"How to Train Your Dragon 2" Soundtrack Lyrics

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"How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Music From the Motion Picture)" – Album Guide to Tracks and Key Scenes

Overview

How do you grow a beloved adventure score without losing the lift that made it fly? John Powell’s sequel plays it bigger and older: broader harmonies, darker brass writing, and folk colors dialed up to meet a story about leadership, parents, and loss. The 2014 album (Relativity Music Group) runs a full symphonic program with two new songs co-written with Jónsi—one inside the story, one for flight and credits.

The music opens the world—dragon racing anthems, sanctuary awe, war drums—then returns to intimacy for the funeral and the final bond. A later Deluxe Edition expanded the cues and alternates; the core identity stays intact: bagpipes and whistles for place, choirs for sky, and Powell’s thematic engineering holding everything together.

Questions & Answers

Who composed the score and who performs the songs?

Score by John Powell. Songs co-written with Jónsi; he performs “Where No One Goes.” “For the Dancing and the Dreaming” is sung in-character by Stoick and Valka.

When did the album release, and on what label?

June 2014 on Relativity Music Group; an expanded Deluxe Edition followed years later.

Is there a regional end-credits song?

Yes. Europe received Alexander Rybak’s “Into a Fantasy” alongside the main program.

What’s different musically from the first film?

A more mature tonal center, weightier low-brass writing, and bolder Highland pipes; themes evolve rather than reset.

Does the movie use many songs beyond Jónsi’s?

No—this is a score-led film. The principal song moments are Jónsi’s flight piece and the diegetic Stoick–Valka duet.

Was the score acclaimed?

Yes. Contemporary coverage praised the thematic development and orchestral scope.

Notes & Trivia

• The duet “For the Dancing and the Dreaming” is performed on-screen by Stoick and Valka (with Gobber chiming in).
• “Where No One Goes” is Jónsi’s new flight song with Powell; it reprises in the film and album.
• A European edition adds Alexander Rybak’s “Into a Fantasy” to the end-credits slate.
• Deluxe/expanded releases later restored unedited film cues and demos.

Genres & Themes

Symphonic adventure (grown-up) → leadership, grief, legacy. Lower brass carries cost; strings and choir keep wonder intact.

Folk/Highland timbres → identity. Pipes, whistles, and fiddle mark Berk’s culture and Hiccup’s roots.

Diegetic folk ballad → memory turned music (Stoick & Valka’s duet).

Anthemic pop-folk → propulsion and release (Jónsi’s flight song).

Tracks & Scenes

Guide: film uses mostly non-diegetic score; diegetic is noted. Timings vary by edition; placements follow widely cited cue usage and album ordering.

“Dragon Racing” — John Powell
Where it plays: Opening set-piece in Berk’s arena.
Scene: A motoric scherzo for aerial sport: hurdy flourishes and pipes over tight percussion as the teens stunt with sheep and baskets.
Why it matters: Reintroduces the world with upgraded muscle and speed.

“Together We Map the World” — John Powell
Where it plays: Early exploration montage with Hiccup and Toothless charting islands.
Scene: Wind, thermals, new coastlines—cartography as choreography.
Why it matters: Tells you five years have passed: discovery has become discipline.

“Hiccup the Chief / Drago’s Coming” — John Powell
Where it plays: Stakes pivot: leadership pressure meets the threat of Drago Bludvist.
Scene: Low brass warnings and snare tattoos carry the dread into dialogue.
Why it matters: Flags the sequel’s heavier center.

“Flying with Mother” — John Powell
Where it plays: Hiccup’s first flight with Valka in the ice sanctuary.
Scene: Aerial ballet among columned ice and clouded light; woodwinds sing, choir lifts.
Why it matters: Wonder without irony—family discovered at altitude.

“For the Dancing and the Dreaming” — John Powell & Jónsi (diegetic)
Where it plays: Stoick serenades Valka; Gobber joins; a reprise at their reunion banquet.
Scene: Rough-hewn romance with pennywhistle and drum; voices crack, then blend.
Why it matters: Character history as melody; the film’s emotional hearth.

“Stoick Saves Hiccup” — John Powell
Where it plays: Battlefield turn when the Bewilderbeast exerts control.
Scene: Brass warning calls, then a devastating cadence.
Why it matters: Music underlines sacrifice without melodrama.

“Stoick’s Ship” — John Powell
Where it plays: Funeral and farewell.
Scene: Chorale and pipes over steady, ritual percussion; flame and sea answer each other.
Why it matters: Grief voiced through ceremony; one of the series’ most solemn cues.

“Alpha Comes to Berk” — John Powell
Where it plays: Drago’s Bewilderbeast advances; Berk braces.
Scene: Low-end ostinatos and icy textures; a slow, heavy threat.
Why it matters: Villainy as geology—massive, impersonal, cold.

“Two New Alphas” — John Powell
Where it plays: Final confrontation and restoration of balance.
Scene: Themes braid: courage, kinship, flight; choir crowns the victory.
Why it matters: Earned catharsis that reclaims joy from loss.

“Where No One Goes” — Jónsi & John Powell
Where it plays: Flight montage/credits; reprises the film’s momentum in song form.
Scene: Toothless and Hiccup cut across sky and spray; drums sprint, whistles answer.
Why it matters: A radiant thesis: grow by going.

Regional credits add: “Into a Fantasy” — Alexander Rybak (European prints).

Music–Story Links

• Age shift: Heavier brass and darker modes signal leadership and consequence; themes from the first film return broader.
• Family revealed: “Flying with Mother” and the duet reframe heroism as inheritance and memory.
• Community scale: Pipes brand Berk; when choir arrives, it’s the village singing—especially in mourning and victory.

How It Was Made

Powell wrote the sequel with a larger orchestral and choral palette, leaning harder into Northern timbres (Highland pipes, whistles). Jónsi returned to co-write two pieces—one embedded (the duet), one outward-facing (“Where No One Goes”). Additional score contributions/arranging support came from trusted collaborators inside Powell’s team. The album dropped with the film’s release; the later Deluxe Edition restored and extended film versions.

Reception & Quotes

Coverage at release highlighted the matured tone and expanded color while praising Powell’s thematic continuity.

“A moodier, grown-up companion to the 2010 classic—still soaring, now weightier.” — soundtrack press

“Pipes and choir return, bigger and bolder.” — album features

“‘Where No One Goes’ carries the franchise’s pulse into song.” — music columns

Additional Info

• Formats: Digital, CD, vinyl; later 2×CD Deluxe with alternates/demos.
• Key cues to sample: “Dragon Racing,” “Flying with Mother,” “Stoick’s Ship,” “Two New Alphas,” “Where No One Goes.”
• Concert life: Suites from HTTYD 1–2 appear in film-with-orchestra programs.
• Regional variation: “Into a Fantasy” appears on European editions and prints.

Technical Info

• Title: How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Music From the Motion Picture)
• Year / Type: 2014 / Original score + songs
• Composer: John Powell
• Songs: “For the Dancing and the Dreaming” (diegetic); “Where No One Goes” (Jónsi & Powell); regional: “Into a Fantasy” (Alexander Rybak)
• Label: Relativity Music Group (original 2014); later Deluxe via Varèse Sarabande
• Runtime: ~71 minutes (standard); ~109 minutes (Deluxe)
• Notable cues: “Dragon Racing,” “Together We Map the World,” “Flying with Mother,” “Stoick’s Ship,” “Two New Alphas,” “Where No One Goes”

Canonical Entities & Relations

Subject	Relation	Object
John Powell	composed	How to Train Your Dragon 2 score
Jónsi	co-wrote & performed	“Where No One Goes”
Gerard Butler; Cate Blanchett; Craig Ferguson	performed (in film)	“For the Dancing and the Dreaming”
Alexander Rybak	performed	“Into a Fantasy” (regional end credits)
Relativity Music Group	released	2014 soundtrack album
Varèse Sarabande	released	Deluxe/expanded edition (later)
DreamWorks Animation	produced	How to Train Your Dragon 2 (film)

Sources: soundtrack release notes and platform listings; interviews/features on the sequel’s music; track-by-track databases for cue names and regional variations.

In this part of the cartoon, you will meet almost the only instrumental melodies. A little formidable as the Two New Alphas. Or almost completely lovely as Flying With Mother. Or even average on the mood as Stoick Saves Hiccup. All of them are written with great affection, but somehow not so very spectacular, as if laid-back. They do not capture with their splendor. And the latter is lot in the music. Maybe we haven’t felt the whole soul of it up to the end. Or haven’t felt what the composer wanted to convey to us – we will not deny this. But the fact remains: all the compositions have much more desire to shake the listener than the real impression. Gerard Butler (he is an actor in the film too) and Jónsi perform only voice melodies here. The first is sad and the second is funny. First is with male and female voices and catchy a little bit. And the second is not memorable – you forget about if after few minutes. But they, of course, of high quality and made with honest craftsmanship. The plot of the cartoon does not possess anything supernatural. Someone wanted all of someone’s dragons, and attacks him because of the evolutionary desire to capture more resources. Despite the simplicity, the animated film grossed $ 618 M, and together with the first part of it collected over $ 1.1 billion. Not bad, considering that the total budget is $ 300 million. So, soon we should expect the third part also. Financial indicator of ROI (Return On Investment) for both parts is equal to 330%. And for the second is even more – 427%. Strongly goes below the one that The Blair Witch Project movie has, which is 11111% – the biggest at the film’s industry (its box office is $ 250 million, when expenses on creation only USD 22500). Worthy to go to the movie with the whole family. And grab your dog. Or watch it on DVD.

November, 10th 2025

More info on IMDb, Wikipedia

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