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	Jay Baruchel Cate Blanchett Gerard Butler Craig Ferguson America Ferrera Jonah Hill Christopher Mintz-Plasse T.J. Miller Kristen Wiig Djimon Hounsou Kit Harington
Edited by	John K. Carr
Music by	John Powell
Production company	DreamWorks Animation
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release dates	May 16, 2014 (2014-05-16) (Cannes) June 13, 2014 (2014-06-13) (United States)
Running time	102 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$145 million[2]
Box office	$621.5 million[3]

How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a 2014 American animated fantasy film loosely based on the book series by Cressida Cowell. Produced by DreamWorks Animation and written and directed by Dean DeBlois, it is the second installment in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, and Kristen Wiig reprise their roles from the first film, and are joined by new cast members Cate Blanchett, Djimon Hounsou, and Kit Harington. Set five years after the events of the first film, the film 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.^[4]

A sequel to How to Train Your Dragon was announced in April 2010. DeBlois, who co-directed the first film, began drafting the outline in February 2010. He had agreed to return to direct the second film on the condition that he would be allowed to turn it into a trilogy. He cited The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and My Neighbor Totoro (1988) as his main inspirations, with the expanded scope of The Empire Strikes Back being particularly influential. DeBlois and his creative team visited Norway and Svalbard to look for inspirations for the setting. Composer John Powell returned to score the film. The entire voice cast from the first film also returned, while Blanchett and Hounsou signed on to voice Valka and Drago, respectively. How to Train Your Dragon 2 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. Like its predecessor, it received critical acclaim for its animation, voice acting, screenplay, musical score, action sequences, emotional depth, and darker tone compared to its predecessor. It grossed over $621 million worldwide, making it the 12th-highest-grossing film of 2014. The film won the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film 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 will be released in 2027.