IMDb > Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006) (TV)

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Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006) -- Open-ended Trailer from Starz!

Overview

User Rating:
6.6/10   1,347 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 5% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Writers:
Mike Mignola (characters)
Mike Mignola (story)
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Contact:
View company contact information for Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 October 2006 (USA) more
Genre:
Animation | Action | Adventure | Fantasy | Horror | Sci-Fi more
Plot:
A professor of folklore opens a forbidden scroll and becomes possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning... more | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
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Awards:
Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Mixed results: promising, but slightly frustrating more (16 total)

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Ron Perlman ... Hellboy (voice)

Selma Blair ... Liz Sherman (voice)

Doug Jones ... Abe Sapien (voice)

Peri Gilpin ... Professor Kate Corrigan (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dee Bradley Baker ... Additional Voices (voice)

Liza Del Mundo ... Additional Voices (voice)
Keith Ferguson ... Additional Voices (voice)
Kim Mai Guest ... Additional Voices (voice)

Michael Hagiwara ... Additional Voices (voice)

Yuriana Kim ... Additional Voices (voice)

Clyde Kusatsu ... Additional Voices (voice)

Phil LaMarr ... Additional Voices (voice)
Paul Nakauchi ... Additional Voices (voice)

James Sie ... Additional Voices (voice)
Mitchell Whitfield ... Additional Voices (voice)

Gwendoline Yeo ... Kitsune (voice)
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
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Runtime:
73 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color
Aspect Ratio:
1.78 : 1 more
Certification:
Singapore:PG | Australia:M | USA:PG | New Zealand:M | South Africa:13V | Netherlands:12
Company:
IDT Entertainment more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the scene were Hellboy is talking to the Daimyo's daughter, the statue in the background is making a 'rock on' hand sign. more
Goofs:
Continuity: The number of strings on the Koto of the Spiderwoman changes between shots. more
Quotes:
Russell: [eyes closed] Based on the psychic wavelengths of this room, I'd have to say a massive disturbance occurred here not long ago.
[Hellboy glances around the room, which looks like a tornado hit it]
Hellboy: You're good! I mean, I've worked with psychics before but you... are something special.
[aside to Kate]
Hellboy: I hate psychics.
Professor Kate Corrigan: I know, but we have to use them.
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Movie Connections:
References Ghost Busters (1984) more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
10 out of 12 people found the following comment useful.
Mixed results: promising, but slightly frustrating, 1 April 2007
7/10
Author: vukodlak from Belgrade

The latest incarnation of the Mike Mignola's once underground, now seemingly omnipresent and unstoppable, comic book masterpiece, 'Hellboy', now comes into the world of animation. The first of the several planned animated films, 'The Sword of Storms' takes Hellboy and drops him in a fantasy world of Japanese folklore.

The voice acting is excellent. Ron Perlman has now become the de facto voice of Hellboy, and if this ever becomes an animated series, his presence will be crucial for its success. More surprisingly, considering her usually rather flat and whiny voice, Selma Blair delivers a finely nuanced performance. The best of all however, is Doug Jones. Seemingly perennially cursed by his background as a mime, the man has been seen in several great films in recent years but never heard. He has a pleasant, deep-ish voice, which entirely suits Abe Sapien. David Hyde Pierce acquitted himself well in Hellboy but will not be missed in the sequel. Hopefully Mr Jones' fine performance here will encourage studio execs to leave him be as the voice of the Silver Surfer.

The character designs are deliberately different from Mignola's and in my opinion, that is a smart decision. Hellboy himself remains relatively faithful to the original concept, but shown in a more stylised form, reminiscent of Bruce Timm's drawings. For the most part, this works, apart from an occasional slip where Hellboy's face takes on an exaggerated facial expression, lapsing into caricature. Abe Sapien, Liz Sherman and a few of the supporting characters are more radically redesigned and remind of the current pseudo-manga style of 'The Batman' or 'Jackie Chan Adventures'. Personally, I am not a great fan of this particular approach, but I acknowledge it is popular and in context, effective. Mike Mignola's original drawing style is not completely ignored and is most clearly evoked in the design of Hellboy's various skeletal and monstrous opponents. There are also some attempts to emulate the comic's use of shadows (most notably in the "Heads" sequence).

There are however, some problems. The animation itself is very hit and miss, and apart from the already mentioned weird facial expressions, there are occasional strange and unnatural movements from the characters. Some scenes feature noticeably poorer animation quality than the overall film. They appear jerky and cheap and look as though they were completed in a rush.

The plot itself is not overly engaging. Although a story about cursed ancient lovers shows promise, it is severely underdeveloped, in favour of some nonsense about Thunder Gods and Dragons. The majority of the actual film shows Hellboy wandering around Wonderland (or something), fighting assorted monsters. Some of these action sequences are great fun but it all gets repetitive so that the overall effect is episodic and only occasionally compelling (I'm going to mention "Heads" again here – that segment is excellent). The other half of the film deals with Abe and Liz, but they are not given much to do, and their action sequences are nowhere near as interesting as Hellboy's. There is some attempt to deal with Liz's distrust of her powers but it largely falls flat, especially compared to the comics and film. However, the fact that there is some characterisation at all, as well as the presence of some rather mature themes and some unflinching violence mark this as more than just a kids-only film. Hopefully, the creators are just hitting their stride, and some of the wrinkles will be ironed out by the next instalment.

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