Valka make comments implying that Toothless may be the last Night Fury.
• Lethal Chef: Valka is (or at least was) one of these, according to Gobber. There is a Funny Background Event in the reunion where Gobber gags on the fish Valka cooked for him and then gives the rest of it to his dragon, Grump.
• Like Parent, Like Child: Hiccup's dragon-taming abilities are shared by his mother., and of course, he discovered his talent for leadership from his father. Encapsulated by his mother:

  Valka: You have the heart of a chief, and the soul of a dragon.

• Like Parent, Like Spouse: Both Stoick and Hiccup fell for women who can't cook very well.
• Line-of-Sight Name:
  Hiccup: [adding a new location to his map] So bud, what shall we name this? [sees Toothless scratching himself] "Itchy Armpit" it is.
• Little "No": Hiccup says this twice when he realizes Stoick is dead and again when Toothless snaps out of the mind control and discovers Hiccup and Valka grieving over Stoick.
• Love Triangle: Ruffnut is currently the only available young woman on Berk and the target of Snotlout and Fishlegs' affections (or at least that they care about), not that she wants anything to do with them. It gets more complicated when Ruffnut falls in love with a new character named Eret, and then she falls for them both when they save her in the second act battle. However, by the end, it's unclear of who Ruffnut likes the most.

Tropes M to R

• Machiavelli Was Wrong: Drago tames dragons through intimidation and his control of an Alpha Dragon. Hiccup tames them through showing them kindness and showing them how similar they are. Guess who wins?
• Mama Bear: Although it isn't what it really seemed, when Valka saw Cloudjumper break into her and Stoick's house, right into Hiccup's nursery room mind you, she dropped her peaceful attitude towards the dragons that were currently attacking and rushed there to protect her son.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": The villagers of Berk when Drago and his Alpha show up to invade.
• Meaningful Background Event: Drago and Stoick engage each other while in frame with the two Bewilderbeasts doing the same.
• Meaningful Echo: "A Chief protects his own."
• Meeting-the-Parents Sequel: Though we've already seen Hiccup's father in the first movie, we end up seeing Hiccup's mom for the first time in the sequel.
• Metaphorgotten: When Hiccup first mentions Drago Bludvist to Stoick, Tuffnut declares, "I'll bloody his fist with my face!"
• Mind-Control Eyes: Dragons under the control of a Bewilderbeast have their pupils turn to slits.
• Mood Whiplash: So Stoick's dead, Hiccup gives an amazing speech on the legacy Stoick left behind and how he was afraid of not being like his father as chief. After resolving to chase after Drago and reclaim their dragons...cut to the Vikings riding a bunch of baby dragons.
• Mundane Utility: Gobber uses his dragon to keep his forge hot.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Toothless's facial expressions scream this when he snaps out of it and realizes he killed Stoick.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Drago wears a dragon-skin cape which allows him to No-Sell dragon fire. In the books, the Lava Louts are safe from fire due to wearing suits made of dragon skin.
  • Drago asserts his dominance over his dragons by loudly roaring at them. In the original book, the In-Universe dragon-training manual How to Train Your Dragon was just one page with the words "yell at it". In the second edition of the aforementioned book, there is a significant extra bit of information — to train a dragon, you need to "yell at it... loudly".
• Narrating the Obvious: After Toothless gets his 11th-Hour Superpower, he confronts the Alpha which prompts the following piece of conversation.
  Hiccup: He's challenging the Alpha!
  Valka: To protect you!
• Never Trust a Trailer: The second trailer had Valka ominously telling Hiccup how vast her knowledge of dragons is compared to his during their first encounter. In the movie, it's an altered, cheerful line she gives him while the two are bonding.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • When Stoick takes too long in his search for Hiccup, Astrid fears the worst and decides to take the other riders and rescue him from Drago. When she finds him and realizes her mistake, she tries to intimidate him by relating Hiccup's reputation; see Threat Backfire below. However, rather than intimidate him, this just serves to enrage him and send him gunning for Berk, since his ego won't allow another dragon master to exist.
  • A particularly dark one as it's essentially Hiccup's fault that his father died; ignoring all his warnings of how Drago couldn't be negotiated with and attempting to speak with him up front, giving Drago the opportunity to attempt to kill him (by using his own loyal dragon no less) ultimately ending with Stoick Taking the Bullet.
• Noodle Incident: A possible example; after Eret breaks under Astrid's High-Altitude Interrogation, she smiles and says, "Works every time." One wonders how many times she has done this, and if any of her previous attempts involved Hiccup.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Played with. Hiccup and Astrid certainly understand personal space, but their budding romance has matured enough past the awkward stages that they think nothing of each other casually entering their personal space. It shows how intimate the two are without getting explicit or saccharine.
• Not Bad: Cloudjumper regards Toothless this way after Toothless challenges the dark Bewilderbeast and wins, becoming an Alpha himself.
• Not Now, Kiddo: Hiccup wants to explain to his father that he just found his mother but Stoick is too busy getting into the cave to listen to him.
  Hiccup: Dad, there-there's something you need to know.
  Stoick: Yeah, yeah, tell me on the way.
  Hiccup: Well, this isn't an "on the way" kind of update, actually.
  Stoick: I've heard enough, Hiccup.
• Offhand Backhand: Eret tries to puff himself up to get in Stoick's business, but Stoick just pushes Eret aside. By his face. Without even making eye contact.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • A light-hearted example. When Valka learns of Toothless' prosthetic tail-fin, Hiccup immediately begins to internally freak out at what she would say when she learns that Hiccup was the one responsible. He then proceeds to make a joke about his own amputation as Toothless getting even, just to try and ease the tension.
  • Gothi gets an adorable one right before she gets swarmed by her terrible terrors when all the pet dragons return to their owners at the end.
  • Snotlout's face just before Fishlegs flies into him in the opening.
• Oh, My Gods!: Said verbatim by Astrid in response to Hiccup explaining to her that Stoick wanted him to take up the mantle of Chief.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Stoick loses his usual cool when hearing about Drago Bludvist.
• Ooh, Me Accent's Slipping: Cate Blanchett's Scottish accent is a little intermittent.
• Pair the Spares: At the end, Eret has no dragon and Skullcrusher misses a rider. Guess what happens.
• Personal Horror: Toothless killing Stoick.
• PG Explosives: When Stoick is blasted at short range by a Brainwashed and Crazy Toothless, it kills him, but doesn't otherwise do any apparent damage to his body.
• Power Glows: Toothless' nostrils, throat, and dorsal ridges starts emitting a blue glow after he Took a Level in Badass.
• The Power of Friendship: Hiccup is able to use this to break Toothless free of the Bewilderbeast's mind control. To make it not cliche however, he needed a little more than that (which Hiccup provided).
• Premature Birth Drama: Hiccup's mother reveals that he was "born early into this world", and she feared that he wouldn't survive.
• Pre-Mortem One-Liner: Drago delivers one by proxy to Hiccup, telling him that while Toothless is under the Alpha's command "... You. Are. Nothing."
• Properly Paranoid: Stoick is completely right in claiming that Drago is beyond reason, and that he will try to take over Berk with his dragon army.
• Prosthetic Limb Reveal: Drago reveals to Hiccup that he lost his entire arm in a dragon attack, not to mention his whole family and his village. The arm was replaced with a metal one, which he detaches on Hiccup's eyes. It all serves as his Freudian Excuse to try dominating everyone so that he never has to fear anyone again.
• Punny Name: Lampshaded. Valka tells Stoick to "stop being so stoic" in such a way that it's impossible to miss the pun.
• Relationship Upgrade: It was pretty much settled already, but when Hiccup and Astrid kiss at the end, it's set in stone. They're a couple now, and always will be.
• Retirony: Throughout the movie, Stoick is trying to convince Hiccup to take his place as chief of Berk. Guess what happens to him.
• Reunion Kiss: Stoick and Valka kiss for the first time in 20 years after being separated for so long.
• Ridiculously Cute Critter: Tons of baby dragons at the Ice Nest, especially the Scuttleclaws who never listen to anyone. The dragon riders borrow a few young Scuttleclaws to ride back to Berk and stop Drago's invasion.
• Rousseau Was Right: Zigzagged. Hiccup believes that anyone can change for the better, despite everyone's protests against reasoning with Drago, because it worked the last time he had to deal with an angry mob. In the end, Drago proves him wrong, while Eret proves more receptive. The lesson? Context matters, people.
• Rule of Three:
  • It takes Toothless three tries to be able to catch Hiccup when flying on his own because of his prosthetic fin hampering his movement.
  • It takes Hiccup three tries to free Toothless from the Bewilderbeast's control. Talking Toothless down failed, shouting for him when Drago ordered his army to move out failed. But the next time he tries...
• Running Gag:
  • Hiccup's tendency to fly into large geological formations.
  • The Snotlout-Ruffnut-Fishlegs (plus Eret) Love Triangle, up to and including its inversion at the end where for once Ruffnut is waiting to embrace her two admirers... and they run straight past her towards their dragons.

Tropes S to Z

• Sacrificial Lion: After Drago has the upper hand, Stoick dies when he takes a shot meant for Hiccup.^note Originally, Gobber was the one who was meant to be killed by the brainwashed Toothless. But when Guillermo del Toro read the draft, he suggested that Stoick should be killed instead, as it would have a bigger impact.

• Saved for the Sequel: Drago dives into the ocean along with his (still alive) Alpha after being defeated, neither ever to be seen again. As Hiccup makes indirect reference to Drago as someone who continues to threaten Berk in his final speech, it's apparent that this was meant to be a hint to them returning in a future installment. As of the third film, however, Drago has been written out and passed off by his allies as having been "defeated."
• Scenery Porn: This is a DreamWorks Animation film. It's one of their studio hallmarks.
• Sequel Escalation: This movie has around 20 new species of dragon introduced, which is way more than the species shown in the first movie.
• Sequel Hook: A lot is made of Toothless being The Last of His Kind. As it turns out in the third movie, a dragon hunter named Grimmel is responsible for this.
• Shadow Archetype: Hiccup has two, both his mother and Drago fit, for different reasons.
• Shipper on Deck:
  • Stoick has signed onto Hiccup/Astrid, declaring her his future daughter-in-law during the dragon race.
  • Toothless really wants Stoick and Valka to get back together, as seen when he pushes her into him after he asks her to come back to Berk and be his wife again.
• Shout-Out:
  • Stranger in a Strange Land much? Stoick even says Drago was a 'Stranger from a Strange Land'
  • The wave-like ice sculpture Hiccup and Astrid come across looks a lot like the one Jack and Pitch made while fighting in Antarctica, and parts of the interiors resemble Superman's Fortress of Solitude (especially in Superman: The Movie).
    • Speaking of Rise of the Guardians, Hiccup's hair slightly resembles Jack Frost's after getting frost breathed into his face by Valka's Bewilderbeast.
  • In the climax of the film, Toothless' Eleventh Hour Super Power resembles a certain other monster, complete with blue light-up scales along his back.
  • Hiccup's Flaming Sword brings to mind a certain barbarian or a galaxy far far away.
    • Or another dragon rider with a flaming sword.
  • Dragon Racing. Replace "dragons" with "brooms" and "black sheep" with "Golden Snitch" and it bears a striking resemblance to Quidditch. Astrid even briefly mimics Harry's "standing flight" from the first movie when she closes in on the Black Sheep.
  • When Valka is leading Hiccup through the rocks to her nest and he follows in protest is very similar to a scene with Rafiki and Simba from The Lion King.
  • Valka's armor and the way she stands on Cloudjumper resembles the Statue of Liberty. Likely deliberate, as Valka is looking for a way to free the dragons from Drago.
    • The helmet also resembles a dragon priest mask from Skyrim.
  • Eret son of Eret's name sounds a lot like Timmett son of Timmett.
    • He's also voiced by Kit Harrington
  • The roaring sound Drago uses to command his dragons sounds like William Shatner's infamous "KHAN!" yell.
  • According to Dean DeBlois, Drago was named after Ivan Drago.
• Spam Attack: Once Toothless frees Valka's and Berk's dragons, he tells them all to open fire on Drago's Alpha. Even the giant Bewilderbeast can't stand up for long against a draconic Macross Missile Massacre and quickly retreats to the sea.
• Spanner in the Works: The baby dragons, who don't take commands from anyone, including the Alpha Dragon, are the key for the heroes to get back to Berk and fight back against the Alpha long enough to free Toothless.
• Summon Bigger Fish: A rare villainous example. As Drago marches on Valka's Dragon Den, the resident Bewilderbeast emerges to defend his home from the invaders. Drago's army would have been easily routed by the massive dragon, so Drago unleashes his own Bewilderbeast. The two titans fight, but eventually Drago's beast comes out on top and kills Valka's, giving Drago command of all the dragon opposition and securing his victory.
• Super Mode: Near the end of the movie, Toothless starts glowing, and his explosive blasts grow to be so powerful that he is able to fight off a dragon roughly 1000 times his own size.
• Super-Strength: Most of the dragon riders are Made of Iron, but Valka is an unusual example. In the finale, she is able to lift a metal dragon helmet effortlessly, while Gobber has trouble holding it up.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Having spent most of the film insisting that he can talk to Drago and resolve the conflict peacefully, Hiccup finally meets Drago face-to-face. His words of peace fall on deaf ears as it becomes apparent that Drago truly is a psychotic tyrant with no intention of changing his ways. In the final battle, Hiccup ultimately has no choice but to defeat Drago through force.
• Taking the Bullet: Stoick jumps in front of Hiccup to protect him from Toothless' blast.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Hiccup during his first test of his glider-suit shouts "This amazing!" He immediately sees a pinnacle of rock that he's about to collide with. "No longer amazing!"
  • Eret remarks how he and his crew are dead if they do not get their hands on some dragons soon. No points for guessing who is behind him and about to kidnap him.
  Astrid: Careful what you wish for!
  • In a much darker sense, while sharing a moment with his parents together for the first time he could remember... Hiccup proceeds to declare that everything will work itself out now. He loses his father in the subsequent battle, which kicks off moments after he makes that declaration.
• This Cannot Be!: Line spoken by Bludvist when Toothless breaks free from the Alpha's brainwashing due to the Power of Friendship.
• Threat Backfire: When Drago captures Astrid and the other riders, minus Hiccup, Astrid tries to make him back down by boasting of their many dragons and specifically of Hiccup's ability to train them. Drago instead sees it as a challenge to his authority and is only that much more determined to prove himself superior, causing him to move up his timetable and attack immediately.
• Threesome Subtext: By the end of the film, it appears that Ruffnut is interested in returning the affections of Fishlegs and Snotlout.
• Throat Light: Part of Toothless' Super Mode.
• Time Skip: The film is set five years after the first.
• Time to Unlock More True Potential: Eret was a very talented dragon hunter, but it is revealed that it was one aspect of his natural talent as a dragon trainer, which his Heel–Face Turn seemed to unlock.
• Tongue on the Flagpole: When Toothless is using a giant icicle to draw in the snow, the icicle gets stuck to his tongue.
• Too Happy to Live: Stoick and Valka are way too happy in their reunion, which makes it all the more tragic when Stoick ends up being killed.
• Took a Level in Badass: EVERYONE, Hiccup especially.
• Trailers Always Spoil:
  • The first full-length trailer gives away the reveal of Hiccup's mother and the Big Bad. In the film, we're supposed to believe Valka is Drago until she removes her mask.
  • It also briefly shows Hiccup and the others riding baby dragons at one point, revealing their own dragons have been kidnapped.
  • One of the posters shows a blue glow coming from Toothless' nostrils, spoiling the color scheme that Toothless gains at the climax.
• Tranquillizer Dart: Drago's men throw darts that instantly knock out dragons.
• Trojan Prisoner: After the riders and their dragons are captured then subsequently break loose, they hide in the traps Drago is using to hold their dragons. When Drago makes land and has the traps opened to capture more dragons, out they come.
• Tuck and Cover: During the Final Battle at Berk, Toothless shields Hiccup from a blast of ice breath.
• Uncatty Resemblance:
  • A lot of riders resemble their dragons, but Hiccup and Toothless are the epitome. Both are crippled in a limb that is fixed with a prosthetic, both are smaller than their compatriots and instead fit into Weak, but Skilled, and even share similar snarky, fun-loving attitudes. Further solidified at the end of the movie; the scrawny Hiccup inherits the title of Chieftain from his massive father Stoick and becomes the leader of his people, while the much-smaller Toothless challenges Drago's colossal Bewilderbeast and succeeds, becoming Alpha and the leader of his people.
  • Drago and his Bewilderbeast. Massive, overpowering, and dark-clothed/colored. Both intimidate foes into submission, and conquer their way to the top (Drago raising a dragon army, his Bewilderbeast taking the title Alpha and bending all dragons to his will). Made more explicit at the climax; Drago is missing his left arm, and his Bewilderbeast's massive left tusk is blown off as he is defeated.
• Unflinching Walk: Drago does this through Hookfang's fire stream!
• Unstoppable Rage: After everything Hiccup has done to save or try to save Toothless throughout the film, refusing to abandon his best friend even when he was Brainwashed and Crazy, Drago has had enough of Hiccup's interference and orders the Bewilderbeast to end him. Toothless dives to take the blast, then blows the ice prison up, declaring to all that his Berserk Button is well and truly pressed. In his intense anger he starts glowing, not only gaining a massive increase in the power of his explosive blasts, but also gaining complete immunity to the Bewilderbeast's ability to hypnotize smaller dragons. He then channels a Godzilla impersonation that is far more accurate than a twenty-foot-long animal has any right to pull off.
• Viking Funeral: A funeral (for Stoick, after saving Hiccup at the cost of his own life) is conducted by floating the body out on a boat and lighting it on fire with a flaming arrow, while a eulogy is given mentioning Valkyries welcoming the departed into Valhalla.
• Villain Ball: Drago's overconfidence and pride often leads him to behave in ways that are, to say the least, imprudent. Drago is so certain that his control of a Brainwashed and Crazy Toothless is absolute (which, admittedly, he had demonstrated by forcing Toothless to try to kill Hiccup, resulting in Hiccup's father dying instead) that he just lets Hiccup have as much time as he needs to try to use The Power of Friendship to save Toothless. Drago is stunned when it works. Toward the end of the film, Drago is so certain in his dragon army, which is only secured through the Alpha, that he leaves his human army behind to conquer Berk on dragon power alone.
• Violence Really Is the Answer: Hiccup believes that Drago will see reason and call off the attack if he can just be talked to; Stoick counters that a man who kills without a reason cannot be reasoned with and war is just what Drago wants. It turns out Stoick is right.
• The Voiceless: David Tennant not being able to make it this time around, Spitelout doesn't get any lines in this movie.
• Walk the Plank: This is how Drago intends to execute Eret and the riders (minus Hiccup). As they're doing it into freezing waters, this would very quickly be fatal, one way or another. Eret is able to break them out.
• The Warlord: Drago Bludvist, the main antagonist of the film, is a tyrannical warlord, who commands an utterly massive diverse army complete with a gigantic armada of warships and powerful siege engines, as well as numerous captured dragons who Drago abuses into utter obedience. It is his goal to use the dragons to create a world ruled by fear, where everyone worships him as the Dragon God.
• Watch Out for That Tree!: Watch out for that stone pillar, Hiccup.
• Wham Line:
  • Stoick catches up to Hiccup attempting to arrange a meeting with Drago. He attempts a What the Hell, Hero?, saying what Hiccup is doing is irresponsible. Hiccup counters, "I'm trying to protect our dragons and stop a war. How is that irresponsible?" Stoick then says, his expression changing, "Because war is what he wants, son!" Hiccup pauses, as Stoick proceeds to explain. The viewer then realizes that Drago may be unreasonable.
  • When Valka fingers Hiccup's scar, she recognizes him and addresses him by name. He says if he knows her, and she admits no. "But a mother never forgets."
• What Happened to the Mouse?:
  • Towards the end, Drago declares an attack on Berk. He makes it there with his Alpha and dragon army, but his human followers are nowhere to be seen. That said, given the sheer amount of damage Hiccup and Co. inflicted as well as the fact that Drago increased the number of dragons under his control by at least an order of magnitude, he may not have felt a need to wait for his human followers to recover. He told his crew to 'meet him at Berk' when he departed, suggesting that indeed he was planning on making it there faster than his human crew was in order to begin the assault himself. They were probably still en route.
  • Also occurs with Drago himself, as his fate is unspecified when the Alpha retreats into the water with him still on it.
  • What happened to Eret's crew?
• The World Is Just Awesome: Hiccup and Toothless' first onscreen flight sequence, everything from skimming the top of the seas with a pack of wild Thunderdrums, glimpsing Timberjacks in the upper skies, to Hiccup busting out his new wingsuit; everything in that bit is worth the price of admission entirely on its own.
• Worthy Opponent:
  • Drago obviously considers the Alpha one.
    Drago: The Alpha! Now we have a fight!
  • Drago also seems to think of Hiccup as one, as he immediately seems to recognize him and Toothless as the largest threat with a grumbled "Dragon Master...".
  • He also seems to think of Valka as a worthy match, telling her that he's "waited a long time for this" when confronting her one-on-one after she summons the Alpha. The feeling is not mutual.
• You Can't Thwart Stage One: Even though the good guys got the upper hand in the battle for the Sanctuary, Drago manages to get his Alpha to kill off Valka's, thus being able to amass his dragon army. He also manages to take control of Berk's dragons and freeze/destroy a good portion of Berk before his Alpha is defeated.
• You Have Failed Me: Drago hates when people fail his expectations. When Eret came in under-quota on dragon trapping, Drago branded his chest as a reminder of his failure. When Eret ends up attracting the attention of a town of dragon-riders, he sentences him to death. This leads to Eret's Heel–Face Turn.

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I'll swim and sail on savage seas
with ne'er a fear of drowning...
And gladly ride the waves of life
if you will marry me...

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