Myths & Monsters (2017) User Reviews

Very good with only one drawback

[D-Day77 · 7/10 · 18 August 2021]

Very informative and very well illustrated/animated. Episode length is fantastic and each episode left me wanting more.

Expertly introduced and partially narrated by Nicolas Day.

My only issue with the series was the annoying voice of Dianne Purkiss, her whining snobbish voice irritated me and often made me want to mute her.

I really enjoyed it.

[arjun_ksharma · 10/10 · 4 January 2018]

The artwork is stunning. The host is very amiable and well spoken, he's very easy to listen to. The experts are very knowledgeable and bring up lots of information about the background of the myths. I never knew there was so much amazing mythology. It has increased my interest in mythology and I learned a lot.

It's a lot of talking for some, but if you're interested in fiction and are looking for something to inspire your creativity, I would recommend this.

I love being told stories.

[griffinlpg318 · 10/10 · 4 January 2019]

The historians repeat each other and I would really love to know and understand more. I love these stories and I love the animation. Please make more and with more detail.

GREAT. GREAT. GREAT!

[gleamian · 10/10 · 31 January 2018]

This entire show is amazing. There were some info within the show that I didn't even learn in college/high school. Show was set up in a very interesting and fun way. I was not confused or lost at all. Very educational. I let my kids watch this. Awesome, awesome, awesome. I hope there's another season coming soon.

Gave me comfort, insight, & unlocked something within me. Nah, was a really good watch

[thewickachow · 10/10 · 8 April 2021]

I just want to be at peace knowing that where we came from was epic, the tales and legends written by our ancestors throughout history in the world and understand why all the stories of old have reoccurring patterns throughout most cultures during those time periods.

If it was just all a story or if we truly rose from people/beings who were so unimaginable that they are still being told about today. Imagine what mystery hides behind the tales that where never told, or are older than what our collective generations have been able to retain? I just want to know if there was a time where humanity was great, or it has always been just as it is today. If these stories did not have an impact on the world, then that is an incredibly sad world to be a part of. Humanity as it is today, is great, but in a way that has lost its meaning, it feels as if today we are striving for something so far beyond us and we are going there so systematically fast, but without meaning.

What has changed in us...? I feel that we are chasing after something that has already left leaving us lost, we have never been able to live up to the legends who have left us so we have lost all meaning, because we will never be able to find them again if we stay here any longer. We are chasing after a fable, a legend and that is all they will remain, we have forgotten our old reasons for living, and they have been replaced with something slightly altered. This generation is living in a stage of advancement and we are the front-line fodder, we will see it happen first, but we will never be able to live within in that part of the new advancement in history, one that will be told like one of these tales we look back on now.

Without a doubt I am happy to be alive, without meaning, but happy to be in a time where we have this period of safety, a safety that is like walking on a mirror. If we are careful enough, we will make it to the other side without making a miss-step and falling through. It is baffling to think about and to truly accept that all we are is a steppingstone into a new era, but its bloody exciting to be a part of this fabled tale. I wonder if we will misstep...?

Good, but could have been so much better

[kindjourneys · 6/10 · 14 November 2018]

There's a lot to like in this show. The artwork is beautiful, the retellings of myths are delightful, and when Nicholas Day is allowed to just stick to narrating those retellings, he's excellent. Above all, the academics interviewed are fascinating and fun - at least three of them are people I would love to see with their own shows!

But the editing is sloppy, the choice of art to accompany the themes is often confusing (why is a painting of Judith assassinating Holofernes described as about *love*, for goodness' sake?!), I'm bewildered as to why Day is reading, e.g., classical myths out of an apparent 19th century tome, and his script as presenter is awful - cheesy, overly portentous, and often jumping to exactly the kind of easy, stereotypical conclusions about how myths and legends work that the show claims to be correcting. Moral complexities are mentioned but then skirted over and minimised. Interesting historical details that would give context and extra light to the myths are mentioned by the academics but sometimes outright undermined by the presenter script. The shallow, Victorian vibe of the presentation (including its setting) clashes so awkwardly with the modern and beautiful art and the up-to-date brilliance and enthusiasm of the academics.

It's too good a show to be this bad, and that makes it in some ways harder to watch than if it were consistently so weak. I so hope that if there's a second series they try a different approach (but with the same artist(s), and the same interviewees!).

Very well made and entertaining

[ryankorosec · 10/10 · 6 July 2019]

I was looking for something to watch with my kids on mythology and stumbled across this series. The artwork and scenery was spectacular, great narrator, and I liked the way they laid out the series thematically. I regret that there were not more to watch.

It's wrought with minor inaccuracies and tediously scattered.

[dejonggrant · 6/10 · 22 March 2018]

I love folklore and so I possibly expected too much from this title. They try to contextualize myths in erroneously simplified histories - the organization of which is tediously bad.

Most of the time they're featured, the experts fail to provide any actual insight into myths. When they're not spouting awful platitudes - which is possibly the most frustrating part of the show - they summarize only the most surface-level details of a given historical fact or mythology. It almost seems like each episode is deliberately structured to stretch a twenty minute run-time to forty minutes.

That said, both the artwork and the narration are great. With better direction, more information, and less platitudinal babble it could easily be an 8/10.

Fab

[nkishudak · 10/10 · 10 June 2021]

Absolutely brilliant! I was delighted when I read the news that season 2 will be released in December. More seasons please! Great animation team worked on the season. Stunning!

a basic introduction

[mccormackmuse · 6/10 · 6 December 2020]

Hopefully this inspires people to read joseph campbell and go deeper. or if they don't read books, at least watch the power of myth series with campbell and moyers.

Poor transitioning between scenes. facts / opinions felt bias.

[Im-SoRRy-ITS-TakEN · 4/10 · 19 March 2021]

So far 2 episodes in and the series is a total mess. Besides the inaccurate bias interpretations of certain events the consistency of the story's are all over the place. Near the end of a Ivan and the immortal and all of a sudden your flicked into another with no relation, without even an introduction. Only to be flicked back afterwards to see the 1 minute ending which was then less interesting. I di like the main narrator, the others were fine, but i found myself constantly correcting or De-buffing there explanations that the show just became about that action instead.

Hardly any details are given with each myth and it is harder to keep track of the details when it consistently switches story's at random intervals. Stuff covered by one narrator was left out by another and so on... honestly i have been getting into watching science / history related stuff recently so i began watching this series as a break and to digest earlier info cause it's about myths and i shouldn't have to take it as seriously.

However that was not the case here, the poor interpretation and messy transitions made me judge it more than on the previous videos. The myths are mostly up to your own perspective what you take from the stories yet they took there own view too far at times.

I need more of this.

[yolandabean · 10/10 · 18 July 2022]

Lets do all cultural myths. Lets expand this. Its such a calming and entertaining series.

Make sure Mr. Day can narrate or at least someone with a soothing voice.

Could have been a lot more interesting

[bettycjung · 8 January 2018]

1/8/18. I love myths and monsters, but for some reason the delivery of the information was not well done. It just seemed a bit all over the place. I stayed with the series because there were good tidbits here and there. But, it could have been done better in a more interesting manner.

What an incredible show do not listen to the negative nancys and their thick-headed reviews

[faithless4734 · 10/10 · 22 April 2021]

This topic is so incredibly large and deep. This look at myths and monsters is a fantastic and wonderfully done beginning for those interested and to help someone get started or just for the entertainment value. I saw that several people of low understanding have attacked this show with falsely intelligent criticism. Do not listen. This is a well done and informative look at these topics. It was not nor should it be seen as a study or detailed explanation of these myths but an overview and beginning level view. This is a show meant for entertainment and peaking an interest in these things.

writing is a bit of a mess

[meh-28476 · 6/10 · 27 June 2018]

It's a nice and diverse collection of myths and the host is a good presenter. The art is interesting. But the writing and editing are a mess.

Each episode attempts to tell several myths together under an overarching narrative. Most episodes, however, fail to clearly establish their theme or thesis and are more rambling tales with interjections from academics than an educational presentation.

Identify the art

[mknobel-98745 · 6/10 · 15 January 2022]

I'm seeing this series for the first time. I'm no expert in any part of the explorations but I am enjoying hearing of the myths from different cultures, the examination of cultural origins and possible meanings, the literary pieces (the authors of whom are usually named) and the art. One thing that seems missing and I would have liked to see is the name of the painting/lithograph/piece, and the artist.

I'm here for the amazing artwork!

[lcb-64368 · 6/10 · 6 August 2022]

In my opinion, the only "Stories" or "Myths" that are worth watching are episodes 5 & 6, the episode, Love & Betrayal is horrible. But there is some wonderful artwork throughout the series. So if you're a fan of Fantasy, Norse mythology, or Mythology, you should definitely check this short series out.

Starts too Much and Non-educational

[bigbronon · 2/10 · 1 January 2018]

The first episode chokes on itself in trying to explain what the hero's journey is and examines various myths in piecemeal with unhelpful weighing-in by professors. Feels like it was edited by a scatterbrain. Any actual examination is weighed down by just using popular myths and explaining things that would already be learnt in high school. Shameful.

first steps

[Kirpianuscus · 10 February 2020]

It is a nice and very instructive introduction to mythology. Small sketches, perfect host - presenter, nice interventions of specialists. Sure, far to be ideal or the best example of accuracy and objectivity in few cases but a good start to birth questions, to search, yourself, informations, read books from scientific ones to epopes and novels, discover influences to contemporanity. So, good kick first steps .

As somebody else said: Why so White?

[mathilda-p-sjoberg · 3/10 · 13 April 2021]

Is this beautifully done and well-edited? Mostly, yes. Are the myths explored really interesting? Definitely! Are ANY of them from beyond Europe? Nope.

Generally, the episodes had 3 myths: one Celtic/British, one Greek/Roman, and one Old Norse/Viking. Yet the presenters kept saying that these were illustrating the HUMAN condition, and myths about this and that are UNIVERSAL. As someone with a degree in Archaeology, none of my professors would have allowed such sweeping statements without more diverse evidence. There are SO MANY interesting myths around the world, why keep focusing on only the European ones? Especially since these are among the most quoted myths in Western education anyway.

Works great as a general introduction to some of the themes in myths and how mythology works, but for myths themselves, go somewhere else.

Good as background entertainment

[f-wiltshire · 5/10 · 12 March 2021]

I definitely struggled to sit and watch this with complete focus, I kept finding myself looking for an extra distraction. I love myths and fables which is what inspired me to watch this short series, however I feel like not a single myth was given enough detail, nor were the reasonings behind the myths given proper depth for me to get that 'huh, that's interesting' moment. Although majorly lacking in areas, I found it to be pleasant background noise, and great to wind down to before sleep, as it requires little attention.

Why only White/European Myths?

[brittanylombari · 3/10 · 21 February 2020]

I wish they didn't only look at Western mythology. This basically only views the myths of white, European historical narratives. Many other worldly myths could easily be incorporated and I feel like it's completely one sided. Where are the Native American myths? The Asian myths? Indian myths? Mexican myths? I could go on and on. This documentary series could really improve by widening their perspective.

That being said, it was well done in terms of format and communicating the stories.

Silly attempt to explain historic writings with the mediocre mind of today

[OneAnjel · 2/10 · 11 September 2021]

I was 5 min in to E1 and the narrator explained that the myths grew by being passed around through villages and were a "collective" of imagination. I am disappointed to have to skip the rest of the series because the artwork and reproductions are so well-done. But this is clearly going to attempt to minimize these stories are pure fantasy from the simple mind of today's human. It would be like saying the story of Jesus was collectively exaggerated and was once a small story that gained some momentum as it ran through each village whilst becoming more and more fanciful, somehow. Apparently, although the original story lacked the depth and amazement, through other equally common people adding or deleting parts it's now this amazing but ultimately untrue story. Sorry, but as an author myself and having studied culture, religion, and mythology I'm surprised at this infantile narrative. We live in a time that the limited mind of man has become so set on believing only what it sees that we cannot fathom a time when much more was happening in the world in a time when mankind didn't draw a stark line between the two worlds: the seen and the unseen. I was expecting an intelligent show but this is clearly just a simpleton attempt to explain something today's very shallow mind can not comprehend. Too bad.

Awful..Based on the first two episodes.

[dave-19043 · 2/10 · 11 January 2020]

As someone who loves historical and mythical documentaries I was extremely disappointed. It's documentaries done on a very tight budget. Don't expect any re-enactments of events. Do expect to be bombarded with paintings and illustratations.

Fiinally after the 3-4 minute intro to each episode, that episode then features 3-4 stories. So about 7 to 10 minutes for each story. Awful and boring enough that I may not get through all the episodes. Each to their own but personally I found the presenter to be as dull as the content. I have hundreds of documentary shows and several hundred one-off documovies. I don't think I have ever been so underwhelmed.

Waste of Time

[insouciantjackalope · 3/10 · 3 January 2022]

This show has 90% fun graphics/gifs, some of which are nice. It is 10% informative, but repetitive.

The transitions are so long that the 4 episodes I forced myself to watch could've easily been done in 45 minutes. You can clean your house, do the dishes and Instagram the whole time and not miss much.