Chhota Bheem is a successful Indian cartoon franchise. There's certainly an awful lot of it; the original series has run for twelve seasons, with 624 episodes, along with forty three movies and five different spin off series. Bheem is a brave and heroic boy with superhuman strength, which he uses to protect his home kingdom of Dholakpur as well as travel the world having adventures. In his time, Bheem has traveled the world, met aliens, seen dinosaurs, learned kung fu, gained super powers, and befriended Krishna, Ganesh, and Hanuman. And then there are the Vikings, as seen in Chhota Bheem the Crown of Valhalla (2013).
After an unrelated amazing adventure, Bheem is sailing home to Dholakpur, along with ship's captain and token adult Samudra Sen, plucky platonic gal pal Chutki, tiny sidekick Raju, huge and somewhat-reformed bully Kalia, annoying twins Dholu and Bholu, and talking monkey Jaggu. The ship is caught in a terrible storm, and they emerge in the legendary Black Sea of Valhalla, where they are attacked by Vikings! Who are also pirates! (Okay, all Vikings are at least a bit piratical, but these Vikings sail in big ships armed with cannons and wear the skull and crossbones on their Viking helmets. Historical accuracy is not a priority here.)
The leader of the Vikings is a big, bearded brute with an eyepatch and two ravens which perch on his shoulders, so naturally he is named Valkyrie. Valkyrie is determined to become king of Valhalla, and for some reason he believes that attacking ransom ships is going to help with this. Bheem's ship is quickly overwhelmed, even after Bheem eats a laddu for extra strength (Bheem operates under Popeye rules) and starts throwing cannonballs back at the pirate Vikings. Just when all seems lost, Bheem and his friends are saved by a huge wave, and find themselves on an island ruled by Viking Prince Fainir.
And then there is exposition. Fainir's father was the King of Valhalla, and used the power of the Crown of Valhalla and the nation's incredible shipbuilding abilities to . . . well, mostly sail around and be good. However, the King's brother Valkyrie wants the throne and magical crown, and murders his brother while at sea. The crown is lost, and Valkyrie and his men are cursed to burst into flames if they ever set foot on land (through the power of "It just happens, okay?") and they devote themselves to a blockade, trapping the good Vikings on their home islands and blowing up passing ships for fun.
Bheem is a hero, and so he cannot let this stand. Bheem and his friends set out to find the Crown, along the way meeting wise old Raghonark, teaming up with the brave Viking Vanir, who is totally not a spy for Valkyrie, and engaging in sword fights with ghosts. As you do.
After watching Chhota Bheem, I have to question the accuracy of their historical research. I also have to question the existence of their historical research. The animation is not great, with continuity errors popping up within the space of a single scene, and at one point Valkyrie's eyepatch vanishes with no explanation. And the plot is enthusiastic nonsense. Still, I have a hard time judging the show when I am so far from being the target audience. I'm not planning to watch anymore Chhota Bheem, but it's not for me, and the kids the show was made for seem to like it a lot.
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