Thor – Tales of Asgard (2011)

Directed by: Sam Liu | 74 minutes | action, animation, adventure | Original voice cast: Matthew Wolf, Jay Brazeau, Chris Britton, Clancy Brown, Gray DeLisle, Paul Dobson, Brian Drummond, Rick Gomez, Jonathan Holmes

Just as ‘Thor’ is doing good business in cinemas, Marvel strikes while it’s hot and releases the animated film ‘Thor: Tales of Asgard’. It is a cartoon that was put directly on DVD. Cringeworthy or cool?

Thor: Tales of Asgard is a prequel. The cartoon tells of the boyhood of the Norse thunder god. The arrogant son of Odin wants to make a name for himself and decides to look for the sword of Surtur, a weapon with special powers. The sword can breathe fire and gives its owner immeasurable powers. So far, so good. Unfortunately for Thor, the weapon is hidden behind enemy lines. Together with three warrior friends and half-brother Loki, the blond God goes in search of the weapon. The ice giants are not so happy with Thor invading their homeland uninvited. The already tense relationship between the gods and the ice giants deteriorates. It is war.

Thor fans will like this cartoon. However, don’t expect spectacular animation or flashy fights, because then you’ve come to the wrong place with this cartoon. The animation is pretty austere and doesn’t look particularly impressive either. It is all possible with it, but the simple sets and the simply designed characters are quite average. Marvel has performed better in the past with the cartoons around Iron Man, Doctor Strange and The Avengers. The soundtrack is also not noteworthy.

The voice actors do a good job. The casting went well and young Thor talks with a lot of bravado and arrogance. Loki sounds a little unsure again. It’s all right. The cast of the feature film has not been used, but that does not disturb for a moment. The editing is also convincing. The compact playing time ensures that the film does not collapse anywhere. The story is also full of sidelines and a surprising plot twist, so that you never lose your attention. Purists will undoubtedly have something to complain about. For example, in this film Thor is not yet in possession of his inseparable hammer Mjolnir and he fights with swords.

‘Thor: Tales of Asgard’ is a fun movie for the Marvel fan. Nicely made, fluently told and full of nice background information. The animation is decent, but no more than that. If you don’t like the thunder god, though, you can skip this prequel with confidence.