Summer's high flyer

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (PG)
Running time 102 minutes
Rating:****
Some of the best animated fantasy films have been those that combined the solid grounding of human emotions and problems with the airy fantasies of worlds that could not possibly exist in our reality.
Films such as Rango, about a lost chameleon-turned gunfighter, and Up! ,with a grumpy widower forging a new life with curious children in an airborne house.
The How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, currently running at two films, with a third in production, is of the same kind and, it must be said, of much the same quality. Episode 2, out now, like any good sequel, overlaps the narrative to provide comfort and familiarity, but extends the story into new fields.
How To Train Your Dragon 2 brings back Hiccup, son of the chief of the Viking village of Berk, where five years earlier, inhabitants battled with dragons, until they all learned to live with them and appreciate one another’s talents.
Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is a bit of a slacker, much to the annoyance of father Stoik (Gerard Butler), and prefers riding his dragon Toothless to discover new lands, rather than learning how to be chief-in-waiting.
On one journey he discovers a new land, full of wild dragons, all helped by mysterious dragon rider Valka (Cate Blanchett) – who turns out to be much more than simply a new acquaintance.
But just when everything looks as if it’s all going to be wonderful – Viking dancing, lots of drinking – along comes Drago Bludvist, a power-crazed Captain Ahab sort of character, intent on controlling dragons and everyone else while seeking revenge for suffering an earlier injury.
Hiccup must learn to get on with grumpy dad and new mum, work out how to deal with new enemies and generally sort it all out, while still trying to be a typical slacker teen – Viking style.
The story has just enough emotional content to dampen the eye and keep audiences engaged, while production company DreamWorks weaves its computer magic upon the visuals. They are superb, with fine detail and vistas to make the presentation surprising and yet believable. Director Dean DeBlois keeps it all afloat with the aplomb he showed in Episode 1 of the franchise.
The actors are top drawer, although why all Vikings have to have poor Scottish accents is not entirely clear.. And the total package has come in for some high praise in the US, where it has been running for some weeks. Critics and audiences love the film, giving it good ratings and that means plenty of cash tinkling into the coffers.
So, if you are looking for a film that will suit the whole family, then this could be a likely candidate for the summer holiday nightmare scenario of: “What are we going to do today?”