Movie review: "Hellboy Animated: Sword Of Storms" (2006)

If you haven’t made the acquaintance of the 2004 live-action "Hellboy" movie or the Mike Mignola comics, you need to know that the title character's a big, red, rock-fisted bloke who trots the globe (he also has hooves) demystifying mysteries and debraining monsters with a mob known as the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense.

In this feature-length cartoon, Hellboy and the BPRD are dealing with a samurai blade in which two wicked spirits – Lightning and Thunder – have been imprisoned. Sucked into a dream realm of Japanese folklore, the demon do-gooder learns his only way home is to snap the sword...except that’ll release the devilish duo...and possibly lead to Earth’s destruction.

"Sword Of Storms" gets a big tick for bringing back the stars of the film – Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Selma Blair (Liz Sherman) and Doug Jones (Abe Sapien) – to voice their animated counterparts. While the horror elements make it unsuitable for the wee folk, it’s stylish, plot-twisty and savagely amusing enough to hold an adult's attention.

Final word: He always was a bit two-dimensional...

[Australian DVD release date: Today!]