How to Train Your Dragon 2
| How to Train Your Dragon 2 | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Dean DeBlois |
| Written by | Dean DeBlois |
| Based on | How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell |
| Produced by | Bonnie Arnold |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | John K. Carr |
| Music by | John Powell |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates |
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Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $145 million |
| Box office | $622 million |
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a 2014 American animated fantasy film written and directed by Dean DeBlois, based on the book series by Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation, it is the second installment in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Kristen Wiig and T.J. Miller reprise their roles from the first film, with Cate Blanchett, Djimon Hounsou and Kit Harington joining the cast. Set five years after the events of the first film, it follows 20-year-old Hiccup and his friends as they encounter Valka, Hiccup's long-lost mother, and Drago Bludvist, a madman who wants to conquer the world by use of a dragon army.
A sequel to How to Train Your Dragon was announced in April 2010, with the outline first drafted in February. DeBlois, who co-directed the first film, agreed to return on the condition he would be allowed to make a trilogy. He cited The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and My Neighbor Totoro (1988) as his main inspirations, with the expanded scope of the former being particularly influential. DeBlois and his creative team visited Svalbard to look for inspirations for the setting. Composer John Powell returned to score the film. It 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 by 20th Century Fox. Like its predecessor, it received critical acclaim, with praise for its animation, characters, writing, voice acting, score, action sequences, emotional depth and darker, more serious tone. It grossed $622 million, becoming the 12th-highest-grossing film of 2014. The film won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and six Annie Awards, including Best Animated Feature, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The final installment in the trilogy, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, was released in 2019. A live-action remake is scheduled for release in 2027.