I really disliked marvels animated home release movies, they just never grabbed my attention or interest, and i decided not to watch them, but when The Avengers movie came out, and i started watching Avenger earths mightiest heroes, i decided to give marvels animated films a chance, most were just as dumb and uninteresting as i had predicted, but a few were real gems, Thor: tales of Asgard is the shiniest jem there is. Despite not being the origin story of the live action Thor, i decided it must be the origin story for the Thor from avengers earths mightiest heroes. The story starts off pretty generic, a hot headed prince, who believes hes the greatest warrior there is despite never leaving the castle, he wants to prove himself and have an adventure ( you know like a Disney princess), despite this Thor never comes off as too annoying, you understand that he wants to be taken seriously by his father, his brother and his people, so he decides to go on a journey that will prove his manhood. In this day and age, boys no longer have a right of passage as they used to, so most turn into man children who have no sense of responsibility or respect for others, so i found this movie to have a really good moral lesson and ill get to that in a couple of sentences. I just want to talk about Loki, i was expecting him to be envious of Thor or show some indication that he will become his arch enemy someday, instead were treated to a loving brother who respects and takes care of thor, ends up saving his life many times throughout the movie, and towards the end you suddenly remember that they will be sworn enemies one day. Lady sif and the warriors 3 are Thor's friends in this movie, and their all very good supporting characters, warriors 3 are really funny and i enjoyed them a lot more here than in the live action film. Lady sif is surprisingly an interesting character, its obvious she has a crush on Thor but she hates herself for it ( im pretty sure there is a Selena Gomez song that describes this sort of thing), sif decides to join the Valkyries which resemble the feminazis of today. Odin seems like a regular dad in this movie not like a god, his voice is very gentle but stern at the same time, and he gets quite a lot of character development himself throughout the movie, trying to become a better father. There really isn't any cookie cutter villains in this, the frost giants are the antagonists, chasing Thor and his friends and attacking Asgard, but that's only because Thor accidentally killed some of them with his fire sword. Algrim the dark elf is a very complex villain, and yes its not hard to figure out that a dark elf is not going to be the villain, but surprisingly as you hear his stories of his dead family and the genocide of his entire race by the hands of the frost giants, and just the way hes so pleasant towards Thor and Odin, you actually begin to hope he doesn't become the villain, so when he takes Thor's fire sword and starts talking crazy, your saying to your self, "don't you do it!"this scene is very tense, and one of the soldiers sees this betrayal coming but in a sudden burst of fire algrim kills everyone except Thor and his friends, and then he tries to go kill Odin ( for failing to stop the genocide of his people) this fight scene is very epic and impactful, since you've seen Odin and algrim be really good friends, Thor eventually stops algrim, but cannot bring himself to kill him, so Loki kills him instead starting his fall to darkness, Thor then takes responsibility for his actions against the frost giants, even offering his life in exchange, but he is forgiven by the frost giants. Thor then has a very emotional conversation with his father, making you aware of how Thor will someday become worthy of his hammer. The movie is very good, the animation looks like its from japan but that's fine, the characters are all well developed and the story is very engaging,i didn't think the romance( if u can call it that) was necessary between Thor and sif, but i did really like their kiss at the end, i saw it as them finally respecting each other. But the action is breathtaking, the fight scene between algrim and Odin is just incredible. There are tons of cameos and references, such as Thor's hammer, the enchantress, and Loki being a frost giant. This is a movie i fully recommend, and i guarantee you will want to go swing a hammer like Thor by the end of it.

The movie is very fresh to the Thor movie franchise. It clearly explains what Thor's life was like in his teenhood before he became an adult and the hammer Mjoimar (I think).But I find it weird that there was a dark elf in the movie but it wasn't Malakith and the dark elf claimed to be the last of it's kind. It is very brutal when Loki burns him and yells "MONSTER!" it foreshadows his nature of what he was going to become as an adult. But I found it weird that he and Amora were about to kiss. It was also weird that Hogan, Valikree Federal, and the fat guy were all adult but Thor, Sif, Loki, and Amora were teenagers which never made sense. Also, some random frost giant was the commander instead of Yimar or Leafley.

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.