‘Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms’ is Packed with Creepy Monsters (Review)

Written by: Matt Molgaard Directed by: Phil Weinstein, Tad Stones Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones Guillermo del Toro’s Hellboy franchise is a personal favorite. Of the four films that exist (two being live action, two being animated), all four are extremely rewarding. All four also boast the talents of Ron Perlman, Selma Blair and Doug Jones (that’s Hellboy, Liz Sherman and Abe Sapien respectively), who juggle a believably charming degree of chemistry like a trio of lifelong circus performers. These three work so well together, be it standing in front of the cameras or standing in recording booths, that it’s damn near impossible to do anything other than dig these flicks.

Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms is a wild tale that sees Hellboy forced to battle a wide array of enemies. From flying cannibalistic heads to a massive half-woman, half-Black Widow to both thunder and lightning embodied – quite literally, the big red bastard never stops waging war in this extremely enjoyable 77 minute animated picture. The details of the plot are fairly well crafted and the outlandish nature of the conflict is exactly what you’d expect to see from a Hellboy production. Only in this realm could a pseudo-devil turned awesome antihero be put in a position in which an ancient sword could mean the difference between permanently distorted realities, where elements take on life like never before.

The animation looks absolutely fantastic, with Hellboy’s look playing faithful to creator Mike Mignola’s originally established look. The humor is perfectly dry and each character behaves just as we’ve come to anticipate. There isn’t much in the way of differentiating points between the cartoon productions and del Toro’s two live actioners. Hellboy’s still got that stab ya’ in the guts style of humor, Liz is still sassy but lovable and Abe is as calm and collected as ever. It’s a great mesh, and revisiting both animated flicks (coverage on Blood and Iron coming soon) makes me feel as though we’ve got to see the much-discussed third Hellboy film. Del Toro claims financing is an issue, with virtually zero studios interested in the project, but if that is indeed the case, why not move forward and tell the tale in animated fashion? The costs will diminish on a staggering level, and there are hordes of Hellboy fans (myself included) who would clamor over a chance to see it.

Regardless of any future films we do or don’t see come to fruition, the Hellboy franchise is a bona fide winner. Every flick rocks – the graphic novels are amazing as well, for the record – and this unconventional antihero has a place in the history books that will not fade with time. People are going to remember Hellboy, and those who seek out this animated flick in particular are going to remember it as well.

Rating: 3.5/5