How to Train Your Dragon 2

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a 2014 American animated action fantasy film loosely based on the book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by 20th Century Fox, it is the sequel to the 2010 film How to Train Your Dragon and the second installment in the trilogy. The film was written and directed by Dean DeBlois, and stars the returning voices of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig, along with Cate Blanchett, Djimon Hounsou, and Kit Harington joining the cast. Set five years after the events of the first film, the film follows twenty-year-old Hiccup and his friends as young adults as they encounter Valka, Hiccup's long-lost mother, and Drago Bludvist, a madman who wants to conquer the world. A sequel to How to Train Your Dragon was announced in April 2010. DeBlois, who co-directed the first film, began drafting the outline in February 2010. He had agreed to return to direct the second film on the condition that he would be allowed to turn it into a trilogy. He cited The Empire Strikes Back and My Neighbor Totoro as his main inspirations, with the expanded scope of The Empire Strikes Back being particularly influential. DeBlois and his creative team visited Norway and Svalbard to look for inspirations for the setting. Composer John Powell returned to score the film. The entire voice cast from the first film also returned, while Blanchett and Hounsou signed on to voice Valka and Drago, respectively. How to Train Your Dragon 2 was DreamWorks' first film to use scalable multi-core processing and the studio's new animation and lighting software. How to Train Your Dragon 2 premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2014, and was released in the United States on June 13. It received positive reviews for its animation, voice acting, musical score, action sequences, emotional depth, and darker, more serious tone compared to its predecessor. It grossed over $621 million worldwide, making it the 12th-highest-grossing film of 2014. It earned less than its predecessor at the US box office, but performed better internationally. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film and six Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.