How to Train Your Dragon 2

Lore & Background

Stoick wants Hiccup to succeed him as chieftain, but Hiccup is unsure he is ready. Drago's trappers, led by Eret, ambush Hiccup and Astrid, and Hiccup sets off to change Drago's mind, finding instead his mother, who has spent years rescuing dragons from Drago. At her ice nest Drago's Bewilderbeast kills the reigning alpha and takes control of the dragons, and the hypnotised Toothless fires the blast that kills Stoick. The riders return to Berk on baby dragons, which the Bewilderbeast cannot control; Toothless breaks its hold and becomes the new alpha, and Hiccup is made chieftain, with Valka staying beside him.

Reader's Guide

The film premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 13, 2014. It grossed $622 million and won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and six Annie Awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Did You Know?

• Cate Blanchett voiced Valka, Hiccup's mother, a character who did not appear in the first film and whose existence fundamentally redefined Hiccup's backstory.
• Dean DeBlois both wrote and directed the film, continuing his role as the creative engine behind the entire trilogy's narrative and thematic vision.