Dreamworks Animation has always been in its own league when it comes to animation. Pixar may have Toy Story and The Incredibles, but Dreamworks has Shrek, The Croods, and How to Train Your Dragon. The humour and the storytelling are carefully balanced in these films. However, when How to Train Your Dragon came out... it stunned the world. The animation and the music took the studio to new heights (pun intended!). How to Train Your Dragon felt more like a Pixar film than a Dreamworks Animation film, and how could you top that? It turns out, quite easily.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is such a breathtaking film, as technology had advanced since the first film and that meant they could explore more textures and landscapes than what they already did with the first film. Acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins, and film composer John Powell, crafted an extravagant movie filled with Viking music, nordic landscapes, and characters that we care for.
Let’s take a look at this shot. The diversity and variety of dragons on display here make the colours pop, with the textures and attention to detail on Toothless and Hiccup also standing out in the scene. Throughout the film, there is a careful balance of colour, with lots of different blues representing the icy climates and the burning oranges representing the flames from the dragons.
These icy colours lend a sense of rawness to the locations, a real-world feel to them.
Then this scene takes us into the skies. The aerial techniques in these films are definitely the highlight of the trilogy. The bombastic score roaring to life as the dragons take flight, with each dragon having their individual qualities to how they soar and battle between the clouds. It’s not all about fighting though, as this shot clearly shows. The encounter between this masked human and Hiccup is a poignant moment and reinforces the theme of discovery that travels throughout the series. Who is this masked person? The shot lingers, slowly shifting between their musical themes and taking us on their adventure to learn more.
Later on, we discover a dragon nest where there is an Alpha Dragon guarding and protecting them. The scale and scope of this dragon are on display in this shot. The one thing this film perfectly captures is the epicness of the story.
Like I said earlier, the colours pop out on screen and this white beast stands out from the greenery, further reinforcing the scale and scope of this Alpha Dragon. The rough texture of this titanic being also gives it that Nordic feel, by feeling world-weary and looking battle-born. The climax of the film puts this Alpha Dragon front and centre in some amazing sequences that haven’t been replicated in animation since.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 stands out above the rest in the trilogy, for further expanding the story of Hiccup and Astrid and for also expanding the horizons of their island and exploring different corners of the ocean. Filmmaker Dean DeBlois is a master at world-building and it helped put Dreamworks Animation on the map as a serious animation company, which continues today to produce films of this scale.
Thanks for reading today’s blog!
Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions
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