How to Train Your Dragon

Dragons: Race to the Edge – Imperfect Harmony

Alan Rapp / July 9, 2015 / Television Reviews

Title: Dragons: Race to the Edge – Imperfect Harmony
wiki: link

With the unexpected approval of his father, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and his friends embark past the known world of the Archipelago to find the unknown lands hinted at in the maps contained inside the Dragon Eye. The group’s first journey takes them to an island controlled by a Death Song whose mesmerizing call and fast-drying amber breath is the perfect method for luring in and capturing dragons just like the ones Hiccup and his friends have brought to the island.

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Dragons: Race to the Edge – Dragon Eye of the Beholder

Alan Rapp / July 3, 2015 / Television Reviews

Title: Dragons: Race to the Edge – Dragon Eye of the Beholder
wiki: link

Set before the events of How to Train Your Dragon 2, Netflix’ new series Dragons: Race to the Edge continues the adventures of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel), Toothless, and their friends. The two-part opener “Dragon Eye of the Beholder” deals with the return of Dagur the Deranged (David Faustino) and his search for treasure in a ship graveyard in the dense fog bank near the edge of the Archipelago, a battle with a new dragon, and the introduction of a mysterious artifact which will propel Hiccup on new adventures over the course of the season’s 13 episodes.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2

Alan Rapp / November 15, 2014 / Home Video

Title: How to Train Your Dragon 2
IMDb: link

Set a few years after the events of the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 continues the hero’s journey of Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Toothless and the rest of the dragon riders of Birk as Hiccup finds his long-lost mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) and squares off against a dragon army led by the villainous Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou).

How to Train Your Dragon 2 works as well for me on Blu-ray as it did in theaters (and some of the emotional beats even work better a second time). Given the quality of the first two films, I hope we see this series continue for a long time. For more on the movie, check out my original review.

The Blu-ray includes DVD and UV digital copies of the film along with a half-hour short explaining the creation of Birk’s dragon races, deleted scenes, trailers, and short featurettes on Hiccup’s inventions, Drago’s weapons, the various dragons in the film, and Birk.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2

Alan Rapp / June 13, 2014 / Movie Reviews

Title: How to Train Your Dragon 2
IMDb: link

Picking up five years after the events of the first film, How to Train Your Dragon 2 finds Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) dealing with new challenges including his father‘s (Gerard Butler) plans to hand over the kingdom of Birk to his son, an enemy (Djimon Hounsou) creating his own army of dragons to conquer the world, and the unexpected return of Hiccup’s mother Valka (Cate Blanchett) who disappeared and has been presumed dead since Hiccup was a baby.

Returning the original cast of characters including Astrid (America Ferrera), Gobber (Craig Ferguson), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Tuffnut (T.J. Miller), and Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig), the sequel leaves time for the events of the the television show to take place without forcing the viewer to have seen the series to make sense of the current state of events. Blanchett’s addition of Valka, a woman more at home with dragons than her own son, and that of Hounsou as the film’s new villain Drago Bludvist prove to be excellent choices, but the heart of the film remains Hiccup and Toothless.

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Alan Rapp / March 26, 2010 / Movie Reviews

Title: How to Train Your Dragon
IMDB: link

Aside from the fact that How to Train Your Dragon includes Vikings and dragons it’s very similar to many teenage comedies Hollywood has put out over the years. Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is your typical Ugly Duckling character. Although the term “nerd” is never uttered it’s fair to say if the Vikings had a word for Hiccup this would be the modern translation. On the Viking island of Berk the clumsy Hiccup is as far from the Viking ideal as one could get, and a constant irritation to his father (Gerard Butler).

Much like nerds of our era, Hiccup struggles with his ineptitude. He thinks too much, makes crazy inventions, and is the butt of jokes by not only the gang his own age but everyone in the village. And, of course, our hero has a crush on a girl (America Ferrera) who’s everything he’s not: athletic, self-assured, and a true warrior. Though he might not be a typical Viking, Hiccup does want to take part in his peoples’ most important mission – fighting dragons. After trapping a dragon with one of his many inventions Hiccup is unable to kill the wounded creature and instead decides to try and help the creature fly once more.

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