"How To Train Your Dragon 2" - Sandy Kenyon's review

It's been four years since "How To Train Your Dragon" grossed just shy of half-billion dollars in theaters around the world and critics are hailing this sequel as worthy of the original. Some say it's even better.

The folks who taught us "How To Train Your Dragon" have given us a sequel true to the original meaning both children and their parents will enjoy it and the monsters we meet first in this sequel, are more loveable than scary.

The movie begins with a dragon race that looks like something out of harry potter.

Our hero "hiccup "voiced by Jay Barushel is happy to tell us about life in Berk where dragons are no longer a problem and have, in fact, moved in.

While his dad wants him to train to be chief, he is elsewhere with his trusty "Toothless" and we get to soar right along with them.

But as cozy as the set-up may be, dark forces lie in wait outside the boundaries of Berk.

Djimon Hounsou plays Drago Bludvist. Cate Blanchett lends her voice to Hiccup's long lost mother: her scenes are among the film's most poignant and visually beautiful but the best is saved for the finale.

Good is on one side, evil on the other but the movie makes the point the line between can get blurred.

There are moments of magic here in 3-d that make this animated film, rated PG, worth your time and your money. For the most part it strikes a good balance between the serious and the silly stuff, but it's not quite as entertaining nor as funny as the original.