HELLBOY ANIMATED: SWORD OF STORMS (2006) & BLOOD & IRON (2007)
Label: Starz/Lions Gate Entertainment
Rating: TV-14
Duration: 75 Minutes, 77 Minutes
Video: 2160p 4K UltraHD Widescreen (1.78:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, English 5.1 DTS-HD MA with Optional English Subtitles
Director: Phil Weinstein, Victor Cook
Cast: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, John Hurt
HELLBOY ANIMATED: SWORD OF STORMS (2006)
Synopsis: In the first animated feature from director Tad Stones (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command), a folklore professor becomes unwittingly possessed by the ancient Japanese demons of Thunder and Lightning. But when The Bureau of Paranormal Research & Defense dispatches a team of agents to investigate, a cursed samurai sword sends Hellboy to a supernatural dimension of ghosts, monsters, and feudal mayhem. Now, while pyrokinetic Liz Sherman and fishboy Abe Sapien battle one very pissed-off dragon, a lost and cranky Hellboy must find his way home. Even if he can survive the perilous journey, how much crap does a guy have to put up with from the two most vengeful and ferocious spirits of Japanese legend?
HELLBOY ANIMATED: BLOOD & IRON (2007)
Synopsis: When Hellboy, Liz Sherman, and Abe Sapien are assigned to investigate the ghost-infested mansion of a publicity-hound billionaire, they uncover a plot to resurrect a beautiful yet monstrous vampire from Professor Bruttenholm’s past. But before they can stop her bloodbath, Hellboy will have to battle harpies, hellhounds, a giant werewolf, and even the ferocious goddess Hecate herself. How much crap does a guy have to take from a Hungarian Blood Countess before he and his surrogate father can avenge the souls of the damned? It’s going to take more than just a horde of very pissed-off demons for our heroes to see the light in this animated adventure from creative producers Guillermo Del Toro and Mike Mignola.
Audio/Video: The pair of Hellboy Animated films arrives on 4K Ultra HD framed in 1.78:1 widescreen, not a huge uptick from the Blu-ray releases in my opinion but it's a tad crisper and the HDR bumps adds some depth and vibrancy to the animation, but it's not a stunner. Likewise the Dolby Atmos upgrade is appreciated, dialogue and effects have good presence and the spectrum is robust but it's not gonna blow you away. However, this 4k release offers optional subtitles which the previous Blu-ray did not.
Most of the extras are ported over from the previous DVD releases of both films, but as mentioned previously not all of them. Missing are the 9-min 'To Hell and Back - How Mike Mignola Created Hellboy', the 43-min 'Keepers of Hellboy - A Comic Con 2006 Panel Discussion', and the 11-min 'Hellboy Goes East: A Revealing Look at Many of the Inspirations, Backstories and Secrets of Hellboy: Sword of Storms', plus DVD-ROM content, and 'The Penaggalan: An E-Comic Exclusive with Introduction by Mike Mignola' from the previous DVD releases, so if you're an extras junkie you might want to hang on to those DVD editions a bit longer. Also worth noting is that the extras appear on the 4K UltraHD disc and not on the bare-bones Blu-ray disc which is not a remastered version of the film, it is the same double-feature Blu-ray that was released a few years back.
Special Features:
- “A New Breed: Creating the New Hellboy” Featurette (5 min)
- “Conquering Hellboy: The Actor’s Role” Featurette (6 min)
- “A View from the Top: The “Heads” Sequence” Featurette (5 min)
- "Reversal of Fortune: Professor Broom's Story" Featurette (20 ,min)
- “Tales from the Tomb: A Look Inside Blood & Iron” Featurette (13 min)
- “’Iron Shoes’ The Animated Debut with Introduction by Mike Mignola” Featurette (4 min)
- Sword of Storms Audio Commentary FeaturingHellboy Creator Mike Mignola, Supervising Producer-Director Tad Stones, and Director Phil Winstein
- Blood & Iron Audio Commentary Featuring Mike Mignola, Tad Stones, and Vic Cook
- “Reversal of Fortune, Professor Bloom’s Story” Featurette
This Hellboy Animated 4K double-feature is a fun dip into the wallets of fans on the cusp of the new live action Hellboy reboot coming soon to the cinemas, fans of the animated films will enjoy the fantasy-adventure fueled film which are wild and fantastical, and feature the voice talents of the original cast from the Guillermo del Toro live action films. They looks solid on 4K, and I am pleased to see that they have carried over most - but not all - of the extras from the previous DVD releases.