Thor: Tales of Asgard (2011)

The young Norse god Thor embarks on a quest with his brother Loki to find and recover a legendary sword. Thor: Tales of Asgard is a 2011 prequel that takes place years before Thor got his legendary hammer Mjolnir and it's mostly about him and Loki working together to save their home. And although both the voices, the characters and the animation were pretty good the overall story wasn't something great to brag about it was basically like the 2011 Thor film in some parts. The pacing was my biggest issue with the film and the fact that Thor is not the Thor we all know and love but overall it's a good movie but don't expect some masterpiece because it's not (7/10)

Teenaged Thor is the headstrong older son of Odin, King of the Norse gods. Determined to do something to prove himself to his father, and accompanied by his brother Loki, he stows away with the Warriors Three and off they go on a quest which develops into something quite problematic.This feature from Marvel Animation can be taken as a direct prequel to the first live action Thor film. It is a decent story, well told, with all the main characters nicely realised, both visually and vocally. Character design tends towards manga style, but fits quite well with how the story is delivered. There is a lot of action and mild violence, but nothing particularly graphic: it is exciting but not frightening, and will suit viewers from about age 6 to adult.

Before their fateful destinies could be realized, Thor and Loki were best of bros, one craving adventure and the other content with a good book and magic lessons. Here was to be the coming of age tale of Asgard's greatest legends; a tale of hope, brotherly love and of innocence lost in the fog of war.Was to be.Instead, Thor Tales of Asgard comes across as typical kid friendly fantasy fare which, aside from the emotionally charged finale, would sit well as a Disney channel afternoon special. Think Disney's "Young Hercules" or "Tarzan II" or perhaps "Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning". Unsophisticated, child friendly prequels intended for a cheap laugh and netting a little extra cash.Delayed for almost a year in order to coincide with the release of the blockbuster live action THOR film, Thor Tales of Asgard, originally named "Son of Asgard" is neither a prequel to that film nor is it an adaptation of the stylish "Tales of Asgard" stories by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. Instead of chronicling a pivotal event in the life of Thor, like his quest to prove himself worthy of wielding his enchanted hammer, or some important bit of unseen Asgardian history, Tales of Asgard feels like "just another day of adventure"; almost like a premiere episode of a TV cartoon.Eager to prove himself to his (girl)friend Sif, Thor drags the unwitting Loki to stow away on a vessel belonging to Fandral, Hogun and Volstagg, better known as the Warriors Three. Thor intends to follow the Warriors Three to the frost giants realm of Jottenheim and find the legendary Sword of Surtur. Soon they discover that tales of the Warriors' adventures have been greatly exaggerated and after a laughable turn of events, convince the three bozos to to join Thor's quest. But Frost Giants do not take kindly to trespassers and a brash act by Thor threatens to plunge the realms into war once more. The only hope for this motley crew of males to return to Asgard is to seek help from the men hating Valkyries. Meanwhile, Odin and his dark Elf court official try to delay the war through diplomacy and deal with a hidden threat from within their own ranks.Any one who has even the slightest knowledge of the fantasy genre would tell you that something called a "Dark Elf" is never good news. As if the elf's extremely helpful attitude, "smooth talking" British accent and overly humble demeanor did not already scream "I am hiding something and trying my best to look like a good guy". It is so obvious at first glance that it fails to be any sort of spoiler. The same goes for the rest of the plot. If you have seen a typical fantasy themed Disney movie, you can spell out the plot here with no problem.At least the writer, Greg Johnson, manages to pepper the otherwise boring narrative with sharp well written dialog. Particular mention goes to the way the brotherly dynamic between Thor and Loki is written, accentuated by the professional voice acting. Only Loki goes through significant character development however which climaxes at the finale and believably leads the boy down his dark future. The development is written as gradual and nuanced, a bright spot of maturity in the otherwise juvenile story.Thor Tales of Asgard further enhances its "weekend afternoon Disney show" feel through its visuals. The Japanese "AnswerStudio" is the company behind the animation work and although their stuff is not as stellar as GONZO or Madhouse, their past work on direct to DVD animation like Doctor Strange and The Invincible Iron Man maintained a better that normal standard for a direct to DVD animation. This movie however showcases animation that is no better than an episode of Ben 10 crossed with a cheap imitation of 2002's He-Man animated series artwork. Backgrounds lack detail, sometimes looking no better than a Kindergarten picture book.THe level of detail on characters is no more intricate than TV animation like Teen Titans and the colors are bright, shiny but at times flat. Even more shocking is the number of obvious animation errors. For example, At some points, the background moves out of sync with the characters feet giving the impression that they are sliding and not walking. After awesome action in shows like "Hulk Vs" and "Planet Hulk", this movie is possibly Director Sam Liu's most insipid piece of work.With the success of the live action blockbuster THOR, no doubt Thor Tales of Asgard would net in some cash, preying on uninformed kids and their parents who would not know better. It might be worth a download just out of curiosity though. Lacking the thunder of a blockbuster, the quality of a direct to DVD animation and the epic spectacle of the comic books, Thor Tales of Asgard is a tale best left untold.

It's titled Thor but it's really not the Thor we know. It's the young Thor before he had his mighty hammer Mjölnir. So Thor doesn't behave the typical way you like him to behave, here he is more of a spoiled teenager. And he doesn't drink any beer or mead. The plot is lame in my opinion, quite stereotypical for a fantasy movie but with a worse plot structure. The dialogs were childish, same for the characters behaviors. And because its set when Thor was young there is nothing happening on earth so it just feels like any kind of fantasy-animation. I liked the real Thor Movie with Chris Hemsworth way better than this one. And I also liked Thor and the depiction of Asgard in Hulk VS. Thor much better. It's just so much about action that it bored me... it is really nothing special but you can watch it if you don't have any better plans for your evening. The character development was also quite lame I think this movie could be much better if they did character introductions so that you know who is who and they could have used a smaller amount of characters. A friend of mine who saw this as well was quite confused about all those characters, for someone who doesn't know the relations between the people of Asgard and those Frost Giants and the hirarchy system in Asgard it's just all too much. And because of this each character loses it's individuality and also it's importance, in this storyline, which also leads to a loss of tension... And that's why this movie is just mediocre in my opinion.