ANI-MOVIES, *Grendel Grendel Grendel

Grendel Grendel Grendel was one of the first feature-length animated movies to come out of Australia which has in recent years become a hub for independent cartoon crafters. Before Wicked or Maleficent, this was a retelling of a classic tale from the villain's perspective. Based on John Gardner's novel Grendel, this allegory for high fantasy was developed into a 1981 film directed by Alex Sitt who also did other short-animated projects. The design of the characters and the world this takes place in are distinctively trippy which flashback to psychedelic visions from Yellow Submarine. The film had a limited theatrical release due to its mature nature and specific sense of humor. The deconstruction of what men refer as monsters is singled out as the character of Grendel from the legend of Beowulf has always stood out on his own as not specifically a demon or evil spirit or some malformed giant. This undefinable creature is for all intentions the original boogeyman, or as he's referred to in this film as the Great Boogey, plus the role of his mother here is never clearly defined as other interpretations. The film's producer Phillip Adams even introduces the movie by comparing Grendel to other monsters, although this is the preamble for the story's warped dry wit.

Grendel is a large spotty green behemoth that lives in a cave near the rising kingdom of the egotistical Hrothgar who raised his land by claiming anything he could scavenge, including a merchant's daughter he takes for a wife, much to the chagrin his warrior Unferth. Grendel grows tired of the foolish king and raves about it to his mother who is really just a figment of his imagination living in the depths of his cave. Grendel's delusions even carry over to a wise dragon who he sometimes seeks for advice, as well as the occasional singing number, which riles the monster to go and attack Hrothgar's mead hall regularly biting the heads off his subjects. Hrothgar's soothsayer known as the Shaper converts the people to religion and view Grendel as the spawn of Cain making him a monster. Having enough of this, Hrothgar messages the foreign warrior Beowulf to come and finally slay the Great Boogey leading to the inevitable clash where the bold hero and his beastly crew attack Grendel lobbing his arm of. After the encounter, Grendel wonders off possibly to bleed to death, but since this is told from his point of view it is where the story ends.

Although this was an animated movie, it was clearly not intended for family viewing with cartoonish violence, slight nudity, and its deadpan humor. The minimalist character designs use clean lines with flat shapes in the animation and will remind modern day watchers of Samurai Jack. The musical scenes are moody and fit the time even though the soundtrack sounds more like it's out of the late 60s than early 80s. The main appeal of this rare treasure is the voice of Grendel is done by Sir Peter Ustinov whose eccentric performance comes through as pure comedy and works better here than when he was mercurially casted in Winds Of Change. Grendel Grendel Grendel is an unconventional look at the hero's journey who here is a 12-foot monster.