Title: Thor: Tales of Asgard
Director: Sam Liu
Starring: The voice talents of Clancy Brown, Rick Gomez and Chris Britton
Running Time: 77min, Unrated, Available on Blu-Ray
Young Thor and his brother Loki start on a quest to search for a legendary fire sword, the Lost Sword of Surtur, as they stow away on a ship belonging to the Warriors Three.
To those of you who are unfamiliar with the Marvel Comics version of Thor, then you really have nothing to worry about. This movie was very much in the spirit of Teen Titans or Young Avengers; headstrong teenagers who are trying to discover their roles in life and encountering adventure along the way.
The Blu-Ray extras have two different commentaries – the first by producer Craig Kyle and Screenwriter Greg Johnson, and the second with Supervising Director/Producer Gary Hartle, Director Sam Liu and Character Designer Phil Bourassa. There is a very interesting behind the scenes segment that delve into the original Marvel comic version of Thor and the creators tell how they took some of the idea for the movie from a little known 12 issue comic called “Thor: Son of Asgard.” They then go into the perception art of the visually stunning opening titles and the writing of the score.
The animation was decent, and the story was engaging enough. The live-action film version of Thor perhaps has clouded my vision. This animated movie took place before Thor was banished to Earth, and truthfully, his backstory really isn’t as interesting as I wanted it to be. The animated version is definitely not for little kids. It‘s seemingly more violent than the live action film. The long scenes involving Sif and the Valkyrie probably could’ve been cut down. There was a heavy almost Sapphic feel to those scenes. There’s nothing wrong with women feeling empowered, but it was a bit of overkill. I wanted more of the Warriors Three, and if they decide to make another movie, they should make those guys the focal point; they were great characters.
Total Rating: B+
Reviewed By: JM Willis
