Hellboy Animated : De sang et de fer

Every time I watch the Hellboy Animated films I always ding myself wondering how much more badass would he be if he didn't miss leg day...

Such a shame they haven't made more. Ron Pearlman is excellent as are the rest of the cast. Story line is good.

It's a vampire film, but it doesn't bite. Sorry, couldn't resist.

I am a resounding fan of Guillermo del Toro's work and style, and was quite intrigued when I found out that he produced several Hellboy Animated features. It was not without a due sense of skepticism that I decided to pick up Blood and Iron as well as its 2006 predecessor, Sword of Storms. When I learned that these features aired on Cartoon Network, I even feared that the core of what made the Hellboy universe so interesting to me, the many invariant monstrosities that lurk within the caverns, ruins and precipices of a seemingly mundane world, would be diluted by censorship. Fortunately, I was wrong in these regards, and Blood and Iron may be considered a very worthwhile addition to the Hellboy universe as first put to film by Guillermo del Toro.

In Blood and Iron, Hellboy and the other key members of the BPRD set out under the personal lead of Professor Trevor Broom - as he was first introduced in the live-action movie - in order to investigate a haunted house. At the same time, you are let known how in the past, the Professor had tasked himself with hunting an old and powerful vampiress, Erzsebet (very well voiced by Kath Soucie). At first, the film sprouts a rather nonspecific battle scene that does not tell you much about the characters or the plot that is yet to come, but after this you will be exposed to the touch of surprisingly intelligent cartoon direction. As you are coasting through the story in a linear, chronological fashion, the plot and the true nature of the mission is explained in a backdrop of flashbacks that start at a pivotal event in the past, and then proceed anti-chronologically. In this method, the viewer is gradually let known the intentions and motives of the people and creatures both at current time and in times past. It is a clever method of character development, and serves to give a sense of wholeness to the entire feature; Blood and Iron has both a beginning and an end at both its start and its finish, and it works brilliantly.

The praise that I give is somewhat tempered however, by several characters that seemed entirely unnecessary, or simply did not fit into the well rounded equation that tops the experience. The presence of the Goddess Hecate serves as little more than a plot device to facilitate the antagonist's return and her presence in the film may serve to deter you from the wholeness of the experience. The only reason for her presence then is to give Hellboy something to do, while the professor continues with the real important stuff. She is the reason for a long, and enormously drawn out fight sequence that does not fit well with the movie and destroys its pace. Make no mistake, the real villain of this movie is Erzsebet, and that is how it should have remained. They could have gone much deeper with the story, and in light of what we are treated to in return and excess, I really wish they had.

Character design and voice acting is generally of high quality; we are treated to the same cast that played in the original Hellboy movie; Ron Perlman's Hellboy, Selma Blair's Liz Sherman, Doug Jones' Abe and John Hurt's Professor are easily recognizable, the first three often the center of sardonic and sarcastic wit that is worth quite a few laughs. Kate Corrigan, which you may know from the somewhat inferior Sword of Storms is back also, and we are given a new character in the form of human metal detector Sydney Leach, whose innocence and naiveté is a welcome addition to most of the rest of the BPRD, which seems to consist of people mentally hardened by frequent encounters with crazy things. Over all, his presence is solely meant to give the movie a lighter note at certain times.

The reason why the flaws of this movie persist can be found in the title; the real story does not revolve around Hellboy at all, as he takes a side seat to an experience in which Professor Trevor Bruttenholm is center point. Now, I really like the professor. He's sharp, he's kicking bottom, even when he's old. If just they could have found something for Hellboy to do without tarnishing the plot with, dare I say it, a Greek Goddess. Despite this little problem, though, Blood and Iron is still a very enjoyable movie. Cinematography grade; *** out of 5, but personally, I'd give it 8 out of 10

Sword and Stones was a good film, don't get me wrong. Tad Stones and Mike Mignola are really trying hard to make Hellboy a house hold name. Since the movie came out, I have been trying to read every comic and watch anything that remotes to the character.

But the problem with that film, and this one Blood and Iron, is the script and acting itself. We got a lot of great voice talent here like John Hurt, Ron Perlman, and Selma Blair. But with choppy dialog's (it seems like Ron only says 'crap' in both films), and just a sense of uninterest with the actors itself; it makes it a bit of a downer to watch.

The animation is great, the material is incredible. Although reworked for filming, there is a TON of comic references in both films. I just think that in order for this franchise to work, we need a better script. And try and make it more livier with the actors. It needs just abit more hard work to make this a great thing. Here's to the next film, The Phantom Claw.

This time Hellboy and his team square off against the gothic horrors of Vampires, witches, wolves and a cult of Hecate.

I loved this. All of the action is tied intrinsically into the story and it all serves to either propel the narrative, flesh out characterizations, or resolve issues from the past. Sometime all three simultaneously.

Each player gets a chance to shine and it never feels overstuffed.

Another point in it's favor; the stakes feel real. I was genuinely concerned for the characters safety. Even Hellboy who is generally treated a bit like The Tick in that he is nigh invulnerable. You usually never worry about him because he is so resilient, but here he meets his match. In fact it's more than his match.

A Terrific chapter that makes me wish there were more of these animated features.

In the end, the main thrust of the story is largely dealt with by Professor Broom while the rest of his team fights off the other evils in the area. Hellboy himself gets a much more spectacular fight, but it is with a monster that almost seems added as an afterthought when they realized they didn't have enough for him to do.

Taking that into account, though, the story is fun enough to watch and Ron Perlman's wry delivery of Hellboy's lines is always fun. There is nobody who could give life to this character other than Perlman.

The animation is well done and the story moves along with efficient pacing. One thing that could prove confusing to some (though I found it an intriguing story device) is the use of flashback in this episode. The main story moves forward, but the flashbacks move progressively backward. It has the effect of putting both a beginning and an end at both the beginning and the end of the movie.