Legends of Valhalla – Thor

Hetjur Valhallar – Þór

A young blacksmith acquires a magical hammer and finds himself at war with any army of giants.

Even if a screening is sold out, tickets are often available 30 minutes before the start of the film at the box office at each venue.


Image gallery

  • Director Óskar Jónasson
  • Producer Hilmar Sigurðsson, Arnar þorisson
  • Screenwriter Friðrik Erlingsson, Toby Genkal, Mark Hodkinson, Óskar Jónasson
  • Voices Justin Gregg, Paul Tylak, Nicola Coughlan
  • Iceland-Germany-Ireland 2011
  • 85 mins
  • Sales Global Screen Gmbh

Recommended all ages

Legend has it that young Thor the blacksmith is the son of Odin, King of the Gods. His godly skills are more than tested when his village is attacked by an army of giants and the Queen of the Underworld puts into action a wicked plan to crush all who stand in her way. A chance turn of events unites Thor with Crusher, a magical, talking hammer with great powers, and thus starts a legendary partnership that pits good versus evil in epic proportions. This is an Icelandic production which is as good as most Hollywood efforts despite being made for a fraction of the cost. Not only does it look good, but it has what so many other CGI films lack: a strong, absorbing script with plenty of action and humour.
Justin Johnson

Director statement

I knew the minute I lay my eyes on this script – err, well... I guess the minute I finished reading it – that I definitely wanted to be a part of this adventure. It is rare to come across such a complete and well written screenplay in the early stages of pre-production. Little did I know back then, how much work there would be ahead of us. I do not only find the entire ancient fantasy world of Men, Giants, and Gods fascinating... but I also love every one of the characters. They are all sympathetic and loveable, the good ones as well as the bad ones. They all have their dreams, their obvious goals and sympathetic sides; even Hel, the Queen of the Underworld, who actually is my favourite character. But I am also deeply in love with Odinn, the King of the Gods. He has been partying for at least a thousand years – and is still having fun. Mother, Edda, Sindri and Crusher are all adorable. And I am a dedicated fan of Thor, our hero. He takes on a journey to pursue his dreams, and we, the whole crew, joined him. And now, hopefully - more will follow. I come from a live-action background. I have never been involved in animation before – and that is what the producers wanted; live action storytelling. Now, three years later, I still find animation a complete jungle. On one hand it gives you total freedom; total control, which is scary. It is too easy to get used to. You can produce rain or sunshine whenever you want to, so it is tough to come back to the real world. But, on the other hand, animation is a technical labyrinth. Unbelievably small issues can turn into huge problems; I have sat in endless meetings about Thor’s chin, Edda’s hair, and not to mention the dreaded broom...! My interest lies in the story and the characters. We have turned the pagan myths upside down and played around with the stories Snorri Sturluson wrote down some eight hundred years ago. Our aim was to create a timeless story, where the human spirit is the driving force. These myths have been rewritten again and again, through the centuries - and now it is time for our generation to have their go.
Óskar Jónasson

Director biography

Born in 1963 in Reykjavik, he has directed for both TV and cinema, and in music video with The Sugarcubes. All his previous features have been live-action: the comedy Remote Control played at Cannes in 1993, while the award-winning thriller Reykjavik – Rotterdam, co-written with ace Icelandic novelist Arnaldur Indriðason, has been re-made in English this year as Contraband with its star, Baltasar Kormákur, directing Mark Wahlberg in his former role. Jónasson also has a stand-up comedy act as the useless magician Skari Skrípó.

Filmography (selected)

1990 SSL-25 [s]
1993 Sódóma Reykjavík (Remote Control)
1997 Perlur og svín (Pearls and Swine)
2000 Úr öskunni í eldinn [TV]
2001 Áramótaskaup [TV]
2002 20/20 [TV]
2008 Reykjavík-Rotterdam
2011 Hetjur Valhallar – Þór (Legends of Valhalla: Thor)