More HTTYD 2 News!

Ok, this has already been up on the grapevine for a couple of days, but I felt I should cover it here as well because the news is interesting and exciting!

HTTYD2 was screened in part to members of the National Association of Theater Owners, and Dean DeBlois also gave a short talk. Some new plot points have solidified.

• HTTYD2 will open with an action scene that pretty much introduces us to all the characters of the first film.
• Stoick is pressuring Hiccup to both become chief AND to settle down and start a family.
• Hiccup goes against his father's wishes by flying off and charting out new lands and territories with Toothless.
• Hiccup will meet the new characters of HTTYD2 during his exploration.

Most of these plot points I somewhat expected, but the second one really surprised me! I think we already knew that Hiccup was sort of running from his dad and the responsibility of chief when he is flying off alone on Toothless, but the fact that Stoick wants to see him settle down, mature, and start a family sort of caught me off guard! I love how seriously developed the characters are going to be by this sequel! Also, I do think that Hiccup and Astrid will get married eventually, at least I hope so, but I also can easily see why Hiccup would be avoiding that! Being pressured by his parent to hurry up when possibly both he and Astrid don't feel ready would certainly motivate Hiccup to go against his father. I wonder what Hiccup feels about being chief. He has never been the traditional Viking, he is clearly not a traditional Viking by the second film, so I must wonder how he will cope with a position where traditions must be upheld? He is such an adventurous spirit who loves to build, experiment, learn, and explore... I wonder what kind of man he wants to grow up into, and I sort of doubt that he and Stoick have the same ideas about what he should be. Then you toss poor Toothless and Astrid into this mix! What does Astrid feel? Does she want Hiccup to hurry up, or do they want to both wait until they feel genuinely prepared? What about Toothless? I have this nasty sick feeling that Stoick may take out his frustration on Hiccup not maturing by pointing out that he spends far too much time up in the air instead of solidly on the ground with his people (both literally and metaphorically). I think we've already even gotten some lines where Hiccup is frustrated with his dad, but he promises Toothless that he will not let anything happen to him. Wow, what a huge set of problems that are real and serious! I love where Dean is taking the film, how he is giving Hiccup realistic struggles and not just tossing in villains and making a spin off. The relationship/character-based aspect of HTTYD really was its heart, so I am glad to see that that heart will still be present in the second film!

June 13, 2014 cannot come fast enough!