"Grendel Grendel Grendel is based on John Gardnerโs novel Grendel (1971), a re-telling of the medieval epic poem Beowulf from the monsterโs point of view."
In other words it contains all the fashionable cynicism of the late '60s early '70s overlaid on a founding myth of western civ. The monster is essentially Peter Ustinov in his sophisticated Oxford Don mode played against a bunch of bungling and corrupt Vikings. The animation and design work is interesting but beyond that it's pretty much a snooze fest unless you're big into multicultural white bashing.