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HELLBOY: SWORD OF STORMS THE ANIMATED MOVIE (ADVANCE REVIEW) |
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Monday, 15 January 2007 |
 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | ANCHOR BAY ENTERTAINMENT | | | ▪ | ASPECT RATIO: | | 1.78:1 ANAMORPHIC WIDESCREEN | | | ▪ | AUDIO: | | ENGLISH AND JAPANESE DD 2.0 | | | ▪ | RUNNING TIME: | | 77 MIN | | | ▪ | RATING: | | NR | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/06/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 01/16/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | HOLLY ELLINGWOOD |
The first of two animated Hellboy movies slated for straight-to-DVD release (a third movie is currently being discussed as is a Hellboy anime series), Hellboy: Sword of Storms is an action packed adventure with the big red guy battling cursed samurai swords and evil spirits in Japan. It is brought to us in part by overseas animation director Dong-Wook Lee who was involved in the US English version of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles, as well as having worked on Millennium Actress. He, along with Madhouse Studio., Inc., bring an Eastern flair to the Western anti-hero.
From the creative minds of Mike Mignolia (creator of Hellboy), Tad Jones and Guillermo del Toro (writer/director of Hellboy the live action film) comes an all new enthralling adventure for Hellboy, combining the best of the comic books and the live movie to create this animated film. When a folklore specialist is possessed by a Japanese demon, it is up to the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense (B.R.P.D.) to stop the demon before the other demons are unleashed and the whole world is dominated by their evil. B.R.P.D. agents Hellboy, Liz, and Abe are sent to Japan to try to stop the demons only to have Hellboy trapped in a dimension of supernatural creatures that are all out to reclaim the cursed sword in his possession. A world of cursed katanas, demons and dragons comes to life in this vivid animation.
As a fan of both the comics and the live action movie, I enjoyed this animated feature film immeasurably. It blends certain aspects of the live action film while putting the animated movie into the continuity of the comic books, all while at the same time giving Hellboy a whole new energy in this animated form. The animated film uses the Hellboy theme from Guillermo del Toro’s film. The main characters of Hellboy, Liz and Abe are all voiced by the actors who played them in Guillermo del Toro’s smash hit movie. Therefore you will hear Ron Perlman as Hellboy, Selma Blair as Liz, and Doug Jones as Abe, all recapture their personas as the characters they portrayed so outstandingly in the original feature film. Because it adheres more strongly to the continuity of the comic book series, you won’t see the romance between Liz and Hellboy in this first animated film. There are also some new faces such as the character of Kate Corrigan voiced very well by Peri Gilpin (star of the TV hit show Frasier).
The story itself is very entertaining and being set in the supernatural aspects of Japan, holds many horror and mythological characters familiar to anime viewers such as monster kappas, cursed swords, possession, oni (ogres), vengeful samurai spirits, multi-tailed foxes, and hungry ghosts. The action is well done, though there are some heavy strobe-like effects about half and hour into the film for those sensitive to that. It has a lot of that sarcastic deadpan humour so quintessential to Hellboy for fans to enjoy. The plot is fun and people will be entertained by this new version of the Hellboy universe.
The animation is done in a combination of East meets West animation chic that has a blocky style that catches the eye, reminiscent of The Batman currently airing on TV and to a lesser extent Teen Titans. The fluidity to the movements with this more edged art style is nicely done and exciting to watch. Curiously the character design of Liz is different from either the comic books or the live action film. Although still female with long dark hair, she is drawn much more spunky. This animated film also uses 3D with the 2D animation, particularly in the backgrounds and often with the special effects during the fight scenes.
EXTRAS:
A plethora of goodies are contained on this disc. They include “To Hell and Back” – How Mike Mignolia Created Hellboy, “A New Breed” – Creating the New Hellboy, “Conquering Hellboy” – The Actor’s Role, “A View From the Top” – The “Heads” Sequence, “Keepers of Hellboy” – A Comic Con 2006 Panel Discussion, audio commentary with Hellboy Creator Mike Mignolia, Supervising Producer/Director Tad Jones and Director Phil Weinstein, “Hellboy Goes East” - A Revealing Look at Many of the Inspirations, Backstories and Secrets of Hellboy: Sword of Storms, and DVD Rom special features. Included with this release is an exclusive Hellboy Animated full color comic book from Dark Horse featuring a pinup by Mike Mignolia, story by Jim Pascoe and art by Rick Lacy. The comic book is a great supernatural romp that combines deadpan humour and ghastly horrors for a riveting tale.
IN SUMMARY:
Hellboy: Sword of Storms is an exciting new animated film involving supernatural characters from Japanese mythology. It blends elements of the live action film with the continuity of the comics to bring the enthralling world of Hellboy to a vivid medium: animation. Fans of both the movies and the comics will enjoy this animated film. New comers will enjoy the edgy animation, exciting story and unforgettable characters of Hellboy. |
