Grendel Grendel Grendel (1981) User Reviews

Excellent film

[siabhra_6 · 15 November 2004]

This is a terrific film. Great story and compelling animation all told from the view point of the monster Grendel. There is drama and humor mixed with a retelling of the ancient tale of Beowulf. Grendel becomes a very sympathetic character, his fate tragic. The humans in this story are nowhere near as compassionate as the monster. And it becomes a study in how inhuman man is, especially to himself.

Animation lovers must see this film. I don't know the availability of this film in the states as I haven't seen this for at least 10 years. Nor have I seen this available on VHS. So if you find it, rent it or buy it. It really is that good.

Without qualification, among the best animated features ever made

[Spleen · 10/10 · 30 August 2002]

In the technical sense this is "limited" animation - the handful of animators (just four are credited) charged with bringing the story to life restrict themselves, when they can, to less than the full 24 frames per second, and often use all manner of cunning tricks to avoid having to animate at all. But the animation is emphatically NOT limited in any other sense. Neither the story, nor the world, nor the characters' freedom to move and breathe and think, has been constricted in any way; the animation (like the artwork generally) is simply GOOD, and there's an end to it. If your experience of "limited" animation is "South Park", you can be forgiven for thinking that "limited" is just a polite synonym for "bad", since "South Park" looks crude and awkward and just plain awful even when compressed to fit the tiniest of TV screens. But the glorious animation of "Grendel Grendel Grendel" expands to fill a wide cinema screen with no effort whatever.

To be blunt, "Grendel Grendel Grendel" is among the best animated features ever made: funny, sad, tense, relentlessly intelligent, what have you. If I say that there's a dragon who makes veiled allusions to Wittgenstein, that might convey something of the film's flavour; on the other hand, you might suspect this to be a sample of the kind of pointless eccentricity which film-makers (animators in particular) indulge in so that they won't be accused of being mainstream, and for no other reason. Not a bit of it. The film doesn't make a single false move or strike a single false note: every joke flows naturally out of its surroundings, and the film seems to be doing nothing so much as taking a healthy, childlike delight in its (surprisingly rich) material. I'm not saying this because I'm Australian. I'm as surprised that an animated movie this good was made in Australia, as anyone else. I'm even more surprised (despite the fact that it WAS made in Australia) that it's relatively unknown. You owe it to yourself to see it.

A feel good Australian animation with depth, design & plot - best animation ever

[hippyheidi · 10/10 · 3 March 2000]

Grendel, Grendel, Grendel is a truly fantastic animated film based on the monster Grendel in the ancient Beowolf legend. It is one of my all time favourite films. The film is viewed from the point of view of Grendel the monster. He's one of those big, burly, wise, innocent and doomed monsters that legends are made of. The film works on a variety of levels. The visuals are great - bold deep colours. The soundtrack is ultra lounge and very James Bond. The story is wonderful. It is entertaining and deep, funny and sad, and has wisdom and wit thrown in as well. It's never dull, cutesy or mundane. The depth of the story, its smooth and quite referencing to wider stories, legends and theories allows interesting interpretations from a range of perspectives - mythological, historical, or psychoanalytical. It is a feel good movie with depth, design and spark. If you ever get to see the film then make sure you do.

DVD please?

[xSheGeekx · 9/10 · 19 June 2005]

I got a hold of a VHS copy of this movie recently after watching it as a child over and over again. Evidently hard to find in America, this film depicts the story of Beowulf from the monsters point of view.

Sort of your typical tragedy of misunderstanding,(which we all secretly love..) this film did a lot for me as a kid. As the daughter of one of those progressive 60's moms, strange foreign cartoons were always finding their way to our VCR. It's taken me almost 20 years to find a copy of this on amazon.

This is just a kick butt cartoon.

In a world full of imported 2 year old spoon fed animation, it's kind of nice to go back and see what cartoons where like when people were kind of just experimenting. Movies like Rock 'n' Rule, Twice Upon a Time and pretty much anything by Ralph Bakshi were tearing down the walls of traditional cartooning and challenging children and adults to get something out of their Saturday morning rituals.

If you're a fan of indie cartoons, do yourself a favor and watch this film. It's not mind blowing by any means, but it is indeed a thought provoking little film, voiced very well and animated in a really interesting style. I have lovely memories of this cartoon, and i'm proud to own it once again.

Intelligent, witty, novel, entertaining.

[hester1 · 3 July 2004]

Spoiler warning: This review contains some general discussion of specific events in the film, presented as examples of my points. There are no important giveaways, in my humble opinion.

This animated movie, based on James Gardener's novel "Grendel", provides a fairly accurate rendition of the Beowulf legend with a twist: it is narrated (in a very "civilized" Brittish accent) by Grendel who, naturally, presents the story from his point of view. While covering Grendel's entire life from birth to death, it focuses on events from the time that men first appear near Grendel's cave: of his attempts to interact with them and the disasters that resulted from their "rude" reception of his overtures ("Naturally, I HAD to kill them!").

While Beowulf is a standard "Hero"-theme story, this film's theme is about the roots of primitive superstition. An introduction by an "academic" lecturer explains how primitive men invented creatures to help them deal with their fear of the unknown. Later in the film, a wise old dragon lectures the socially frustrated Grendel about the necessary role of monsters in the world.

There are several songs, some not half bad. Most are overtly describing or are examples of fairly important literary themes. The opening (credits) song mimics openings of James Bond movies. Even the worst song at least demonstrates the importance of minstrels using ballads to maintain a verbal history, and shows how they were often obliged to bend the truth in order to keep their lords happy.

Overall, I loved the film and consider it a must see for anyone into the Beowulf/Grendel saga (as am I), and who can appreciate a little academic treatment mixed in with a wonderfully witty animated tale.