Spoiled: Thor: Tales of Asgard (movie) 
 
Because Thor is the son of Odin he does not face the same challenges of your ordinary, average Asgardian warrior, and as such he has never had an honest fight in his life. In Thor: Tales of Asgard, we follow Thor on a quest to find his manhood, which takes him to Jotunheim where he searches for the sword of Surtur. While this quest for manhood is meant to be a kind of snipe hunt and the legendary sword might actually be a myth, Thor manages to defeat the Kobayashi Maru, if you will, by finding the sword of Surtur and stealing it from the land of Jotunheim. A war and a series of half-cocked lessons follow. Premiering on video nearly two weeks after the release of Thor in theaters, Thor: Tales of Asgard displays many of the key background characters that are so important to Thor's story.
 
There are a couple of things that I liked about this film, but they were mostly details. Thor sails from Asgard to Jotunheim, which reflects how the ancient Scandinavians would have thought of their gods. It was interesting to see Thor encounter Fenris for the first time, not knowing what part Fenris will play in Ragnarok (and perhaps motivating Fenris to become part of the events leading to Ragnarok by stealing his beer). One can't ignore the obvious love that Thor and Loki have for one another at this age and the beauty of this love before it is tainted. But the real gem in Thor: Tales of Asgard is the depiction of the tragic figure of the dark elf Algrim. Algrim is melancholy from the loss of his people in a war with the Frost Giants, and when he mentions that his children were no longer among the living, it became clear that Algrim has experienced more suffering than any individual should. And yet he is a surrogate father and guide to the children of Odin, specifically Thor. Algrim remains heroic until, like Boromir in Lord of the Rings, the power of the fabled Sword of Surtur, tempts him into vengeance and potential annihilation of the Nine Realms. He is an enemy, but it is not hard to relate to him, much like Magneto from the X-Men mythology. Our heroes have never faced loss as great as Algrim, and as a result they have never been tested enough to determine whether or not they would walk his path. This part of the film was fantastic, but it was unfortunately only a minor distraction. 
 
I wasn't a big fan of the animation. The voice actors were uninteresting. (Is Thor Australian or Scandinavian?) While an emotional connection is written into the story, it feels superficial. The Valkyries were a welcome sight, but I was unhappy with how they were reduced to Wonder Woman clones. They were closer to Amazons, nymphs, or even the denizens of Artemis than they were to Valkyries. And the relationship between Thor and Siff was forced, underdeveloped, and completely unnecessary. Was she only inserted into the story to prove that Thor is not gay? The Asgardians reflect the Aryans of Hitler's obsession, and as such there is a great responsibility for a Thor tale to speak against racism, imperialism and genocide. Certainly, the heroes strike out against Algrim's genocide, but Algrim is much closer to a Holocaust victim than to a fuhrer. (Of course, to continue the Magneto analogy, the two are not always mutually exclusive.) The tale is full of blatant racism. Thor is like a rich suburbanite who feels inclined to prove his gumption by stealing beer from peoples' garages and burning curse words into neighbors' lawns with gasoline. He is a hotheaded, entitled brat, and what is supposed to come off as courage ends up smelling much more of egotism. In many ways, Thor is the villain of this movie. He and his fellow "heroes" disrupt the peace in a bar, only to burn down the establishment that welcomed them as they escape. Thor kills two Frost Giants because of his need to prove himself, and the war that he started because of his actions lead to the deaths of many more. Loki is much more of a hero than his brother. All he does is attempt to make right what his brother has made so wrong. In fact, I think this film may have been more interesting if  Loki had been the protagonist and we had seen the events unfold from his perspective. 
 
While I am not normally a fan of "when they were young" stories, I recognize that I am not always the primary audience for animated features. Perhaps Thor: Tales of Asgard is only intended for younger audiences. I think this critique of my critique is weak for a couple of reasons. First of all, DC's animated films cater just as well to adults as they do to children. If DC can do it, why can't Marvel do it? DC's animated films prove that you can tell a children's story without alienating the adult viewers. Look also at shows like Spongebob Squarepants, which offer plenty of jokes and situations that adults can appreciate. I suppose it might be interesting to ask a parent to show films from each company to their children and determine which ones the children like more. But this brings me to my second point: Regardless of what the children like more, Thor: Tales of Asgard teaches children all the wrong lessons. It supports racism, imperialism and war, all of which without question. (Even someone capable of entertaining a just war theory of aggression must have some means for determining/questioning which acts of war are just and which are unjust.) It suggests that no matter what heinous and horrendous things a child does, at the end of the day the scales reset and there are no consequences. If this were the case, that would be fantastic. The dead would be reborn the next day and they would be the better for having experienced death. But this is not the case. The dead remain dead. Children have to learn that their actions have consequences, and this idea is nowhere to be found in this film. I'm not suggesting that Thor be put to death for his actions. I'm not a fan of eye for eye. But the fact that Odin basically credits Thor for the greatest security his empire has ever faced and the fact that his subjects follow him better than ever tells children that when they do terrible things magical positive outcomes will result. 
 
I think the biggest sadness I feel is that this film's existence probably means that the story of Algrim will not be touched upon in further Thor films, which means that Kenneth Branagh will not get a chance to take on this ever-so Shakespearean villain. These are the consequences of making a bad animated film!

I disliked at how under powerd odin was.. Did he like not even have the odin force in this movie?!?!?!