How to Train Your Dragon 2 is available now to Buy & Keep on Sky Store.
Digital Spy has partnered with Sky Store to relive the best moments from DreamWorks's high-flying box office smash hit. Read on to get reacquainted with Toothless, Hiccup and the amazing Viking world of Berk as we list five reasons why the animated sequel is a must-see.
1. Toothless and Hiccup are adorable
Right at the heart of the How to Train Your Dragon movies is the friendship between viking boy Hiccup and his Night Fury dragon Toothless. First time around they were two oddball outcasts, and now the pair are very much integral to their community. Their scenes together in this sequel are funny, heartwarming and a big part of why we love these films so much.
2. The supporting characters are brilliant
All the characters you know and love from the first movie are back. There's Hiccup's girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera), the wise-cracking Snotlout Jorgenson (Jonah Hill) and Fishlegs Ingerman (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), plus Gerard Butler lends his booming voice to the role of Hiccup's dad Stoick the Vast.
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We're also introduced to a new character in Cate Blanchett's Valka, a badass warrior from the Arctic with a Stormcutter dragon and a link to Hiccup's past. Game of Thrones fans are in for a treat, too, with Kit Harington voicing dragon trapper Eret.
3. It's visually spectacular
The Viking village of Berk plays host to the action, and it's a brilliantly-realised world from the super-talented animators at DreamWorks. Where the film really soars, however, is when Toothless takes flight for some swooping sky-bound action. In terms of pure eye candy, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is probably the best-looking blockbuster since Avatar.
4. It's not afraid to be a little bit scary
Though animated films are usually aimed at the younger viewers, the best of them aren't worried about going to dark places. Remember the trauma of Bambi's mum?
How to Train Your Dragon 2 is packed with villains and gargantuan monsters that'll shake you up. Djimon Hounsou's evil dragon hunter Drago Bludvist is an intimidating adversary, but he's got nothing on the 'Alpha' Bewilderbeast when it comes to the making you want to duck behind the sofa.
5. It'll make you laugh and cry
How to Train Your Dragon 2 follows in the tradition of animated classics of the past by managing to both tickle your funny bone and tug at the heartstrings. On the matter of the former, look out for some airborne weaponised sheep; with the latter we don't want to give too much away, but there's a moment of absolute heartbreak that leaves a lasting impact.
Director Dean DeBlois has cited The Empire Strikes Back as an inspiration, and it's not hard to see why. Events that unfold here shake up Hiccup's life in huge ways that we're sure will be explored in How to Train Your Dragon 3.
