Thor: Tales of Asgard

Really enjoyable movie covering the early years of Thor and Loki. This enhances the theatrical movie, without kissing it's ass. For example, it still takes many designs from the original source material, even if it conflicts with the more popular movie. Seeing the realms of Asgard in animation is wonderful, as there is less of a restraint. The character arcs of Thor and Loki are also very impressive. Their relationship is shown as one of true love, but we see their reactions to taking life. This isn't Thor Jr. and though the animation is kind of childish, there are many great themes here that would be welcome in The Avengers or any Thor sequels.

I felt this movie pretty passable as a person who isn't a fan of Thor or the Marvel franchise in general. The tone balanced mature themes and characters well with an arrogant lead and a younger target audience. I felt the pacing was good and it wasn't predictably boring.

I was really surprised I liked this movie as much as I did. The story was great, the Loki dynamic was very good and it made for a very well spent afternoon. It needed a bit more of a budget and it would have made a hell of a great MCU entry.

Interesting plot, but not my favorite Marvel animation!

This film was much better than I expected. True, it does have some anime influence (like slim bodies and expressive eyes) but most contemporary cartoons have that anyway.

In short, this movie is about a teenage Thor embarking on a quest to prove his manhood to his father, who still considers him immature. With the aid of his brother Loki and the Warriors Three he travels through different realms to complete his quest.

What I liked in this film was that it showed a different, refreshing perspective on Thor and Loki's relationship. In this film we actually see Loki as a caring brother who is a loyal Asgardian. He and Thor share a special bond, trust each other and, when times get tough, provide each other with support. Seeing this just makes it even more heartbreaking as the viewers know that in the future these two would become mortal enemies.

Some dialogues were actually funny without relying on simple humor - even giving room to a bit adult humor when it came to Fandral. There is romance (concerning both brothers), and there are notable number of dark scenes and dialogues which concentrate on the topics of genocide (yes, genocide!) and character death. Unlike most children's cartoons nowadays, it has quite a few mature themes which adults may like.

All in all, it was a pleasant surprise and more mature than I expected. I warmly recommend this film.

PS - the music was epic!