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Bearing in mind that this is the first ever full length CG animated feature to come out of Iceland, Legends of Valhalla: Thor is a creation to be proud of. From Iceland’s only animation studio, CAOZ, and guided expertly by the directorial talents of Oskar Jonasson, Paul Tylak and Nicola Coughlant , Legends of Valhalla’s amusing twist on a very familiar character is surprisingly delightful.

Our hero is Thor (Gregg); a young blacksmith living with his mother (Thurman) in a small Viking village. Over the years, he’s been told that he is the son of Odin (Stanford), King of the Norse Gods, who sure enough resides in Valhalla. Unlike Norse mythology or any comic book adaptation would have us believe, this Thor is scrawny and timid, but that doesn’t stop him from dreaming of becoming a mighty warrior one day.

Soon, his prayers are answered when a magical hammer, called the Crusher (voiced by Tylak), comes falling from the sky.  Created by miniature magician, Sindri (Scanlan), the hammer was originally presented to Odin, before he rejected it and threw down to Earth – only to have it land in the lap of Thor.

Things are never as simple as they seem, though; Thor needs to find power from within himself in order to harness the hammer’s magic. As an army of giants begin to invade the village – led by Hel (Lloyd) the Norse queen of underworld – Thor’s quest becomes that much more desperate.

Legends of Velhalla, or Thor: The Legend of the Magical Hammer as it’s known in other countries, is purely a children’s fantasy film. Coming from a nation whose film industry isn’t as prolific as the traditional cinema powerhouses; this is a pretty decent product.  It’s lively and cartoonish and although the story doesn’t have too much to offer to older moviegoers, there’s plenty of heart to keep everyone amused.  Though it’s pretty basic, it’s well-paced and utilises some very interesting twists on Norse mythology.

Collectively, the voicing talents of Gregg, Stanford and Lloyd play off of each other well, along with the rest of the cast, all of whom play a significant role in the successful execution of the film.

For the most part, Legends of Velhalla: Thor is endearing and if you manage to look past its basic aesthetics, you will find a small film, with big dreams – bravo Iceland!