Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (www.the-usher,com)

"Ah Crap"

When a Japanese professor of folklore opens a newly discovered ancient scroll, he becomes possessed by the demons of Thunder and Lightening who want to return to this plain of existence and release the dragons to take over the world. As storms start appearing over Japan, the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence sends Hellboy (Perlman), Liz Sherman (Blair) and Abe Sapien (Jones) to investigate.

The cult status of Guillermo del Toro's 2004 adaptation of Mike Mignola's comic book character was bound to lead on to more appearances of the big red demon and the first spin-off is an animated series but can that capture the essence of the movie and the source material?

Animated spin-offs of hit or cult movies fill the numerous cartoon and kid's channels but most of them never really capture the spirit of the source material or the films they are based on. When it was announced that 'Hellboy' would be transformed into an animated series, fans might well have been sceptical about seeing their heroes in cartoon form but they really shouldn't have been.

This animated movie is written by 'Hellboy' creator Mike Mignola himself and captures everything that fans love about the character and the world he created in the graphic novels, comics and the movie. The return of the actors from the movie also adds to the quality of the film, making this a continuation of the adventures set out in the big screen version.

Ron Perlman and Selma Blair return as Hellboy and Liz Sherman and are just as good vocally as they are on screen. Perlman's wise cracking and deadpan one liners are there in abundance and Selma Blair's troubled Liz continues her struggle with how powerful she actually is. Doug Jones, the actor inside the Abe Sapien suit and makeup in the movie now provides the voice for character, replacing David Hyde Pierce and he does an excellent job. They are joined by newcomer to the Hellboy universe Peri Gilpin as Professor Kate Corrigan, who now leads Hellboy's team for Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence.

While the animation might not push any boundaries, it is the storytelling and the characters that make 'Hellboy: Sword of Storms' a must see for fans of the Big Red one. Fun and entertaining throughout but also containing character development, this is an animated series that is a cut above the usual movie spin off and one that has the potential to be a real animation favourite.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is very good, as you would expect from an animation.

BONUS FEATURES

Audio Commentary with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola, supervising producer/director Tad Stones and director Phil Weinstein
The creative team behind the animated version of Hellboy reveal how the project came about, getting the cast back from movie and the look and style of the movie. This a chatty and fun commentary from two directors who are passionate about the project and the man who created the big red one himself.

Keepers of Hellboy (42.28 mins)
Watch the full presentation of 'Hellboy Animated' at the 2006 San Diego ComiCon. Listen to the panel that includes creator Mike Mignola, consulting producer Guillermo del Toro, director Tad Stones and character concept artist Sean 'Cheeks' Galloway.

To Hell and Back (9.47 mins)
Creator Mike Mignola, consulting producer Guillermo del Toro, director Tad Stones, character designer Greg Guler, colourist Dave Stewart, editor Scott Allie and vocal stars Ron Perlman and Doug Jones talk about Mike Mignola's career and the creation of Hellboy.

A New Breed (5.17 mins)
Creator Mike Mignola, consulting producer Guillermo del Toro, director Tad Stones, character designer Greg Guler and character concept artist Sean 'Cheeks' Galloway talk about creating a new look for Hellboy for animation.

View from the Top (5.24 mins)
Directors Tad Stones and Phil Weinstein, consulting producer Guillermo del Toro and writer Matt Wayne talk about the Japanese head sequence, which was based on a Hellboy short story.

Conquering Hellboy: The Actor's Role (6.24 mins)
Director Tad Stones, consulting producer Guillermo del Toro and voice actors Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Peri Gilpin and Phil La Marr talk about providing vocal performances for the animated version of Hellboy.

Hellboy Goes East: Tail Spin (2.51 mins)
Storyboard artists Nathan Chew and Jennifer Coyle and consulting producer Guillermo del Toro talk about fitting the movie into Japanese mythology.

Hellboy Goes East: Prop Protective (2.34 mins)
Prop designer Andy Chang talk about researching ancient Japan to produce the props for the movie.

Hellboy Goes East: Origins (2.27 mins)
Director Tad Stones, creator Mike Mignola and consulting producer Guillermo del Toro talk about Japanese folklore, weird horror and the influence of 'Alice in Wonderland' on the story.

Hellboy Goes East: Samurai Songs (2.38 mins)
Director Tad Stones, creator Mike Mignola, consulting producer Guillermo del Toro and composer Christopher Drake talk about the score for the animated show.

OVERALL

The DVD treatment for 'Hellboy: Sword of Storms' is extremely good. With many a featurette and a great commentary track, a lot of time has been used to make this a great buy for fans of the big red one.

DVD

Hellboy

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2007