When I heard Lava’s premise, I was intrigued. Giant alien cats launching an attack on Earth? You’ve got my attention! (To be honest, anything that features cats will at least get a glance from me.) Though I was lured in by the promise of extraterrestrial felines and madcap entertainment, I was disappointed to find Lava poorly paced, dubiously constructed, and falling short of its loftier thematic goals.
Read MoreNature inspires all forms of creativity, playing an important role in a range of fantasy stories and feature films. The context of the natural environment is not only often vital to the atmosphere of each story’s setting but, equally, the direction and drama of the unfolding plot. In this blog post, I wish to discuss how natural symbols in Norse legend influence in particular some of the animated fantasy media we see today; including the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings (Peter Jackson, 2001-2003), the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero franchise, and the recent series Vikings (Michael Hirst, 2013-).
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