The 3D animated Beowulf movie released on 2007 do have some major differences in comparison to the original story written from the books. So on this post, let’s discuss these major differences particularly summaries of Beowulf’s last three epic battles.
There were three major battles against demonic monsters on Beowulf’s legacy. The first one was Grendel and his mother as the second. Third and Beowulf’s final battle was against a powerful dragon.
Both the 3D movie and the original story portrayed three similar characters fought by the mighty slayer. However, these evil beings do vary a lot in many aspects which we are about to cover them down below.
But before we go to that part, let’s have a brief discussion about their origin or where did they came from.
The animated movie had left their viewers with the question about the existence of Grendel and his mother. I guess, accepting the existence of monsters in the past might just be good enough.
In the book, Grendel and his mother were descendants of “Cain” who was the same character found in the Holy Bible. He was one of “Adam and Eve’s” sons who first committed the greatest sin where he murdered his brother “Abel”.
Beowulf actually faced already many or perhaps even countless numbers of monster on his adventures which makes Grendel not really the first one. Grendel just happened to be one of the main character featured on the story that Beowulf had slain.
In the 3D animated film, Grendel has this kind of “hyper sensitive hearing” which gives him too much discomfort especially with the loud noises caused by the villagers or residents of king Hrothgar’s kingdom. This was the reason why he went on a rampage attacking everyone from the Mead Hall.
On the other hand, the book described Grendel that he felt so much rage when he heard that Danes was having a celebration due to their military success.
How Grendel attacked the Mead Hall?
In the movie, Grendel attacked the Mead Hall two times. His first attack was a very brutal massacre. Bodies were tossed and easily ripped apart by the monster. There was even one women who got her head decapitated because she screamed so much in fear and she did it right in front of the demonic creature.
The rampaging monster only stopped when he was confronted by his biological father, king Hrothgar for a fight. He seem like, he got emotionally hurt by how his father treated him so he retreated crying like a baby.
Grendel’s second attack was now with the presence of Beowulf where they actually baited the creature into the Mead Hall. They turned the place into an arena where Beowulf managed to capture Grendel using the metal chain he got from the ceiling.
The troll-like creature almost able to escape but he got caught by Beowulf’s chain on his right arm and got stuck at the main door. There, the slayer intimidated Grendel so much and lost control of himself pushing the door too hard which ripped the monster’s right arm.
Grendel managed to escape with his right arm missing and went to his mother’s cave. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to overcome the loss of his right arm where he finally rested in peace on the hands of his mom who had sworn to seek revenge.
Now on the book, Grendel do not have hypersensitive hearing ability and his physical appearance isn’t described. He was just referred as a “demon” and that’s all.
But there is one thing for sure, Grendel was probably a giant who possess inhuman strength. Because, on his first attack, he took 30 men back to his own lair for food.
Unlike in the movie, Grendel attacked Danes several times where he had a lot of victims. He even refused gold offered to him to stop his attacks. It was for this reason how he gained so much popularity around the world.
So Beowulf who was considered as the “bravest and wisest man” at that time heard about it, he got interested and immediately traveled to Heorot.
The battle between Beowulf and Grendel occurred in the late night. It was an intense battle similar to what the movie had portrayed. But the difference was, Beowulf managed to wrestle Grendel twisting his arm and tore it off. There, he finished the demonic creature and victorious.
By the way, king Hrothgar was not the father of Grendel from the original poem.
Let’s start from the animated movie.
Grendel’s mother was a “water demon” who was a reptilian creature with human form that look exactly like Angelina Jolie.
Due to the loss of his only son, Grendel’s mother attacked Beowulf’s men at the night of their sleep. All of them got killed by the demon except Beowulf and Wiglaf.
They were surprised about the attack until they figured it out through king Hrothgar who explained about the mother of Grendel.
So Beowulf along with Wiglaf traveled into the water demon’s cave. But, only the slayer went inside to face the monster.
Unfortunately, there was no battle that took place. Instead, the two had a deal and secret affair.
The battle between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother from the book is a lot more interesting.
Beowulf had ventured into the lair of Grendel’s mom which wasn’t a cave but a lake. There they fought one another so valiantly.
The sword that was given by Unferth was rendered useless because the creature’s hide was too thick for his weapon to cut or penetrate. Mysteriously, he found a giant magical sword nearby in which he used to slay the mother for good.
Let’s start again from the movie.
The dragon was actually Beowulf and the water demon’s son just like Hrothgar and his son Grendel. Both of them actually did the same mistake where they had secret affair with the water demon.
Since Beowulf was now the king when the dragon appeared terrorizing his kingdom, he can actually just seek help to another younger adventurer who can slay the beast for him. But he did not, because he doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake as the previous king.
Thus, Beowulf fought the dragon at the top of the castle while saving his wife, Wealtheow and mistress, Ursula. He managed to cut the throat of the dragon and grabbed its heart out then they fell together at the rocky shore of the castle.
There, Beowulf with his last dying breath tried to tell the truth to Wiglaf about his secret. But, his friend refused to believe it. So there it goes, Beowulf finally died.
In the original poem, the dragon was not Beowulf’s son. It only came to attack Danes when a slave had stolen a jeweled cup from its lair.
Yes, the dragon’s lair was full of treasures and it was the main reason why Beowulf had decided to fight it and acquire the treasures. He actually intends to give these treasures as a form of payment to the king of Danes.
The dragon was no ordinary beast because it can breathe fire that can melt swords or any other weapons. Its blood was also poisonous which what caused the death of Beowulf.
Beowulf and his army had to travel on their way into the dragon’s lair where the battle took place.
Take note, Beowulf at this period of time was now 80 years old. He was an old man who fought a beast that was much fiercer than Grendel and his mother.
On their battle against the dragon, our hero got a fatal wound. Luckily, Wiglaf managed to sneak his way down at the dragon’s belly where he was able to impale that portion reducing the creature’s flames. Beowulf took this opportunity allowing him to deliver his finishing blow.
Before Beowulf died, he made an announcement that Wiglaf will take his place including the treasures.
Conclusion
Both the original poem and the animated movie do have good story plots that I did enjoyed. But when it comes to the battles, I prefer the original story because the hero portrayed did successfully slain his evil foes. While in the movie, he failed to defeat the mother where evil won at the end of the day.
There were three major battles against demonic monsters on Beowulf’s legacy. The first one was Grendel and his mother as the second. Third and Beowulf’s final battle was against a powerful dragon.
Both the 3D movie and the original story portrayed three similar characters fought by the mighty slayer. However, these evil beings do vary a lot in many aspects which we are about to cover them down below.
But before we go to that part, let’s have a brief discussion about their origin or where did they came from.
The animated movie had left their viewers with the question about the existence of Grendel and his mother. I guess, accepting the existence of monsters in the past might just be good enough.
In the book, Grendel and his mother were descendants of “Cain” who was the same character found in the Holy Bible. He was one of “Adam and Eve’s” sons who first committed the greatest sin where he murdered his brother “Abel”.
Grendel the First Monster
Beowulf actually faced already many or perhaps even countless numbers of monster on his adventures which makes Grendel not really the first one. Grendel just happened to be one of the main character featured on the story that Beowulf had slain.
In the 3D animated film, Grendel has this kind of “hyper sensitive hearing” which gives him too much discomfort especially with the loud noises caused by the villagers or residents of king Hrothgar’s kingdom. This was the reason why he went on a rampage attacking everyone from the Mead Hall.
On the other hand, the book described Grendel that he felt so much rage when he heard that Danes was having a celebration due to their military success.
How Grendel attacked the Mead Hall?
In the movie, Grendel attacked the Mead Hall two times. His first attack was a very brutal massacre. Bodies were tossed and easily ripped apart by the monster. There was even one women who got her head decapitated because she screamed so much in fear and she did it right in front of the demonic creature.
The rampaging monster only stopped when he was confronted by his biological father, king Hrothgar for a fight. He seem like, he got emotionally hurt by how his father treated him so he retreated crying like a baby.
Grendel’s second attack was now with the presence of Beowulf where they actually baited the creature into the Mead Hall. They turned the place into an arena where Beowulf managed to capture Grendel using the metal chain he got from the ceiling.
The troll-like creature almost able to escape but he got caught by Beowulf’s chain on his right arm and got stuck at the main door. There, the slayer intimidated Grendel so much and lost control of himself pushing the door too hard which ripped the monster’s right arm.
Grendel managed to escape with his right arm missing and went to his mother’s cave. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to overcome the loss of his right arm where he finally rested in peace on the hands of his mom who had sworn to seek revenge.
Now on the book, Grendel do not have hypersensitive hearing ability and his physical appearance isn’t described. He was just referred as a “demon” and that’s all.
But there is one thing for sure, Grendel was probably a giant who possess inhuman strength. Because, on his first attack, he took 30 men back to his own lair for food.
Unlike in the movie, Grendel attacked Danes several times where he had a lot of victims. He even refused gold offered to him to stop his attacks. It was for this reason how he gained so much popularity around the world.
So Beowulf who was considered as the “bravest and wisest man” at that time heard about it, he got interested and immediately traveled to Heorot.
The battle between Beowulf and Grendel occurred in the late night. It was an intense battle similar to what the movie had portrayed. But the difference was, Beowulf managed to wrestle Grendel twisting his arm and tore it off. There, he finished the demonic creature and victorious.
By the way, king Hrothgar was not the father of Grendel from the original poem.
Second Battle is Between Beowulf and Grendel’s Mother
Let’s start from the animated movie.
Grendel’s mother was a “water demon” who was a reptilian creature with human form that look exactly like Angelina Jolie.
Due to the loss of his only son, Grendel’s mother attacked Beowulf’s men at the night of their sleep. All of them got killed by the demon except Beowulf and Wiglaf.
They were surprised about the attack until they figured it out through king Hrothgar who explained about the mother of Grendel.
So Beowulf along with Wiglaf traveled into the water demon’s cave. But, only the slayer went inside to face the monster.
Unfortunately, there was no battle that took place. Instead, the two had a deal and secret affair.
The battle between Beowulf and Grendel’s mother from the book is a lot more interesting.
Beowulf had ventured into the lair of Grendel’s mom which wasn’t a cave but a lake. There they fought one another so valiantly.
The sword that was given by Unferth was rendered useless because the creature’s hide was too thick for his weapon to cut or penetrate. Mysteriously, he found a giant magical sword nearby in which he used to slay the mother for good.
The Third and Beowulf’s Last Battle against the Dragon
Let’s start again from the movie.
The dragon was actually Beowulf and the water demon’s son just like Hrothgar and his son Grendel. Both of them actually did the same mistake where they had secret affair with the water demon.
Since Beowulf was now the king when the dragon appeared terrorizing his kingdom, he can actually just seek help to another younger adventurer who can slay the beast for him. But he did not, because he doesn’t want to repeat the same mistake as the previous king.
Thus, Beowulf fought the dragon at the top of the castle while saving his wife, Wealtheow and mistress, Ursula. He managed to cut the throat of the dragon and grabbed its heart out then they fell together at the rocky shore of the castle.
There, Beowulf with his last dying breath tried to tell the truth to Wiglaf about his secret. But, his friend refused to believe it. So there it goes, Beowulf finally died.
In the original poem, the dragon was not Beowulf’s son. It only came to attack Danes when a slave had stolen a jeweled cup from its lair.
Yes, the dragon’s lair was full of treasures and it was the main reason why Beowulf had decided to fight it and acquire the treasures. He actually intends to give these treasures as a form of payment to the king of Danes.
The dragon was no ordinary beast because it can breathe fire that can melt swords or any other weapons. Its blood was also poisonous which what caused the death of Beowulf.
Beowulf and his army had to travel on their way into the dragon’s lair where the battle took place.
Take note, Beowulf at this period of time was now 80 years old. He was an old man who fought a beast that was much fiercer than Grendel and his mother.
On their battle against the dragon, our hero got a fatal wound. Luckily, Wiglaf managed to sneak his way down at the dragon’s belly where he was able to impale that portion reducing the creature’s flames. Beowulf took this opportunity allowing him to deliver his finishing blow.
Before Beowulf died, he made an announcement that Wiglaf will take his place including the treasures.
Conclusion
Both the original poem and the animated movie do have good story plots that I did enjoyed. But when it comes to the battles, I prefer the original story because the hero portrayed did successfully slain his evil foes. While in the movie, he failed to defeat the mother where evil won at the end of the day.
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