Search - Hellboy: Sword of Storms (Animated) on DVD

The World Needs Heroes

R. J Rey | Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic | 02/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The world's greatest paranormal detective continues his battle against the forces of evil in "Hellboy: Sword of Storms". When a university professor of mythology opens an old forbidden scroll and becomes possessed by ancient Japanese demons, the secretive Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense sends Hellboy and a team of agents to Japan to investigate. While examining the crime scene, Hellboy discovers a cursed samurai sword and is transported to a supernatural dimension of Japanese folklore. From comic book creator Mike Mignola and director Guillermo Del Toro, "Hellboy: Sword of Storms" is a very entertaining animated adventure that fans of the comic book hero Hellboy will certainly get quite a kick out of it. An engaging storyline, stylized animation, cool action sequences and Ron Perlman's outstanding voice talents highlight this well produced extension of the "Hellboy" franchise. The voice cast also includes Selma Blair, Doug Jones and Peri Gilpin.



"Hellboy: Sword of Storms" is a truly excellent DVD. The animated feature is presented in a 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen format. The DVD contains a rich and colorful video transfer and a great 5.1 Dolby Digital sound. The DVD is also packed with an insightful audio commentary with Hellboy creator Mike Mignola and production crew, three short but informative behind-the-scenes featurettes (To Hell and Back, A New Breed & Conquering Hellboy), a 42-minute Comic-Con panel discussion, four trailers and colorful interactive menus. Overall, "Hellboy: Sword of Storms" scores a worthy "B"."

Terrific animated spin-off movie!

John Lindsey | Socorro, New Mexico USA. | 03/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hellboy (Ron Perlman) with his friends Liz Sherman (Selma Blair) and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) are sent to Japan to investigate after a professor accidently unleashes an old curse involving two powerful demons of lightning and thunder. Hellboy however picks up a special sword that sends him on a weird trip where he meets and fights weird monsters while Liz and Abe go off to fight a monstrous dragon for he must return back to the real world to fight the real monsters.



The first animated spin-off movie from the popular underground comic character Hellboy does justice to both the comics and the movie! Guillermo Del Toro (director of the first movie) and Mike Mignola (creator of "Hellboy") serve as producers of the film. The animation is quite anime-ish yet works and so does the storyline, this could almost be superior to the Marvel animated movies and is highly recommend for fans of comics, Hellboy and animation alike.



This DVD has very good extras such as audio commentary, trailers especially to the next animated movie, and five featurettes."

A great addition to a Hellboy fan's collection!

K. Daum | Northwest, United States | 02/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This animated movie's story is more in line with the Hellboy comic book stories than the live-action movie was, and while officially unrated, it's similar to the live-action movie and the comic books. I'd probably give Sword of Storms a PG-13, with [...].



I love, LOVE, the mythical creatures used in this movie, it's much like the comic in that way. I have a softspot for folklore monsters being used in comics, books, & movies, especially when it's normally obscure folklore stories (like the Japanese flying heads or the Baba Yaga, for instance... Hellboy comic readers know what I'm talking about). I'm just not into the Marvel spandex-and-cape-wearing superheroes, they don't appeal to me at all, so in contrast, Hellboy and his friends feel like the perfect superheroes to me.



Voice acting is great here, though I'm biased because I couldn't imagine Hellboy's voice before Ron Perlman took the part. The other actors do a great job as well, and the sound effects were great (I watched it with surround sound when it was on TV). The animation has great lighting and colors, I thought (I say "great" way too much, I know), although the characters do look a little, well, "Kim Possible". Just a little. Not a bad job, though. I kept up with the movie's production diary on another website, and Tad Stones (the movie's director) was saying why they had to do that style for the animation: Hellboy needed eyebrows to show expression, Kate looks younger than she does in the Mignola comics because in animation any lines on her face would make her look like she was 70, etc. Stuff like that.



Last thing, it's not mentioned here in Amazon's info, but every DVD of the 1st run (first 300,000, I believe) will come with a 32 page Hellboy comic called "Phantom Limbs", story by Jim Pascoe, art by Rick Lacey, inside the DVD case, along with a pin up by Mike Mignola. This info is straight from director Tad Stones, as another way to entice you to buy the DVD. Well, it worked for me, I'm buying it! A great way to feed my Hellboy habit while I wait for BPRD: The Universal Machine to land on my doorstep."

Uniquely Hellboy

Simon | Brampton, ON | 02/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Hellboy: Sword of Storms is the titular character's first-ever animated adventure. While investigating an ancient Japanese sword, Hellboy is sucked into a mystical world and is forced to do battle with monsters and demons before he can return home. And if he makes it home, he must face two ancient gods ready to destroy the world. But hey, nothing's ever easy.



Fans of Mike Mignola's comics or the recent Hellboy movie will love this adventure. True it doesn't use Mignola's distinctive art style, but it maintains a look that is distinctively 'Hellboy' while at the same time being much easier to animate. Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Doug Jones return to voice their movie roles, and seasoned vets Peri Gilpin, John Hurt, and Phil LaMarr carry the supporting characters. Perlman again proves he is the only choice for Hellboy, and his deadpan delivery is amusing in itself as well as emphasizing some of Hellboy's actions.



This dvd is fully loaded. Lots of featurettes, audio commentary, and footage taken from the panel at the San Diego comic-con. With the first release, Hellboy blows away all previous DTV efforts from Disney, Marvel, and Warner Bros.



I recommend this to anyone in search of a good comic book story with sharp writing and good animation. Truly fills the gap left open by the departure of Justice League Unlimited, and is far better than the recent Marvel efforts."