I saw this today.
I love the first one. I loved this one too!
I am not sure if it is better than the first as I have to rewatch it to get quite a few jokes. But it is entertaining. The script is more mature and has fewer cliches than the first one. (which is a good thing itself I suppose, given how fresh the first one was)
The visuals are amazing. Worth the ticket itself.
The animation good except for some scenes where Hiccup and another character's lipsing is a bit odd.
Great world building.
And dragons! So many of them. Actually this has probably more dragons than humans!
The score is good.
Warning: you might be a bit disappointed if you expect to see more scenes similar to the Hiccup-Toothless meeting from the first one. There is much cuteness associated with Toothless, but no big scenes specified. Small ones scattered throughout the film. And some hilarious moments between Toothless and other dragons.
It is actually a much mature and darker film than the first one. And has lots more action.
But there is a scene near the end which packs a big emotional punch.
4.5/5
The thing that, for me, really sets apart these two films is the tiny sense of loss we feel at the end of them, which is absent in almost all children's films.
MAJOR SPOILERS!!!
I have not seen LEGO Movie, but this is definitely in the run for best animation.