Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Literature / TheBrothersLionheart

Go To

1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_brothers_lionheart_2.jpg]]
2->''“Didn’t I say that wherever you went I was going too?” I asked. ''
3->''“Yes, that’s what you said,” said Jonathan, sounding quite pleased. ''
4->''“Because I want to be with you,” I said, “even in a bottomless pit in the underworld.”''
5
6''The Brothers Lionheart'' is a children's fantasy book written by Creator/AstridLindgren. The story touches on a number of important themes that are surprisingly deep for a book written for children, such as death, tyranny, rebellion and courage. But the main theme of the book is rebirth.
7
8The story begins by introducing us to the brothers Lejon (Lion), the sons of a poor seamstress some time during the early 20th century. The younger brother, Karl, also known as Skorpan ("Rusky"), is dying from tuberculosis. He describes himself as a homely, foolish and scared boy. The much-admired older brother Jonatan is like a prince from a fairy tale; he is always there to comfort Skorpan, and he even dies saving him when their house burns down.
9
10Before his death, Jonatan told Skorpan about Nangijala, a land still in the time of campfires and fairy tales, where Skorpan can have adventures from morning to evening and at night too. When Skorpan dies he wakes up in Cherry Valley in Nangijala and finds his brother there.
11
12At first Nangijala looks like a perfect place to spend the afterlife, but that is before Skorpan learns about the [[EvilOverlord evil conqueror]] Tengil and his soldiers, and the death that comes from the dragon Katla. The brothers (who soon become known under the name Lejonhjärta - Lionheart - in the afterlife) spend the rest of the book aiding [[LaResistance the rebellion]] against these menaces.
13
14----
15!! ''The Brothers Lionheart'' contains examples of:
16
17* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: Every house and farm in Briar Rose Valley had weapons hidden and forged for the approaching battle to end Tengil's tyranny over the land and its people, and they are very determined on that task. The answer of a widow to why she's cutting her long hair, a few hours after her husband was executed:
18-->'''Antonia:''' Bowstrings.
19* TheAce: Jonatan. He's loved and admired by all in the real world and Cherry Valley alike.
20* ActionGirl: Sofia. It is stated she takes part in the last battle, and kills Veder with a spear.
21* AdjectiveAnimalAlehouse: The Golden Cockerel, Jussi's inn.
22* TheAfterafterlife: [[spoiler:At the end of the story, they die again and go on to Nangilima]].
23* AllCrimesAreEqual: Tengil seems to have put the death penalty on ''everything.''
24* AnnoyingArrows: Averted. It rarely takes more than one for a person to go down for the count.
25* AnyoneCanDie: [[spoiler: Mattias, Hubert and the brothers Lionheart]] die throughout the story, though the latter two end up in TheAfterafterlife, with the former two awating them there according to WordOfGod.
26* AutomatonHorses: Heartbreakingly averted, as the brothers' horses break down from exhaustion while on the run from Katla. [[spoiler: Of course, it's strongly hinted that they've already been burned by her fire.]]
27* BehemothBattle: In the finale, Jonathan rolls a boulder on Katla that pushes her into a waterfall. Karm, the 'lindworm' that inhabits the waterfall, attacks Katla, and Jonathan and Skorpan watch in awe as the two monsters fight each other to the death.
28* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Jonathan manages to throw Katla into the river where she's killed by Karm... but at the cost of getting burned by her fire and paralyzed.
29* ContrivedCoincidence: Chapter eight.
30** Skorpan finds himself in the very same cave that Veder and Kader were in. He didn't plan to, he just does.
31** Skorpan finds out who the real traitor was.
32** Skorpan learns about Katla's mark being branded on the traitor's body, marking him as a servant of Tengil.
33** Skorpan finds out about the password to enter Briar Rose Valley, a feat not even Jonatan had managed.
34** Skorpan is captured and forced into Briar Rose Valley, which he would never have been able to enter by himself.
35** Skorpan meets Mattias, who happens to be housing Jonatan at the time.
36** Also, in chapter twelve, they hide their horses in the same cave that turns out to contain the secret entrance to Katla's lair. Later in the same chapter, this and the coincidences from chapter eight are discussed and hinted that they might be the result of some form of DivineAssistance instead.
37* ChaoticStupid: Tengil's men are repeatedly shown to be too stupid and lazy to be any real threat. So how did they invade Briar Rose Valley again? Oh right, Katla.
38* DeadpanSnarker: Mattias.
39-->'''Soldier''': You have two horses you don't need. Put your mark on this.\
40'''Mattias''': Why should I do that?\
41'''Soldier''': It means that you happily give Tengil your horses.\
42'''Mattias''': I feel no such happiness.
43* DisappearedDad: No mention is ever made of the boys' father in the movie. In the book he's said to have gone to sea, and presumably he died there.
44* DoNotGoGentle
45-->There are some things you have to do, even if they're dangerous. Otherwise, you're not a human being but just a little piece of dirt.
46* DownerEnding: Not only does [[spoiler:Jonatan get burnt by Katla's poison fire, but Skorpan decides (despite being just fine himself) that he doesn't want to live without his brother and together they both "go to Nangilima", i.e. they jump off a cliff to their deaths.]] And the very last shot in the film version shows the "real world" tombstone of the non-nangijalic Jonatan and Karl Lejon, [[spoiler: implying the DyingDream interpretation of the story]].
47* DragonTheirFeet: After the defeat of Tengil, Jonathan and his fellow rebels fear that a literal version of this trope will eventually happen now that Katla is free from Tengil's control and able to attack Briar Rose Valley by her own choice. The final battle between the Brothers Lionheart and Katla is driven by the brothers' attempt to stop this from happening.
48* DyingDream: [[spoiler:While Astrid Lindgren has [[WordOfGod said]] that the brothers went to Nangilima after their jump in the end, she also said that they never went to Nangijala at all. Skorpan doesn't die at the beginning, he falls unconscious and dreams the whole adventure in Nangijala. "I see the light!" at the end is him dying for real, and apparently going to heaven.]] Lampshaded at a couple of occasions, when Karl himself wonders who could be able to dream up such terrible visions. Doubles as a subtle FourthWall observation.
49* ElementalCrafting: Katla is confined to a cliff by a chain made of gold. Which has less than a third of the tensile strength of iron.
50* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: While [[spoiler:Jossi]] is conspiring with Tengil's guardsmen, he asks them to spare the life of the younger of the two Lionheart brothers, "as [he] has grown rather fond of the boy". He also seems to be genuinely heartbroken when he realizes Skorpan (who is aware that [[spoiler:Jossi]] has betrayed the Cherry Valley) wants nothing to do with him upon reuniting with him for the first time in several days.
51* EvenEvilHasStandards: Even though he is on their side, the Tengilsmen Veder and Kader openly despise [[spoiler: Jossi]] for betraying Cherry Valley.
52* EvilOverlord: Tengil, who wants to rule over all of Nangijala. It's implied that he was one of these in real life as well before being reincarnated. The book was written in 1972, so he could have been any number of UsefulNotes/WorldWarII-era despots who had died by then, even Adolf Hitler or Joseph Stalin themselves.
53* GoryDiscretionShot: Jonatan prevented Skorpan from witnessing a man getting executed on the village square by pressing Skorpan's face to his chest.
54* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Tengil's men, who will always make the stupidest decision available any chance they get.
55* HeWhoFightsMonsters:
56** {{Discussed}}, even more in the movie than in the book. RebelLeader Orvar seems to be quite fanatic in his cause, and Jonatan has reason to fear that he would become a new Tengil if he was given the opportunity. Jonatan calls him out on it, resolving to finish Katla himself, not risking Orvar getting his hands on ''any means'' to control Katla.
57** When you consider that the pass word is "All power to Tengil, our liberator", just consider what Tengil himself was meant to liberate them from in the first place. Orvar is, of course, another liberator (for honest this time - we believe).
58* InstantExpert: In Nangijala, Skorpan is able to ride a horse the very first time he tries, and doesn't realize he can suddenly swim until he's actually doing it. To which his brother replies "Of course, this is Nangijala".
59* InstantMessengerPigeon: Sophia's messenger pigeons fly in shuttle traffic between Cherry Valley and Briar Rose Valley. The traitor shoots some of them down, but none of [[TooDumbToLive Tengil's guards]] ever seem to care that Mattias is playing around with white doves.
60* KarmicDeath: Tengil tries to extend his tyranny over all of Nangijala with his dominion over Katla. In the end [[spoiler: he is [[TheDogBitesBack killed by her flames]].]]
61* LaResistance: Sofia and Orvar lead one against Tengil's tyranny in Briar Rose Valley, Hubert, Mattias and the brothers Lionhearts all playing their parts in aiding it. They eventually lead all the citizens of the valley in the final battle against Tengil's forces and win, though with heavy costs.
62* [[LastOfHisKind Last Of Her Kind]]:
63** Katla's cave seems to have once held dozens of dragons.
64** This is how Tengil controls her-his horn sounds almost exactly like her species' mating call.
65* MeaningfulName: Although it's an ordinary feminine name as well, Katla is a highly active volcano in Iceland - pretty good name for a fire-breathing dragon.
66* MostWritersAreAdults:
67** Jonatan Lionheart is the most heroic person in the story, as well as the informal leader of the rebellion who everyone and their dogs' mothers look up to. All that while being just 13 years old.
68** The story ''is'' told by his younger brother, who admires him boundlessly.
69** Besides, he seems to have spent a lot of time in Nangijala before his brother arrives. He already got the hang of the whole rebellion thing and appears to be rather famous.
70%%* MutualKill: [[spoiler: Katla and Karm.]]
71* NaiveNewcomer: Skorpan. When he finally arrives in Nangijala, he immedaitely believes it to be the Heaven-like realm free from evil and darkness from Jonatan's stories. He soon learns that even Nangijala has its fair shares of evil through the likes of [[EvilOverlord Tengil]] and [[DragonsAreDemonic Katla]].
72* OhCrap: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1y5Viz2EsA Katla kommer!]] And this is nothing compared to how it's written in the book:
73-->And then came the screams. Katla's screams of hunger that we all knew so well. Then the swords fell down and the spears and arrows, and those who fought could not fight anymore. Because they knew no one could save them.
74* OurDragonsAreDifferent: Katla. [[spoiler: Even a ''touch'' of her flame is deadly]].
75* RealAfterAll: Let's count the myths initially presented skeptically in the book:
76** Nangijala is presented as a myth but turns out to be true. Even stranger was how it was combined with a song their mother used to sing, and the myth was still true.
77** Long after Katla's introduction, we were informed that Katla was a myth herself. The myth also told about the serpent Karm. And by the end of the book Karm was a myth made true too.
78** Nangilima, the life after death in Nangijala, is proven true by WordOfGod. However [[FlipFlopOfGod Astrid Lindgren also once said]] that most of the book is Skorpan's escapist fantasies from his sickbed, until he [[KilledOffForReal dies in the real world]] when they [[DyingDream go to Nangilima]] (and then she said, "But if any of you ever tell this to your children, I will [[NeverMessWithGranny kill you]].").
79* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: Tengil dresses in black, with red feathers on his helmet.
80* RedHerring: Soon after Sofia and Jonatan realize there is traitor among their midst, the audience is lead to believe Hubert is said traitor due some vaguelly suspicious words and actions, all of which are seen through Skorpan's limited (and highly biased) perspective. [[spoiler: But it's actually the jolly tavern owner Jossi.]]
81* ReincarnateInAnotherWorld: Skorpan at the beginning.
82* RewardedAsATraitorDeserves:
83** [[spoiler: Jossi]] has been promised he'll rule Cherry Valley after Tengil wins. As soon as he's out of earshot, the guards start laughing about how he's going to be fed to Katla instead.
84** Even before that's revealed, Skorpan watches the interaction between the spy and the guards, and note how disgusted the guards seem. He thinks to himself that even the most evil person despises a traitor, no matter how useful he is.
85* SupportingProtagonist: Skorpan. [[spoiler: His main claim to fame is identifying and revealing the traitor, as well as teaching Jonatan the passphrase. The rest is all Jonatan.]]
86* TechnicalPacifist: Jonatan refuses to kill. [[spoiler: Siccing Katla on Tengil is a different matter.]]
87* TooDumbToLive:
88** Whose brilliant idea was it to brand [[spoiler:Jossi]] with the mark of Katla? The whole point of an infiltrator is for that person to ''infiltrate'', which is hard to do when you're walking around with the mark of the enemy branded on your chest.
89** It's elaborated on in the film. [[spoiler:Jossi]] [[DefectorFromDecadence ''wants out'']]. The brand is there to make sure he stays loyal because his only chance of surviving long-term is making sure Tengil wins. The chest is a body part most people cover entirely in public (it's not like Sofia was going to rip his shirt off in public if she hadn't known anything), so he probably would have been alright until after the invasion.
90* TraumaCongaLine: Mrs. Lejon. Her husband goes to sea and never returns (it's implied that he died). Her nine year-old gets tuberculosis. Her other son dies trying to save him but he only lives a short while after that. So she loses her husband and both her sons from three unrelated occurrences. Oh, and her home burns down.
91* UngratefulBastard: Jonatan saves the guard Pärk's life; he repays him by first threatening to steal his horse, and later giving chase and almost killing him.
92* VagueAge: Only in the movie adaptation. The book states several times Jonatan is 13, but the movie is very unclear on wether or not Jonatan being played by a 25 year old actor is straight up DawsonCasting ''or'' if the character has gone through an AgeLift to make him a more plausible leader of the rebellion.

Top