History WesternAnimation / Beowulf2007

%%* AllCGICartoon

* GodGuise: The novelization states Grendel's mother was worshipped as a pagan goddess by ancient men that "did not hold Odin as the highest among the Æsir", but also that she knew well she was not divine and that only feigned to be so because they wouldn't try to kill her that way.

* AllTrollsAreDifferent: The novelization mentions trolls, especially comparing Grendel with them, but it's stated he is not one of them, and his mother even gets angered at the insinuation.

** The sea serpents are apparently reptilian predators, yet they have a single, large and very human-like eye. Without mentioning the eye number issue, an eyeball that large and exposed is an evolutionary nuisance, especially in a sea creature: it would hinder their swimming ability due to the and at the same time would make an incredibly easy target to any hunting opponent.

* DevilButNotGod: While we are never revealed if Grendel and his kin are literal demons, they are the only supernatural creatures in the setting: the humans are left to face them with just their iron swords and the strength of their arms (a witch capable to do real magic appears in the novelization, but she's clearly not in their league). Better exemplified by Hrothgar when he says the gods won't do for them what they won't do by themselves.

->''"They are weak, yes, these men. But still they slay dragons, and they kill trolls, and they make wars and hold the fate of all the world in their small, soft hands, even as you hold those stray bits of shell in yours. [...] They have neither the fiery breath nor the wings of dragons, nor have they the strength of trolls. And they are ever jealous of those things, and fearful. They destroy, Grendel. They despoil. They destroy for glory, and from jealousy and fear, to make the world safe for themselves."''

* NakedFirstImpression: Grendel's mother comes to Beowulf in a human shape only covered in golden body paint, which clearly helps him to accept her treat.

A novelization by Caitlin Kiernan was also written.

** Beowulf claims to have killed nine sea serpents in his swimming race, while Wiglaf recalls he said only three the last time. Assuming the onscreen battle is what really transpired (and it might be, as it shows a moment of the fight he notably omitted from the tale - [[spoiler:the mermaid]]), he actually slain seven if every eye-shot was a kill, but given that the theme of the movie is precisely that stories of heroism are often untrue, you never know. Averted in the novelization, where he slays three and it is three what he says to Unferth.
** Why the horn glows in darkness is not addressed in the film, implying if anything that it is magical and has that property. The novelization has Beowulf realizing it was a magic trick done by Grendel's mother herself to guide him to her through the cave.

** In real life, it would be impossible for a beast of the dragon's size to have such a small heart due to the high pumping strength he would need to pump all his blood through his body. Also, even although it would be still reachable through his throat hole, a proportionally-sized heart would be attached to his organism by tons of tissue and it would be very hard to tear out manually, if not impossible. These biological oddities are roughtly justified, however, because he is a supernatural creature whose dragon form is implied to be a magic work.
** The sea serpents are apparently reptilian predators, yet they have a single, large and very human-like eye. Without entering in the eye number issue, an eyeball that large and exposed is an evolutionary nuisance, especially in a sea creature: it would hinder their swimming due to the and at the same time would make them incredibly easy to target by any prey.

* MadeOfPlasticine: Grendel's arm gives out somewhat easily to the door slamming on it, being ripped out clean. However, given his clearly malformed/ill physiology, his flesh might be effectively softer than human flesh when in normal size.

* AdaptationExpansion: The film expands several aspects of the poem, like the role of the monsters or the characters's personal lives, while the novelization expands the film itself.

* GodGuise: The novelization states Grendel's mother was worshipped as a goddess by ancient men that "did not hold Odin as the highest among the Æsir", but also that she knew well she was not divine and that only feigned to be so because they wouldn't try to kill her that way.

* NoNameGiven: Neither Grendel's mother or the dragon are named, they're only referred to as 'Grendel's mother' and 'dragon'. While the same is true in the poem, the novelization of the film implies that Grendel's mother has forgotten her own name; it explains the ancient men that worshipped her called her Hertha, Nerthus or Njördr, names of heathen goddesses, but it adds that she knew she wasn't a goddess and that none of them was her true name.

* OurMonstersAreDifferent: Different and poorly defined. Grendel, his mother and the dragons are called "demonkind" at least once in the film and several in supporting materials, while in the novelization, she identifies their race as both "dragonkind" and "giants" and is identified as a mermaid or sea creature herself. Apparently, the only known facts about their race is that it is incredibly ancient and that it came from the sea. Otherwise, they are "neither troll nor giant nor dragon-kin, and yet perhaps something of all three, some night race spawned in the first days of creation, when Midgard was still new, and then hunted, driven over uncountable millennia to the brink of oblivion."

* AmbiguousEnding: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Grendel's mother looks at Wiglaf seductively, likely enticing him to give her a son like Hrothgar and start the cycle again. Depending of how do you interpret Wiglaf's expression, he might be accepting her offer, pondering about the tragedy, or expressing a subtle rage towards her.]]
* AmbiguousSituation: Beowulf claims to have killed nine sea serpents in his swimming race, while Wiglaf recalls he said only three the last time. Assuming the onscreen battle is what really transpired (and it might be, as it shows a moment of the fight he notably omitted from the tale - [[spoiler:the mermaid]]), he actually slain seven if every eye-shot was a kill. However, given the theme of the movie, you never know.

** In real life, it would be impossible for a beast of the dragon's size to have such a small heart due to the high pumping strength he would need to pump his blood through his body. Also, even although it would be still reachable through his throat hole, a proportionally-sized heart would be attached to his organism by tons of tissue and it would be very hard to tear out manually, if not impossible. These biological oddities are roughtly justified, however, because he is a supernatural creature whose dragon form is implied to be a magic work.

* DarkAgeEurope: "The time of heroes is dead, the Christ-God has killed it, leaving nothing but weeping martyrs and fear and shame"

* DevilButNotGod: While we are never revealed if Grendel and his kin are literal demons, they are the only supernatural creatures in the setting: the humans are left to face them with just their iron swords and the strength of their arms (and possibly magic objects like the horn). Better exemplified by Hrothgar when he says the gods won't do for them what they won't do by themselves.

* TheFairFolk: Grendel's Mother; unlike her children, who are simply monsters, ''she'' is shown to be a powerful, shapeshifting elder being, clearly centuries older than she appears, and enjoys toying with human men and bringing them to ruin. This was more explicit in the first draft of the film and novelization, wherein she was described as being the inspiration for the mythical figures Lorelei, Nerthus, and even the Greek Calypso. The novelization also associates her with the ''dökkálfar'' (dark elves) of Nordic myth.

%%* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Expressed by Beowulf.

* NoNameGiven: Neither Grendel's mother or the dragon are named, they're only referred to as 'Grendel's mother' and 'dragon'. While the same is true in the poem, the novelization of the film implies that Grendel's mother has forgotten her own name.

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Grendel, his mother and the dragons are said to belong to a race of ancients inhabitants of the land called the Water Demons. Aside from they having varied shapes and magic abilities and being able to cross with humans without trouble, however, we are revealed no more about them.

* RiddleForTheAges: ''What'' was Grendel's Mother? The novelization takes this further, where even ''she'' doesn't know what she is: she was revered as a pagan goddess named Hertha or Nerthus, but she knows herself that she is not a deity and only allowed her worshipping because humans wouldn't attempt to kill her that way. Hrothgar, however, associates her with the ''[[TheFairFolk dökkálfar]]''.

* ChekhovSkill: If Beowulf's claims of killing a tribe of giants in the Orkney Islands are true, the experience gained in the fight was probably the reason of the great skill he shows to fight a similarly giant humanoid like Grendel.

* AmbiguousSituation: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Grendel's mother looks at Wiglaf seductively, likely enticing him to give her a son like Hrothgar and start the cycle again. Depending of how do you interpret Wiglaf's expression, he might be accepting her offer, pondering about the tragedy, or even expressing a subtle rage towards her.]]

* AntagonisticOffspring: The dragon towards [[spoiler: Beowulf]]. This isn't the first time something like this has happened: [[spoiler: it turns out that Grendel is ''Hrothgar's'' son, and it's heavily implied that the anterior dragon was the old king's son as well.]]

** Beowulf [[spoiler:reaches through a chink in the dragon's armor and pulls out its heart.]] Now that is badass. He knows this because of [[ChekhovsLecture a speech from Hrothgar about dragon-slaying]].
** Earlier, Beowulf notices Grendel's reaction to sounds and his large exposed eardrum, and smashes it bloody with his fist to take most of the fight out of him.
* BadassBoast: Beowulf's quote at the top of the page.
* BarbieDollAnatomy: Due to the SceneryCensor, Beowulf seems to have this if you slow down the film -- there are parts where his genitals would be visible but aren't.

* BlackSpeech: Grendel can only speak Old English.
* BodyHorror: Grendel, who has patches of golden skin, but otherwise shed much of it and parts of the inside of his body are visible.

* CensorSteam: Beowulf fought the monster Grendel unarmed and completely naked (in order to show off by fighting on equal ground). When smoke (from a barrel overturned into the fire) isn't around, most of the battle consists of Beowulf jumping around like a circus monkey playing [[SceneryCensor "Hide the Sausage."]]

* CuteMonsterGirl: Grendel's mother and the mermaid [[spoiler:In the novel of the movie, they're one and the same, but in the movie, they're two different entities.]]

* DownerEnding: If we interpret the ending as [[spoiler:Wiglaf falling for the offer of Grendel's mother and starting again the CycleOfRevenge with more monsters likely coming to plague the land..]]

* FullFrontalAssault: Beowulf fights Grendel naked to show off his machismo, and Grendel's mother [[NakedFirstImpression comes to him]] only covered in golden bod paint.

* MythologyGag: The film takes a lot from ''Film/{{Beowulf1999}}'', namely [[spoiler:Hrothgar being Grendel's father, Grendel being a scaled shapeshifting monster, and Grendel's mother being a shapeshifting, draconic-like demon seductress.]]

* NoNameGiven: Neither Grendel's mother or the dragon are named, they're only referred to as 'Grendel's mother' and 'dragon'. While the same is true in the poem, the novel of the film implies that Grendel's mother has forgotten her own name.

* PrehensileHair: Grendel's mother (interpreted here as a [[HornyDevils sexy siren]] rather than the original's poorly described ogre-she-wolf-like thing) has a long braid that can move on its own. It's likely this was [[GlamourFailure the tail]] of whatever her real form was.

* TheFairFolk: Grendel's Mother; unlike her children, who are simply monsters, ''she'' is shown to be a powerful, shapeshifting elder being, clearly centuries older than she appears, and enjoys toying with human men and bringing them to ruin. This was more explicit in the first draft of the film and novelization, wherein she was described as being the inspiration for the mythical figures Lorelei, Nerthus, and even the Greek Calypso. The novelization also associates her with the dökkálfar (dark elves) of Nordic myth.

* CycleOfRevenge: [[spoiler: Hrothgar killed a dragon (implied to also be descendant of Grendel's Mother), and then went to fight Grendel's Mother. She seduced him and gave birth to Grendel who then plagued the lands. Beowulf killed Grendel, his mother killed Beowulf's men. He went to kill her, but was also seduced by her and their child became a dragon, who also ravages the land. Beowulf even states that he won't send someone else to kill the dragon, as that will simply start the cycle all over again. Beowulf kills the dragon, but dies in the process. The film ends with Grendel's Mother beckoning to Wiglaf, so it's unclear whether or not the cycle ends. YMMV but Wiglaf may in fact be the one to kill Grendel's mother if his look of subtle rage at the end is any indication]].

* DownerEnding: For all intents the film shows an example of the [[TheBadGuyWins villainess winning]] as the CycleOfRevenge seems to be unbroken with more monsters likely coming to plague the land.

* IndecisiveDeconstruction: The 2007 film plays the myth fairly straight for most regards, but adds elements suggesting UnreliableNarrator, all sorts of raunchiness and deviations from the myth that suggest that it is a "true" version that ended up being portrayed more heroically in the myths. However it still has a naked Beowulf backflipping when fighting Grendel and being all beardy and manly and fighting monsters. A lot of arguments come up about whether or not a particular element was meant to be taken seriously.

* OurDemonsAreDifferent: Grendel, his mother and the dragons are said to belong to a race of ancients inhabitants of the land called the Water Demons. It's never said if they are literal demons, although they seems to be able to cross with humans without trouble.

* RedRightHand: The movie gives Grendel's Mother the power to assume the pleasing form of Creator/AngelinaJolie, but she has a prehensile and whip-like ponytail, as well as humourously high-heeled bare feet.
* RiddleForTheAges: ''What'' was Grendel's Mother? The novelization takes this further, where even ''she'' doesn't know what she is: she was revered as a pagan goddess named Hertha or Nerthus, but she herself knows that she is not a deity, and only allowed her worshipping because humans wouldn't attempt to kill her that way. Hrothgar, however, associates her with TheFairFolk or dökkálfar.

%%* BilingualBonus: For fans of [[HistoryOfEnglish Old English]].

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Although the Zealanders speak in fake, but at least subtle, Danish accents -- Grendel even speaks [[HistoryOfEnglish Old English]] -- the Geats speak in the actors' natural accents, which means that the title character, since he's played by RayWinstone, is a Cockney ("I'm 'ere to kiw your mhonschtah."), and Wiglaf speaks in Brendon Gleeson's usual Irish accent.

* IamXSonOfY: Two examples.

* PlayingGertrude: Creator/AngelinaJolie plays Grendel's mother, who is supposed to be centuries old. Grendel is played by Crispin Glover, who is older than she is. Although, you know, her character is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld. And a {{Shapeshifter}}.

* DeathSeeker: King Beowulf throws away his sword, rips off his armor and dares a Fresian raider to earn his place in history by planting an axe in his chest.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: There's over phallic symbolism in how Beowulf's [[PhallicWeapon erect sword]] melts under the caress of Grendel's mother.

* UnratedEdition: Featuring Zemeckis's original NC-17 cut of the film he intended for IMAX theatres.

* CycleOfRevenge: [[spoiler: Hrothgar killed a dragon (implied to also be descendant of Grendel's Mother), and then went to fight Grendel's Mother. She seduced him and gave birth to Grendel who then plagued the lands. Beowulf killed Grendel, his mother killed Beowulf's men. He went to kill her, but was also seduced by her and their child became a dragon, who also ravages the land. Beowulf even states that he won't send someone else to kill the dragon, as that will simply start the cycle all over again. Beowulf kills the dragon, but dies in the process. The film ends with Grendel's Mother beckoning to Wiglaf, so it's unclear whether or not the cycle ends]].

* TheDoorSlamsYou: Beowulf defeats Grendel this way. He traps Grendel in the doorway of the mead hall with a chain around his (Grendel's wrist, and when Beowulf slams the door shut, the impact rips Grendel's arm off.

Mine is STRENGTH... and LUST... and GLORY!\\

%%* BadassBoast:

* BawdySong: The Geats singing songs of this sort.

%%* BodyHorror: Grendel.

** Beowulf [[spoiler:reaches through a chink in the dragon's armor and pulls out its heart.]] Now that is {{Badass}}. He knows this because of [[ChekhovsLecture a speech from Hrothgar about dragon-slaying]].

* {{Badass}}: The titular character. He swam for six days carrying a sword, killing sea monsters on the fifth night ([[UnreliableVoiceover he claims nine, but we only actually see a couple -- and that's still very impressive]]), ''tore out'' Grendel's arm, and stood up to a dragon's breath for a long time and, with a timely distraction, killed the dragon.