Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic

Terry Pratchett’s The Color of Magic is certainly a breath of fresh air when it comes to the vast amount of fantasy stories out there laden with the typical fantasy elements one is used to seeing so much. What I love about Pratchett’s work is that it takes a new look at fantasy and gives it an incredibly humorous edge to it.

            I’m familiar with Pratchett’s Discworld series so I knew this was going to be enjoyable to watch. Before I get to anything else here I’d just like to say how brilliant Pratchett’s fantasy world is. It’s ridiculous and magical and at first I questioned what I was getting into. The Color of magic takes place in a world known as the Discworld. Literally the world is a flat disk filled with magical lands and an ocean that spills off its edges. I’m sure the flat-Earth theorist would enjoy this. The Discworld is held up by four giant elephants which stand upon the back of a gigantic, cosmic turtle known as the Great A’Tuin. If that’s not strange enough I don’t know what is but I love it.

            The Color of Magic is basically a satire of the fantasy genre and that’s just one of the many reasons why I like it so much. The many fantasy clichés are poked fun at and some are even redone in a more interesting manner. For instance, the dragons of the Discworld are believed to have never died out or were just apart of an old tale but they’re just invisible unless one steps foot into their home at the Wyrmberg. I feel like this was Pratchett’s way of showing how over time we lose belief in various things like legends and mythical beings so they disappear, but once you start believing in them again they become “real”.

            The main protagonists in The Color of Magic were amusing and endearing if anything. First we have Rincewind, the dupe of a wizard who was flunked out of the wizard academy, and Twoflower, the first tourist to visit Ankh-Morpok. Both characters are interesting and I enjoyed their banter and adventures around the Discworld. Rincewind is a cowardice and incompetent goof of a wizard but he somehow manages to become a bit of a hero, although reluctant if anything. Twoflower however is a somewhat more warm-hearted and fun than grumpy old Rincewind. I found Twoflower’s character interesting in that he feels so out of place among the inhabitants of Ankh-Morpok. He dresses like some tourist you’d see in the 90s from our world but he’s merely a very wealthy tourist from one of the other lands within the Disworld coming to visit and see what the rest of the world is like.

            The initial humor in The Color of Magic is also something I deeply enjoyed as well from watching it. One scene that stood out for me was when Rincewind and Twoflower watch from a distance as Ankh-Morpok becomes ashes due to Twoflowwer making a bet with the owner of a tavern he was staying at. The results are hilarious as the whole city ends up burning to the ground as a result and Rincewind decides to flee with Twoflower to avoid any repercussions because of the incident. The scene, although it could have been serious if the series wasn’t a humorous take on fantasy, was such a comedic goldmine. The series has a bunch of other hilarious bits but I would think it best to not spoil them.