Drago and Hiccup both have missing limbs on their left side, they both saw the village being burnt by dragon fire, they both saw their family being taken. Something which I hope they’ll explain in the thrid installment is how Drago chose not to look on the positives like Hiccup did and instead chose to follow hatred. As for the tribute to Stoick, I think you may had your eyes closed when Hiccup did the final voice over. The moment after Hiccup said, “This is Berk. A bit trampled amd covered in ice but it’s home. It’s our home.” He glances over to the Great Hall where a staute of Stoick is being built. He was indeed mentioned by Valka also when she said, “Your father, he’d be every bit as proud as I am.” I think that having Toothless kill Stoick, shows the amount of darkness and seriousness in the franchise and shows it’s willingness to go there.
I personally did enjoy Big Hero 6 but with all the similarites it had with HTTYD made not not love it and left me in a bad mood. Why? Becuase I don’t want DreamWorks to robbed out of another oscar. I personally feel that Big Hero 6 shows the clear desperation and pressure Disney has trying to find an answer to HTTYD. I think I know the reason why so many scenes were similair but I don’t wanna waste your time with that.

Fair analysis, but I just don’t see it. I don’t see how Hiccup could’ve become Drago. Whatever few similarities there were between them, honestly, all I saw was a guy wanting to take over the world vs. the meek and reluctant (less so than the first film, but still) hero.

On the Big Hero 6 death, I completely disagree with you. Character deaths actually make more sense the earlier they take place in the story because the clearer the death’s connection with the protagonist’s journey. Hiro’s taking-for-granted the bond he shares with his brother Tadashi had to be severed in some way for his journey to commence. In other words, the story does not happen. What more direct way to do that than to do a murder mystery-like plot. Sure, the latter 2/3 of the film were a bit by-the-numbers, but I’m mostly okay with that because the setup was quite good.

As for HTTYD 2, sure killing Stoick is an option, but the manner with which it was handled was not that emotionally effective. For one thing, this is close to the end of the film already. I think the best way for me to explain it is that the way in which the death was handled felt like Stoick was just pulled out of the film, had a brisk funeral, and then no mention of him was made again. I recall sitting in the theater towards the end of the movie hoping that some sort of tribute would be made in his honor, but…nothing. If Hiccup was going to succeed him anyway, perhaps not in spirit but purely because he’s the chief’s son, then that urgency isn’t exactly present. The death reminded me of Kick-Ass’ father’s death in KICK-ASS 2. Dies in a brutal manner, “thanks for being here for his funeral”, then never mentioned again.

By the way, you mentioned that film had a time limit. All stories do, and when they don’t use that to their advantage, it shows. If HTTYD 2’s Act III was everything post-funeral, then that’s not good at all. Brisk and anti-climactic, plus picking up the baby dragons clashed tonally with the dark character moment that just occurred. Why the filmmakers couldn’t have just made the big battle where Stoick dies the climax, I don’t know.

Imagine that! Drago’s technique of having the Alpha control Toothless doesn’t immediately kill, but mortally wounds Stoick, who jumped to protect his son. Hiccup calms down Toothless and snaps him out of the hypnosis. Brisk apology. Hiccup and Drago have their final battle. Hiccup wins when Drago tries desperately to reconquer the alpha and gets his comeuppance. Hiccup rushes to his dying father, who parts with words of wisdom that demonstrate that Hiccup has truly ascended to the role of chief. The film ends with the characters looking on as the funeral pyre floats away. What a way to foreshadow the challenging future Hiccup has ahead of him!

Oh, and if the voice-over montage the films begin and end with are for bookending purposes, feel free.

Sure, the death may have still been 11th hour plot turn, but come on, that would’ve been a better Act III than how the film actually ended up, which comprise of curious plot turns that just achieve the emotional impact they were intending to accomplish.

Even if 22 Jump Street opened in 1,000 more screens, its box office victory over HTTYD 2 will always be brought up as one of the rare and slightly embarrassing examples in which an adult film beat the family family.

Not only is HTTYD 2 that great in my opinion, but it’s not better than the first film for me, it’s not a DW masterpiece for me, and there are clear better animated films in contention for that Oscar. BIG HERO 6 deserves it more, and even I admit that film has its problems, though not as serious as HTTYD 2. Same with THE BOXTROLLS, though giving the Oscar to a stop-motion film would be nice. THE BOOK OF LIFE, with its dazzling animation and admittedly simple story that surprised me with the emotion it pulled off, also deserves it more in my opinion. (And, if there’s one thing I’m a sucker for, it’s a simple story that manages to pull off emotion without being overtly manipulative. I prefer generic with a few clever and unique touches over setting the bar too high and failing to match it.) SONG OF THE SEA also has dazzling animation at which to marvel, with a simple, tender story to boot.

Lastly, there are the two standout efforts of 2014–THE LEGO MOVIE and (my personal favorite) THE TALE OF PRINCESS KAGUYA. Right there, no contest.

I apologize if I seem to hate HTTYD 2. I don’t hate it. It’s an okay film. It’s just not the masterpiece that many are calling it. I know this because I’ve talked to many of my friends, some of whom loved the film upon first viewing, about my problems with the film. As time went on, I was struck by how they all gradually came to agree with me and/or were relieved that others saw the flaws as well.

It’s not a matter of taste, but of character decisions, plot, and emotional impact–basic story elements that HTTYD 2 struggles to pull off. To call the film a masterpiece while overlooking its serious flaws not only does a disservice to one’s critical eye, but also to the film itself. It’s beautiful to admit that a film has flaws. As long as many continue to avoid applying that lesson to certain films, those films will always leave a bad taste in any serious film buff’s mouth. They do for me.

When HTTYD 2 comes up in conversation, I want my friends and I to talk about the family reunion scene that was depicted so poignantly. I want to talk about the masterful flying scenes that the franchise pulls off with gusto. And I want to talk about how HTTYD wisely eschews the modern-day references for some old-school storytelling. Those are things that even merely-solid films can display with pride. And I’m completely cool with that.

Has it ever occured to you that Drago is what Hiccup could have been? Yeah the villian isn’t all out perfect I’ll agree with you on that but that was only because they had a time limit for this film. If you listen closely to what Drago says when Hiccup confronts him, you can get an understanding to why he’s become the man he is today. Bear in mind that this is only the second chapter of a three part story so you can expect questions to go unanswered. To me Big Hero 6 had an unnecessary death and was written only for the sake of making the audience depressed and giving the film a darker tone. Yes Dragons 2 did have the death of character, Stoick but his death was indeed necessary. Without his death Hiccup would have never gained the guts to take on the mantle of cheif. The reason why Dragons 2 didn’t earn alot of money is because 22 jump street opened in 1000 more cinemas. It’s just my opinion and respect yours of course as well, but I truley believe Dragons deserves the oscar for the tirless work Dean Deblois and the rest of crew put in to this amazing franchise, which not only be called DreamWorks’ masterpiece but the best animated trilogy of all time.
Believe it!

Even if the scenarios were similar, I think HTTYD 2’s problem was execution and transitioning. Big Hero 6, for me, just handled them better, including and especially when certain character deaths were involved.

Plus, at least with the villain Disney tried to subvert the developer vs. activist trope whereas HTTYD 2’s villain holds no distinguishing traits to make him stand out.

Yes, numbers don’t judge a film. But they can most certainly hint at how a film should be judged.

Big hero 6 mimics the relationship of Hiccup and Toothless, the scene called ‘First Flight’ mimics ‘Test Drive’. Hiro is a copy Hiccup even someone here on rotoscopers said that he was ‘Hiccupifed’ How To
Train Your Dragon 2 is an example of how all sequels should written. Disney all ready had it’s year with frozen now it’s time that they share the spot light. Dragons 2 deserves the oscar not a copy Bh6’s so called heart over the friendship between a boy and his robot is an absoult copy of the first dragon’s film. Sure Dragons didn’t do so well in the box office but numbers don’t judge a film solely. Oh and by the way Big Hero 6’s villain also had a weak villian.

I agree.

For me, honestly, HTTYD 2 will go down as one of the most overrated films of 2014. Don’t people realize that it does exactly what typical sequels do–that is, just do everything bigger? The only things that truly worked for me in that film were the flying sequences (of course) but also the family reunion sequence (really emotional stuff). Because those things were genuine and fresh. Everything else missed the marks that the first film hit so effectively, especially the cookie-cutter, underwritten villain whose final showdown was so anticlimactic that my jaw dropped in outrage. Not to mention the surprisingly-heavy preachiness of the whole humans and dragons should get along together message.

What many amateur and professional critics praised was absurdly different from what I ended up seeing on the big screen. In retrospect, I’m not surprised at all that the film didn’t resonate fully with audiences.

If it wins the Oscar, I will be extremely furious. BIG HERO 6 deserves it more and I haven’t even brought up THE LEGO MOVIE–the closest thing to a year-defining animated film we have for 2014. I’d support those films, The Book Of Life, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and Song of the Sea, before showing support for HTTYD 2.