A fun, emotional, and adventurous animation that will have viewers talking everywhere, How To Train Your Dragon 2 is one of the best animated sequels in a very long time. In this new thrilling adventure, five years have gone by since the young Viking Hiccup and a dragon named Toothless marked the beginning of an endless friendship; a friendship that changed the worlds of both the dragons and the Vikings forever.

We sat down at a recent press conference with part of the cast and their excitement for the film was not only contagious but also extremely promising. Gerard Butler, who plays Stoick (Hiccup’s Father) said, “One of the reason why I think people are gonna get so much out of this movie. One, I mean visually it’s incredible but it’s the story itself and it goes to deeper and darker places than most animated movies would dare to go.” Butler’s character can be complex as he deals with his things the way he always has, while his son Hiccup looks at the world in a different way. “I think that Stoick wants to teach Hiccup that there’s a time for fun and games. I mean Hiccup’s proved himself and by the way as interesting as what I’ve learned from him, what Stoick picks up is that there’s a different way to deal with challenges, which the younger generation can actually show the older generation. But at the same time he’s now off adventuring in these different views about how to deal with these new challenges and I’m trying to teach him about a different type of responsibility here. It’s not just about how you would like to deal with something but thinking about the people around you as well,” explained Butler.

As the father-son relationship evolves, we get to experience new characters who contribute greatly to the lives of Hiccup and Toothless, as well as all the dragons who live in a new home which they later discover. Eret (Kit Harrington), for example, fights to capture dragons for the evil Drago Bludvist (Djimon Hounsou). After being betrayed by Bludvist and saved by a dragon, Eret realizes, like Hiccup once did, that peace with the dragons is possible. As conflict between Eret, the dragons, and friends Astrid (America Ferrera), Snotlout (Jonah Hill), Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), and twins Tuffnut (T.J. Miller) and Ruffnut (Kristen Wiig) unravels, Hiccup is left understanding new issues and preparing for combat.

Kit Harrington commented, “It’s not just a kids film. It deals with some very adult issues. I haven’t seen many animated films where they deal with something so many kids in our world deal with. Like having parents that split up or single father bring up a son…. I think its great for kids to go and see it and… it’s something they can relate to.” Kit’s character Eret saw good in the dragons, but there is no convincing the evilness of Bludvist. He fights against the Vikings till the end. Djimon Hounsou tells us how he brings to life the evilness of Drago Bludvist. “For Drago I felt extremely challenged because I remember seeing the first one and I thought, ‘wow Gerry’s voice has so much power and such a presence in the story’ and so when I got called in for this I thought I had to out do this man. I had to challenge this man…” and he did!

While conflict and drama play an important role, the film is adventure from beginning to end. Along with its many factors, comedy is one that balances the film. Comedian Craig Ferguson is back playing Gobber, a funny and kindhearted workingman who went from dragon slaying to dragon dentistry. “I think that Gobber is very excited that there’s a new air of tolerance and good feeling around, so much so that he let slip a little secret about himself at one point during the film and I think that he’s also excited about the changes and he feels more upbeat at the start of the film,” said Ferguson.

From the visual team to writer and director Dean Deblois, the work that went into making this film is impeccable and really transmits to its viewer. Gerard Butler tells us, “What’s important is that you just see the love that I have for my boy. The love that everybody has for everyone in this movie! They may not always agree. They may not always see eye to eye but everybody really wants the best.”

How To Train Your Dragon 2 opens in 3D this Friday, June 13^th.