Superheroes leap to the rescue today as two new action-packed, animated features arrive on home video. Following its successful Halloween debut on Cartoon Network, Hellboy: Sword of Storms lands on retail shelves, along with the first movie based on the Cartoon Network series Teen Titans. In addition, Warner Bros. has released the first season of the Cartoon Network show Ben 10.
Based on the graphic novel series created by Mike Mignola, Hellboy: Sword of Storms is the first of two produced feature-length animated films about a demon who combats evil forces as part of a secret government task force that investigates supernatural threats. Actors Ron Perlman, Selma Blair and Doug Jones, who star in the 2004 live-action feature, reprise their roles by lending their voices to the animated production.
Directed by Phil Weinstein (Balto II: Wolf Quest, Balto III: Wings of Change), Sword of Storms is the combined effort of Mignola, supervising director/producer Tad Stones (Buzz Lightyear of Star Command) and Guillermo del Toro, writer and director of the live-action Hellboy feature. The story begins when a professor of folklore becomes possessed by a duo of Japanese demons who plan to summon their brothers (the Dragons), to dominate the world. Sent by The Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense to investigate, Hellboy picks up a cursed samurai sword and is swept into a dimension of ghosts and monsters.
The Starz Home Entertainment release includes an exclusive 32-page limited edition comic. DVD bonus features include the featurettes To Hell And Back ‘ How Mike Mignola Created Hellboy, A New Breed ‘ Creating The New Hellboy, Conquering Hellboy ‘ The Actor’s Role and A View From The Top ‘ The ‘Heads’ Sequence. Fans will also be able to check out a the 2006 Comic-Con panel discussion, a look at the Eastern influences of Hellboy, storyboards and audio commentary from Mignola, Stones and director Phil Weinstein. The DVD will carry a suggested retail price of $19.98.
Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy battle a mysterious Japanese criminal and his high-tech ninja in Warner Home Video’s Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo. Like Hellboy, the property has its roots in comic books. Created by Marv Wolfman and George Perez, DC Comics’ Teen Titans made its publishing debut in 1964 and was revamped with The New Teen Titans in 1980. The later incarnation serves as inspiration for the hit television series, which debuted on Cartoon Network in 2003. The Trouble in Tokyo disc includes the extra features Robin’s Underworld Race Challenge and a never-aired episode of the series. Directed by series helmers Michael Chang and Ben Jones, the movie carries the suggested retail price of $19.98 on DVD.
The complete first season of Ben 10 arrives as a two-disc set containing all 13 episodes of the series about a 10-year-old boy who finds a strange device inside a crashed meteorite and discovers that it has the power to transform him into ten different alien beings. The DVD comes with a collector’s edition poster of Ben and the alien heroes, as well as commentary by co-creator Duncan Rouleau, a drawing lesson and a sneak peek at what’s to come on the show. The Warner Home Video release lists for $19.98.
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