Thor: Tales of Asgard [DVD]

Long before the seven-foot, blond, muscle bound, Nordic warrior is seen swinging his "Mjolnir" hammer at his clowned-costumed brother, Loki, Thor was the elder teenage prince who lived in the majestic royal court of his father Odin, King of Asgard and yearned to show his military skills.

This is a full-length feature animation film of the early years of Thor, Loki and The mystical Nine-Kingdom realm of Nordic folklore. This takes place long before he becomes the superhero most of us know him as.

This is also a brilliant piece of animated storytelling to boot.

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As someone who has bought and loved comics as a kid and more recently as a buyer of Alex Ross' "graphic novels," THOR has always been an enigma for me. I don't ever remember as a kid ANY issue of Thor where they talked about his background. Every issue was an epic battle with Loki. Those stories got old REAL quick. After awhile, I only ran into Thor when he was with the Avengers.

In THOR: TALES OF ASGARD, my many questions have been answered. This is a phenomenal animated movie. If you're familiar Nordic or Northern European folklore, many of the characterizations are present here.

This film is not in any way like a take on a television animated, this has the feel of a Disney feature. The concept was well thought out and each character/ community had very distinct personalities from the people of Asgard, to the Valkyries, to the Frost Giants.

No superheroic, super powered feats, this is a story of a father and son and the boundaries that are crossed into manhood.

For Thor, his rite of passage means to stow away aboard the "Warriors Three" ship in search of the magical Lost Sword of Sutur. Along the way there's a bar fights, flying horses, trespassing on distant lands, long treks up glacial mountain tops, snow sprites and ferocious Frost sentries, leagues of Amazonian maiden warriors, a flaming sword, an avenging Dark Elf and armies marching upon the grounds of Asgard.

I don't miss the Thor of the comic book pages, this is like an illustrated page from The Lord of The Rings with all of the pomp and adventure.

In addition to this hour and fifteen minute movie is a fascinating documentary on the Making of.

This is a great introduction to the comic book hero, but unfortunately it's so good that any other Thor has to be reworked in light of it.

THOR: TALES OF ASGARD, 5 very, very big stars.

This is a very enjoyable story about a character we've never seen in the comics a young Thor! The story is well told and gives a interesting insight into two of Marvels most interesting characters, Thor and his greatest enemy Loki. Hopefully this is merely the intro into some more stories about the adult Thor the Thunder God!

I honestly don't know a lot about the comic book Thor. I know quite a bit about the mythological one, but I've never really been into the comic books.

So I went into "Thor: Tales of Asgard" with a fairly open mind. This cartoon is a pretty average for its first half (much coming-of-age-and-learning-responsibility plot), and the animation is not exactly great even at its best moments. But the plot is well handled, the characters are well written, and the climactic battle between Asgard, the Ice Giants, and a wild card with an unstoppable weapon.

Teenage Thor is shocked when he's told that he only wins against Asgard's greatest warriors because they have to let him, and that nobody respects him. So after Odin forbids him to go out in search of adventure, he and his reluctant brother Loki stow away on the Three Heroes' ship. Their goal: To find the legendary sword of the Fire Giant Surta, lost in the frozen wastes of Jotunheim.

Unfortunately, Odin soon discovers that not only have his sons left Asgard against his orders, but they're causing lots of mayhem wherever they go. And after finding the sword, Thor accidentally sparks off a war between Asgard and the Frost Giants, leading an army to lay siege to his home city. Now not only must the five travelers find a way home, but they must somehow avert a massive war -- and stop a deadly foe in their own number.

"Thor: Tales of Asgard" isn't the best comic book movie I've seen -- definitely not on the level of most Batman animated movies, or the Green Lantern ones. This is mainly because of the animation, which is very Saturday-morning cartoon. Simple forms, solid sheets of hair, very thick cylindrical calves, and angular figures, and pretty interchangeable faces (especially the women!).

But the rest of it is actually pretty well done. Lots of flashy battle scenes, some clever foreshadowing (Loki's comfort with Jotunheim's weather), and some genuinely dramatic moments (Thor's horror at some of the Frost Giants actually getting KILLED). While the first half is fairly standard coming-of-age story, the second half has a very dramatic, epic feel, which is only added to by the formal language used in the script.

However, there WERE a few things that confused me. For instance, who was that woman teaching magic to Loki at the beginning? It seems like she's going to be a corrupting influence on him, but... she never appears again.

But they do give some very nice character development to Thor and Loki. One is brash, arrogant but good-hearted, and must be taught the true price of his actions; the other is intelligent and cautious, but has a definite dark streak hinting at what he will do someday. The Three are fun, Sif is a pretty standard love interest, and Algrim is a tragic, painfully dignified figure who can't quite quell his hate. The scene where he goes berserk is a bit silly, though.

"Thor: Tales of Asgard" isn't a great animated movie, but it's a pleasant way to spend a few hours. Lots of action, a likable hero, and some powerful character development.