brandon 1Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms (2006)
April 1st 2008 00:18
'Crap'
I enjoyed Mike Mignola’s comic creation, Hellboy when it was adapted onto the screen in 1994. Guillermo del Toro who directed Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) has an eye for the creepy and gothic, and was a good choice for bringing to life a movie in which the characters are all mostly monsters.
In 2006, an animated pilot based on another one of Mignola’s creations, The Amazing Screw-On Head was created for viewing online. Despite the fact it was hilarious and had a great style of animation, it was not picked up. I really don’t know why, because its one of the best cartoons I’ve seen for a while and it really deserves its own series.
Not crap
It is with the high expectations of The Amazing Screw-On Head and Hellboy that I watched the animated straight to DVD, Hellboy: Sword of Storms (2006) and was sourly disappointed.
When Professor Sakai reads an ancient scroll and becomes possessed by Japanese demons of thunder and lightning, Hellboy and the team are called in to investigate. During the investigation, Hellboy finds a samurai sword and is transported into a land that is inhabited by monsters from Japanese mythology. Hellboy must figure out how to return home and defeat the demons of thunder and storm. This is the story of, Sword of Storms.
I guess I thought Sword of Storms would have the same witty and funny writing quality as The Amazing Screw-On Head (written by Bryan Fuller), however, writer, Matt Wayne does a terrible job.The fact that they got the actors from the movie to voice the characters is impressive, however, they're voice talent is wasted on bad dialogue. Hellboy and fellow do-gooder, Liz Sherman, seem to just complain, with Hellboy’s favorite word being ‘crap’. The story is very boring.
What makes the movie even worse is the lame animation. Once again, I was expected animation resembling Mignola’s drawings, like Screw-On Head. Instead, the animation is uninspired, bright and colorful. It lacks the gloomy atmosphere of Hellboy and turns it into a Disney cartoon.
Find The Amazing Screw-On Head online, and wonder why it wasn’t picked up for a series instead of watching this movie. It’ll give you more of an indication as to how great a Mignola creation can potentially be.
As for Sword of Storms, 1 out of 5.
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