Van Helsing: The London Assignment (Video 2004)

In this animated prequel to the Van Helsing movie, Van Helsing travels to London to deal with the mischievous Dr. Jekyll.

Director:

Sharon Bridgeman

Writers:

Garfield Reeves-Stevens, Judith Reeves-Stevens

Stars:

Hugh Jackman, Robbie Coltrane, David Wenham

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview:
Hugh Jackman	...	Gabriel Van Helsing (voice)
Robbie Coltrane	...	Mr. Hyde (voice)
David Wenham	...	Carl (voice)
Grey DeLisle	...	First Victim (voice)
Dwight Schultz	...	Dr. Jekyll (voice)
John DiMaggio	...	Coachman (voice)
Scott Mosenson	...	Palace Guard (voice)
Alun Armstrong	...	Cardinal Jinette (voice)
Roger Jackson	...	Drunken Gentleman (voice) (as Roger L. Jackson)
Julia Fletcher	...	Lady In Waiting (voice)
Tress MacNeille	...	Queen Victoria (voice)
Tara Strong	...	Young Victoria (voice)

Storyline

In this animated prequel to the Van Helsing movie, Van Helsing travels to London to deal with the mischievous Dr. Jekyll.

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Plot Keywords:

prequel | london bridge | holy water | murder | monster | 

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Genres:

Animation | Short | Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Horror

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 May 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Van Helsing Animated

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Cartoon Studios, Universal Home Video, Universal Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The size of the hot air balloon basket changes considerably during scenes.

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Quotes

Carl: I may not have much experience in the field, but this is NOT going well!

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Connections

Follows Van Helsing (2004)

User Reviews

Better than the movie. Like most things.

It occurs to me that Universal missed a trick with "Van Helsing: The London Assignment" - this animated featurette may as well have been released with "Van Helsing" as a supporting feature. On the other hand, that might not have been the best idea, since this is considerably easier to get through than the overblown and underinteresting movie... if only because there's less of it.

Essentially setting up the Parisian showdown between Van Helsing and Mr. Hyde that kicks off the live-action extravaganza, the short subject indulges in the same advantage-taking of famed fictional characters as the movie - like the appalling Anthony Perkins vehicle "Edge Of Sanity," writers Judith Reeves-Stevens and Garfield Reeves-Stevens take the characters of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and add a bit of Jack the Ripper to the mix - and the same over-the-top action, only with plenty of Asian-flavoured animation in its scenes of violence and murder.

Having Hugh Jackman, David Wenham and Robbie Coltrane repeating their roles from the movie (our hero, his assistant Carl and Mr. Hyde respectively) helps, and it's dramatically done, but the movie's biggest plus is that it's more straightforward and less determined to throw everything into the mix than the movie. It passes the time, but with the necessarily abrupt ending and the feeling that this is little more than a(nother) tie-in, it's hard not to be relieved that there won't be a sequel or a followup TV series. Then again, there's a sequel to "Baby Geniuses"...