A dark shadow hangs heavy over the visually spectacular and morally complex How to Train Your Dragon 2.
Animated kids movies have always dealt with mature themes, such as the fragility of life (Bambi) or the corrupting power of authority (The Hunchback of Notre Dame). Yet the last decade has seen these types of themes feature at a much more consistent rate.
And so it begs the question: Are animated studio such as Pixar and Dreamworks catering to a much more mature audience? Or are they pushing the hearts and minds of wee-ones into new, dark boundaries?
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a film that will no doubt test the resolve of its core audience. Yes, this Sean Deblois written and directed sequel is a wonderfully vibrant action adventure animation of high quality. But it’s also a film that deals with death, divorce, corruption, war and the representation of evil malevolence in the form of one of the more chilling villains to appear in an animated movie.
The film is set once again on the Viking village of Berk, where once mortal enemies man and dragon now work together thanks to the example set by the village chief’s son Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his jet black beast Toothless. When war comes upon their land from the feared dragon master Drago (Djimon Hounsou), a conflict of philosophies arises between village chief Stoick (Gerard Butler) who wants to take up arms, and Hiccup who preaches peace through diplomacy.
Of course many a spectacular visual sequence features in How to Train Your Dragon 2, with the scope and immersion to the wonderfully created flying sequences even better than the first.
It's the drama between these scenes that enhances the stakes in this war between dragon riding peacekeepers & dragon riding tyrants. Hiccup of course is at the centre, as his world is rocked with earth shattering revelations about his family, and also (perhaps more importantly) his deluded belief that evil incarnate can be reasoned with, a naïveté that is torn apart with stunning effect.
Having one of the scariest, intimidating villains in animation history will do that, with Djamon Honssau's gravelly voiced Drago a character future adults will point to as there first bogeyman.
Exactly how younger children will react to such a beast of a villain and his violent exploits is anyone’s guess. Perhaps swimmingly, with a generation of kids exposed to PG-13 violence on a consistent level.
What’s for certain is that adults will get a lot out of this sequel, with the dramatic meat as tasty (perhaps even more so) than the visual bombast. Parents just need to be warned that there will be plenty of questions asked and tears to be dried after those credits role. If the “darker is better” trend in animated movies continues, perhaps this will be a permanent part of family time at the movies. |