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Musing on "Thor: Tales of Asgard"
But PLEASE! Don't mistake "Thor: Tales of Asgard" for the live action movie "Thor" that also premiered in May 2011 because that one is... I have no word for it. One the one hand it combines so many very fine actors and is superslashy (and very pleasing to the eye, because this is Loki and this is Thor and yeah there were other people in that movie but I didn't care because of Loki <3) but on the other hand... it's just godawful to watch (apart from Loki/Thor-interaction) because the dialogue is wooden (admittedly, it's hard to work out a decent enough script given the comis being full of "shall" and "thou hast" and " 'twas" and "let me be freed" but then again: that's what you people get paid for!!!) and the story is just... I don't know. Maybe I was too spoiled by "X-Men:First Class" that told an intelligent, highly complex story although it had superheroes so that the very simple story of Thor having to learn some lessons on humbleness just didn't win me over. The events were just so obvious and even the order in which they appeared could be forecasted: Thor doing something stupid and gets banned --> meets super nerdy hot chick --> makes some funny anachronistic jokes (which are really really funny I must give the movie that xD) --> makes some humble experiences because of the super nerdy chick --> falls in love with super nerdy chick --> saves the world.
Damn it, Kenneth Branagh, I expected more!
Don't get me wrong, I spent the better part of the last week searching for film-inspired fanfiction/fanart and drooling over Loki so my opinion about the movie can't be that bad. But still. I expected more!
Okay, after this rambling I will write about the movie I actually planned to write about. xD
So take a look at this cover poster:
It's a) totally ridiculous (I could never take Thor seriously because of his armour and tights and stuff) and b) totally misleading.
Because you won't get allmighty, barbarian, roaring, powerful, hammerswinging Thor but this
Cute, blonde, wide eyed Baby!Thor.
Oh my God. It's so cute. I have a hard time imagining how a 10year old boy could watch this without laughing at how utterly cute and cuddly everyone is!
Okay, now to the story: Thor is unsatisfied with how little trust his father puts into him and how everyone at court treats him like a precious little kid that must not be hurt (which he is). Therefore he decides to venture to Jotunheim (which is of course forbidden and Odin is about to loose his temper) to retrieve the Sword of Sutur (aka giant fire..giant Odin battled once). Loki accompanies him and together with the Warrior's Three they arrive at Jotunheim. Which is cold and snowy and frigid and full of snow, brr. They of course find the Sword but they aren't very subtle about it and the frost giants notice them, chasing them and threatening to start a war with Asgard. Battle ensues, Thor learns his lesson and all is good and right in Asgard. Well, it's a cartoon after all. ;D
So on the story department there is nothing new to be found but that wasn't what blew me away in the first place.
What I loved was the animation and the characters.
The animation is clean, neat and as far as I can tell it looks flawless! =D It's really nice to look at, the story flows and you are eager to see new landscapes, to see new facial expressions
(like this:
Awwww, ain't he cute <333) and more of the animators' take at Northern mythology. Of course, one could call it simplistic, but I think this only adds up to focussing on the characters which are love.The voice acting is great and so is the interaction of all the characters.
First of all, Thor might come across as stupid and spoiled (as always) but then you see that he is just utterly desperate to prove himself and utterly... optimistic. After all he is just a young boy so he is allowed to dream of adventures and not think about the consequences (he learns about them soon enough, don't worry) and it's actually a very realistic coming-of-age-story because all he wants to be is taken seriously - by his father, by his friends and most of all by the woman he loves.
Much need for that actually. Given that Syf is about the only female character (apart from Brunhild, Queen of the Valkyries but let's not talk about them more than necessary xD) she is pretty ... useless and a rather rude portrayal of a woman. Apart from that one scene above she never proofs herself to be a great warrior. She tells Thor that he is an idiot, then runs off to live with the Valkyries (let's be honest: those are a bunch of lesbians who admit! that they only came to live like this because they were disappointed by a man at some point in their life. Jeez, how much more rude can it possibly get?), then she is almost naked and fulfills some fanservice-duty before being more or less responsible for Thor being caught by the Valkyries and running late to save his father. What does this girl do right, Jesus Christ?!But the thing that really stunned me was how she is portrayed at the beginning and the end of the movie: it's exactly the same! She starts and ends at the stables tending to her winged horse which puts her into her place apparently. Although Thor tells her that she is now allowed to train with the...some special group of warriors, I don't catch the name xD but that was never her desire! She admires them, yes, and she speaks very highly of them, but she necer says "I want to train with them but I cannot because I am a woman!" . She is on the other hand very satisfied and happy when Thor kisses her, making her very passive - intelligent but passive and so it doesn't make much sense for her to be the oh so famous female warrior.
(Oh and don't get me started on that ridiculous mini skirt she is wearing! Seriously, which woman who is right in her mind would wear such a short dress to fight? To ride a horse even? Jeez, that is something that always bothers me in children's movies: why can't girls wear pants at least when preparing for battle? Did Eowyn ride in a skirt? Yes, she did Oh shut up you get my point!)
But now on to the thing that I want to get out of my system.
If Syf is not the woman to look up to...
maybe it's Loki!
What?
Loki is the one female character to serve as a role model.
Come again, please?
It's obvious! Let me show you...
Okay, we already established that in this movie intelligence is one of the traits clearly associated with the females - even the counsellor of Odin has no facial hair but a long white mane and is an Elf who we all know are usually fair and somewhat... effeminate.
Judging from this Loki is the most intelligent character in the whole movie. He is responsible for giving Thor a hammer (it's better then it sounds xD) for giving the final clue to finding the sword and for hiding in just the right places to be never caught by the Valkyries. It's peculiar how he is the only male to escape their literal manhunt and stands before Brunhild calling her a "wench" (I might reconsider that point about intelligence after all...) and not immediately attacking her with the sword although he knows about its power. No, he refrains from attacking her, as much as he refrains from physically injuring anyone during fights: he ducks and gets out of the way, hiding behind Thor and using magic to defend himself.
Magic is also something that is apparently only taught by females and guess who is talking to (and being seduced by) said female? Right, it's Loki.
Apart from being the damsel in distress at ALL times (god damn it, boy, get it together already xD) there are lots of other hints making Loki appear more as a female character that happens to be very flatchested, like when he is riding on the same horse as Syf because one horse couldn't possibly carry a full grown man...and Loki xD or when he is never shown getting it on with his love interest like his brother or during the climax:
Thor defeats the villain but decides to spare his life. But Loki who is crying his heart out because of his father lying there at the edge of death picks up a sword and finishes him off. 
I mentioned his crying, right. <33
Thor has to rip the sword out of Loki's paralyzed grip, calms him by whispering soothing words to him and hugs him heartily.
Sounds familiar?
Perhaps because it's usually a scene where a woman picks up the lethal weapon and does the job- weeping.
TV Tropes has a whole entry dedicated to this and it fits Loki perfectly.
Poor poor Loki. It really breaks your heart to see how he tries to do the right thing, how lovingly he interacts with his brother - all the while the dark cloud of his acenstry looms over the unsuspecting pair. He isn't even taken aback when he notices how the cold does not affect him as much as Thor, for God's sake! *bawls her eyes out*
Okay, to conclude this overly long piece of gibberish, I'd just recommend everyone to see this movie if you are in for a really good cartoon and some really fancy art and some really fine teen!angst and teen!bromance. It's worth the trouble with the Valkyries, I swear!
Oh God, people, I've spent so long on this entry, just because I procrastinated learning Japanese. I am dead now. And full of Loki love!
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AND SOOO FUCKIN LONG.
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Yeah, some say that about me.
Hehehehhe, thanks so much, baby. <3
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Against Mexico? Well... Speedy Gonzales lives there so...
Just don't get too depressed they will grow and be our future WC-WINNERS!
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Säcke. Wieder nur 3. Platz (eventuell).
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And yay for the Loki love!!! I enjoyed your insights into Loki's gender issues, it's always fun to spot those ... :D
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It was astonishing at how obvious the gender issuhaes were! I usually need to watch a movie two or three times to notice something like that but in this case it hit me like ton of bricks! o.o
Ahhh, Loki. I am soooo happy that he will be the main villain in Avengers. <33333
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where's the dark elf fanfiction??
if u are interested in hot guys, do check it out. :D nice blog