Dreamworks' How To Train Your Dragon 2

I didn't like it QUITE as much as the first one (although I will probably give it the same grade). It explores issues of free will, choices, and nature vs. nurture, which are issues I like seeing explored, but I'm not sure I liked all of the conclusions reached.

That being said Stoick's death was a real gut-punch and a shock, and the drama of what it did to Toothless and Hiccup also felt real. The difference for me is that if I were Hiccup I never would have forgiven him, which is where the movie falters in its exploration of choices. I understand these are actually animals, wild animals, but still, I don't feel comfortable believing these are gentle harmless creatures as long as the notion of the Alpha and mind control is out there.

Valka's movements in the cave as she and Hiccup met were pretty spooky.

It was pretty good, and about the same quality of the first film, even if I liked it slightly less. 4 stars.

Dawn Of The Dragon Racers

This is cheaper, TV animation, and half of the cast has been replaced with soundalikes. But it's not without its charms. 2 1/2 stars.

Theatrical Trailer

It reveals a little too much, but it actually could have spoiled even more than it did. Still, I'm glad I saw the movie first. 4 stars.

Fishlegs' Dragon Stats

Sort of a compendium of dragons. Overall: 3 1/2 stars.

Strike Class

Night Fury: About Toothless' species. 3 1/2 stars.

Stoker Class

Monstrous Nightmare: Interesting. 3 1/2 stars.
Terrible Terror: Kind of cute. 3 1/2 stars.
Hobblegrunt: I like that their skin changes color. 3 1/2 stars.

Tracker Class

Deadly Nadder: Astrid's dragon. 3 1/2 stars.
Rumblehorn: Also interesting. 3 1/2 stars.

Sharp Class

Stomcutter: Cloudjumper's species. 3 1/2 stars.
Scuttleclaws: I agree that they are cute. 3 1/2 stars.
Timberjack: This has cool powers for its wings. 3 1/2 stars.
Raincutter: It eats worms. Ick. 3 1/2 stars.

Mystery Class

Hideous Zippleback: Cool fire powers. 3 1/2 stars.

Boulder Class

Gronkle: Sort of like fat hummingbirds. 3 1/2 stars.
Hotburple: Sleepy. 3 1/2 stars.
Snafflefang: A crystal making dragon? Neat! 3 1/2 stars.

Tidal Class

Thunderdrum: These ones actually look scary. 3 1/2 stars.
Bewilderbeast: The Alpha. Spooky. 3 1/2 stars.
Seashocker: Cool. 3 1/2 stars.

Drago's War Machines

These profiles are about Drago and his Dragon traps and weapons. Overall: 3 1/2 stars.

Introduction

About Drago himself. 3 1/2 stars.

Dragon Trap

These seem easy to defeat. 3 1/2 stars.

Gronkle Cannon

Fishlegs takes this one personally. 3 1/2 stars.

Zipplecatcher

As far as traps go, this one is clever. 3 1/2 stars.

Nadder Nabber

Being made of wood seems like a serious design flaw to me. 3 1/2 stars.

The Snuffer

Another clever and useful trap. 3 1/2 stars.

Hiccup's Inventions In Flight

Hiccup talks about his inventions in these brief profiles. Overall: 3 1/2 stars.

Toothless' Saddle And Fin

Neat invention. 3 1/2 stars.

Hiccup's Armor And Helmet

I like that Hiccup claims the dagger is for pencil sharpening. 3 1/2 stars.

Flight Suit

They have wind-surfing suits like this nowadays. That's probably where they got the idea for this. 3 1/2 stars.

Leg

The retractable feet are cool. 3 1/2 stars.

Dragon Blade

Really complex invention. 3 1/2 stars.

Deleted Scenes

Some interesting finds. Overall: 3 1/2 stars.

Prologue

This answers all of the questions about why Eret attacked Hiccup and Astrid specifically. The filmmaker describes it as too dark, but I actually didn't get that sense from it. All that being said, I still am not sure it would have been the best place to open the movie. I'm just not sure it should have been deleted altogether. 4 stars.

The Outhouse Scene

I'm glad this is gone. 1 star.

Eret And Hiccup Swashbuckling

Kind of fun. 4 stars.

Momma's Boy

They pared this sequence down quite a bit in the movie itself. 3 stars.