- Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
- Video Codec: AVC/MPEG-4
- Resolution: 1080p/24
- Audio Codec: English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1
- Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
- Region: A (Region-Locked)
- Rating: Not Rated
- Discs: 2 (1 x Blu-ray + 1 x DVD)
- Studio: Lionsgate
- Blu-ray Release Date: May 17, 2011
- List Price: $29.99
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Thor: Tales of Asgard on Blu-ray+DVD at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
Click thumbnails for high-resolution 1920X1080p screen captures
(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
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The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
With the new live-action theatrical release of Thor heating up the box office — sort of — with the hot (take that any way you want to) Natalie Portman in the supporting role, there’s no difficulty understanding why Marvel Entertainment would want to get this animated adventure out to tie-in with the release.
Thor: Tales of Asgard finds the young Norse hero, pre-hammer, in his home of Asgard, still green to the world outside and longing to experience the adventures he has heard tell of from his friends and tutors. With his skills as swordsman called into question by the girl he loves, Thor decides to enlist his brother Loki and his budding magical powers and stowaway on the next journey out of Asgard to search for legendary Lost Sword of Surtur. It’s a journey that leads the brothers and their reluctant friends, the Warriors Three, into danger immediately, when they must meet the ice giants to find the sword, seek refuge and transportation from the male-unfriendly Valkyries, and avert a war that threatens to destroy Asgard itself.
As a one-off film, Tales of Asgard isn’t exactly the greatest piece of animation you’ll ever come across. These Marvel Entertainment releases still don’t seem to reach the same level of quality as their DC Comics counterparts, but as a primer to Thor for those going to see the theatrical release, it does the trick nicely.
Video Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Tales of Asgard looks basically good in this AVC 1080p transfer from Lionsgate, but there is a veiled look to it overall that hinders detail. There is also some sporadic aliasing and very mild color banding apparent in spots.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Apart from high frequencies that sound just a little too harsh, the lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack is quiet fun. There is good use made of the extra two channels in the back for both ambience and discrete sounds, there’s a lot of motion in the mix, good dynamics, and clean dialogue.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
There is a strong host of supplements offered here, including two audio commentaries, a rather interesting making-of featurette, plus a bonus Avengers episode.
Supplements provided with this release are:
- Audio Commentary with supervising producer Craig Kyle and screenwriter Greg Johnson
- Audio Commentary with supervising director/producer Gary Hartle, director Sam Liu, and character designer Phil Bourassa
- Worthy: The Making of Thor: Tales of Asgard (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 0:22.04)
- The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes! Bonus Episode (1.78:1; 1080p/24; 0:23.10)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:3.5/5]
Thor: Tales of Asgard offers a mildly entertaining entry into the world of this comic book hero for anyone seeking a home theatre primer before heading to the theatre to see the live-action big budget spectacle.
Additional Screen Captures
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[amazon-product align=”right”]B004PHE9II[/amazon-product]
BestBuy.com:
Purchase Thor: Tales of Asgard on Blu-ray+DVD at CD Universe
Shop for more Blu-ray titles at Amazon.com
Overall
[Rating:3.5/5]
The Film
[Rating:3.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:3.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2.5/5]
