Video Interview : Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Dean DeBlois, 'How to Train Your Dragon 2'

– By Beau Behan, Film Critic & Entertainment Reporter

Originally published at 2:11 p.m. June 13, 2014. Edited to move video to top of the page.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014), PG, 102 min, Comedy

Opening Nationwide (USA), June 13, 2014

Stars : Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Djimon Hounsou

Director : Dean DeBlois

Writers: Dean DeBlois, Cressida Cowell

If the 2010’s original adventure about Vikings and dragons raised the bar on excellence in animation motion picture, its sequel, is set to raise it higher!

A well-constructed extension of the original tale, How to Train Your Dragon 2 is epic visually as well as emotionally. Alongside his dragon Toothless, the chieftain’s son, Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) is discovering a new world outside of their peaceful village Berk. He meets a mysterious dragon rider, Valka (Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett) —his long-lost mother; and the war-wager, Drago (Academy Award-nominated Djimon Hounsou), threatening to disrupt the peace between dragons and Vikings.

Hiccup, his mother and father, Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler) and their supporters —Hiccup’s girlfriend Astrid (America Ferrera), Gobber (Craig Ferguson) and Viking friends Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) and twins Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) and Tuffnut (T.J. Miller)—must now protect the dragons.

The movie is directed and written by Dean DeBlois who only entertained the idea of helming the feature project if DreamWorks Animation would commit to a three-part series.

“The first movie can serve as the first act, this’ll be the larger second act and then there must be a third culminating act,” DeBlois says. “Thankfully, they bought into that concept.”

The film boasts a sanctuary that is populated by a multitude of background dragons. DreamWorks Animation used its new proprietary software technology, Apollo, which allows artists to design and create characters in an effortless way. It certainly helps provide a more fun-filled movie experience.

Part 3 is already in-the-works.

“I’m already working on that third installation,” remarks DeBlois. “So, it will be a complete trilogy.”

In the meantime, make sure not to miss How to Train Your Dragon 2. It is an excellent film!

5 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About How to Train Your Dragon 2

1. Stoick has a brand new dragon, “Skullcrusher.”
2. Valka’s dragon is “Cloud Jumper “ which demonstrates a lot of owl characteristics.
3. The twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut ride the same dragon, a two-headed Zippleback , Belch & Barf .
4. Valka and Stoick sing a duet in the movie.

5.There’s only one “traditional” looking dragon in the film, “Monstrous Nightmare.”

About this column: Beau Behan’s claim to fame is that his last name being the same as that of the Irish novelist, Brendan Behan. He sees himself as a romantic Rudolph Valentino type, but realizes you probably don’t. As a film critic, his work has been featured in NBC Bay Area, NBC News and Boston Globe, and can be seen on the TV show, “Beau’s Flicks & Nix,” on the Comcast Hometown Network. A “Flick” is a movie, and a “Nix” is just an opinion, nothing more. (BeauBehan.com)