Took the kid to see this as a family this weekend. Cute movie! Too many kids these days are not learning about ancient mythology, Greek and Roman gods… maybe this movie will prompt a few kids to go to the library and check out some books to learn more. It helps to build a healthy skeptical foundation, to learn about ancient mythology.

It was fun for my kid to pipe up during the movie, “Poseidon! That’s Poseidon! Oh look, Zeus!” and see the gods he has learned about in his books “come to life” on the big screen. There were Furies, Lotus Eaters, a Hydra, and countless others. My favorite was Uma Therman as Medusa! She was funny.

When we left the movie, my husband said “It was a fun movie, but what a rip-off of Harry Potter! It had the equivalent of a Harry, a Ronnie, and a Hermione, the tragic parents, and finding your true powers.” But I believe the Percy Jackson books were written prior to the Harry Potter books? Regardless the movie style was similar. But hey, if you have a formula that works, stick with it. Many movies have similar plots, heroes, twists and villains. I just thought it was nice to have a movie with some mythology in it, for kids. It’s been a while since that Hercules cartoon movie was out, I think that was one of the last times a movie for kids with mythology came out, that I can remember at least.

We went this weekend as well. I thought it was well done. A nice way of introducing the Greek stories to modern kids with some updating but still keeping the spirit of he characters. I was surprised at how old the characters were in the movie. Obviously they added 5 years to get the lucrative teen market!

Yes it was as if the cast of “High School Musical” was given the roles. They probably wanted that teen merchandise market, similar to all the “dreamy boys” in those recent teen Vampire movies. Their posters sell like hotcakes; everyone I know with teen girls has those vampire dream-boy posters in their house. But also having teen actors is better for movie makers; they are easier to work with and can work longer hours legally. They can train in all the martial arts necessary for their roles. I suspect with all the sword fighting, etc. The Percy Jackson movie directors felt teens would be a better fit.

(What surprised me, is the Avatar/The Last Airbender movie trailer that is out, they are sticking with the story of the star “The Avatar” being a little kid. (A little kick-ass kid!) I had suspected they would go with a teen movie star, for the financial and practical/legal reasons noted above for the Percy Jackson movie.)

Anyhow, the Percy Jackson movie was a nice modern take. I love the story behind it, the author of the books wrote them for his son, who was his inspiration for the star in the movie - he enjoyed the bedtime stories of the Greek gods that his dad would tell him. His son was dyslexic and ADHD, so he wrote those traits into the main character as advantages, to inspire his son and make him feel confident. It’s a nice story.

What I liked, is when we got home from the movie, my son got out his mythology books and started to read them again. That is all I could ask for. 

(Oh - I did not like the cow being killed in the beginning by the Minotaur.  )

Thanks for the heads up! I loved the mythologies as a child too! It will bring back fond old and rusty memories!!