Thank you @katerinaaqu for tagging me! I just watched the video--GREAT recommendation, thank you! ❤️ I am VERY impressed by how much they managed to cover, wow! And the animations~! 😍
I couldn't help but compare & contrast Adventures of Odysseus to my favorite adaptation: The Odyssey (1997), also a miniseries (Pt1 & Pt2).
I seriously think that miniseries are the best way to handle such a rich story--and even then it's inevitable that some things will get cut--in Adventures: Telemachus in Sparta; in 1997: A LOT 😅😭 (Ismarus, Lotus Eaters, Laestrygonians, Helios, Sirens). The 1997 live action is also chronological, but spends FAR more time focusing on Telemachus growing up without his father, the suitors making his life a living hell, Penelope & Anticlea struggling (no Laertes & Argos), etc; rather than all of the adventures Odysseus goes on, except Polyphemus & Hades ofc.
Interestingly, neither one of them include Odysseus faking insanity to avoid the Trojan War draft; him vs Diomedes for the Palladion or vs Ajax for Achilles' armor; or talking to all of the dead heroes in Hades (Achilles, Heracles, etc), etc. They both focus on Tiresias & Anticlea.
YES, the veiled women is a MUST.
I love how they depicted the gods, agreed--my favorite is Poseidon:
In the 1997 live action, Aeolus is all by himself in a cave; he's a lot more comedic, but his powers are more frightening. I like how in the animated version he's having a whole party! 😂 And I love the bag of winds!
Another god I love is Hermes--the animated version lets him use a disguise; nice foreshadowing for how Odysseus using a disguise later!
My BIGGEST complaint about the 1997 version was Hermes, and why they had him in a diaper loincloth more like Eros/Cupid. 🫣
Here's Calypso's island caves--not as colorful, alas, it's more like the thermal pools at Edipsos or Pamukkale.
Yeah, Calypso's dynamic with Odysseus is always interesting, and a little bittersweet, because where does one draw the line between infatuation (Calypso) and Stockholm Syndrome (Odysseus)? 🤔 But in the end, Odysseus' determination to get home to Ithaca was even stronger than the allure of living forever on Ogygia, even though it clearly broke Calypso's heart.
The 1997 version's CGI hasn't aged that well, but it still holds up. We don't see Circe turn the men into animals, but we do see one change back when the spell is lifted--it's one of the best/funniest parts.
It's interesting how both versions basically agree that Circe must've been somewhere near Egypt or the Near East--or she at least REALLY like their decor--possibly because of the her lions everywhere.
The 1997 version never shows Zeus or Olympus, but Athena is very present as Odysseus & Telemachus' patron deity. The focus is more on her "gleaming eyes," and the help/advice she offers; so sadly her iconic connection to snakes is understated (the scaly collar of her Aegis, and a teeny tiny Gorgoneion if you squint).
Speaking of snakes, they DO show Laocoon's death, but not his sons.
I really like how although the serpent comes from the sea, it hides in Athena's statue and vanishes behind her shield--almost like a wink to all of her connections with snakes.
As for Odysseus' transformation, it's more creepy than creative--no awesome theatre mask, Athena waves her hands over his face.
The spell lifts on its own once Odysseus fires the arrow.
With the Recognition Scenes, I rather like what the animated version did with the bed reveal--it's a very subtle nod to the tree, rather than being more overt, like with the boar scar reveal.
So yeah, overall I think the animated version and the live action version both have their strengths and weaknesses. But overall, I think the animated version might be a bit more successful, because they managed to pack in ALL of the adventures, AND include Telemachus once Odysseus was back at Ithaca. The live action sacrificed the bulk of the adventures to focus more on Telemachus's growth from childhood to adulthood--he's pretty much the second main character. So I deeply enjoyed both, in different ways but for the same reason: the love of the myth Homer told. 🥰
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