Van Helsing The London Assignment Animated DVD with Hugh Jackman, Robbie Coltrane, David Wenham (PG-13) +Movie Reviews +Used DVD available for Swap

Typical of genre but good...

Lamia Jack | 11/26/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Reminds me a lot of just about all superhero cartoons. Interesting mixture of American animation and Japanese coloring and pencils, enhanced with computer animation (very cool!). The story is a little stretched, and doesn't make much sense (concerning the reason Hyde would want to make the queen younger; hello, he's still an old fart headed to a grave), but it held my interest and was nicely traditional but original.

The dialogue is usually pretty clever, even Hyde gets in a few funny lines.

The action is refreshingly American, meaning no stupid "action lines" in the background, or still action. Using Robbie Coltrane and Hugh Jackman (not to mention Dave Wenham) as primary voices added star power, and Jackman does a good job (you can feel his voice and personality overtake the animated Van Helsing).

The special features (including a making of the game featurette, which shows them converting the movie story to the game, and some sweet action scenes; a making of the movie featurette, which is good enough to be included on the motion picture itself, even if Josie Moran is extremely irratating; the animatics can only be appreciated by animators themselves). The interviews with Hugh Jackman are a nice insight into the character of Van Helsing, as well as Jackman himself. Interesting stuff, even if a little "fluffy", as one reviewer put it.

Overall, worth at least a rental (I bought it). A valuable addition to your collection of Van Helsing items, and fun to watch (over and over again in my case; 4 times in the rental period)."

Surprisingly Good

Leanna | South Deerfield, MA USA | 07/06/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Being a Hugh Jackman fan and having only recently heard about "The London Assignment," the short animated prequel to the film "Van Helsing," I decided to see what it was like. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. The animation was better than I expected and much easier to watch than the animation in some of the segments of "The Animatrix." I also was intrigued by the story of Van Helsing's struggle against Mr. Hyde. It gave much needed background and meaning to the Paris chase sequence of the film and introduced viewers to Van Helsing's connection to Carl. I really wish that I had seen "The London Assignment" before I saw "Van Helsing" in theaters. However, the most enjoyable aspect of "The London Assignment" was the fact that the principal actors (Jackman, David Wenham, Robbie Coltrane) lent their voices to their respective characters. The dialogue was similar to that in the movie, especially between Van Helsing and Carl. :-)Also worth mentioning are the bonus features on the disc. There is a fairly good making-of documentary that is approximately thirty minutes long. It has plenty of snippets of cast/crew interviews. There is a *very* brief (as in three-four minutes:-() interview of Hugh Jackman as well as another short documentary about the making of the "Van Helsing" video game. The only truly "London Assignment"-related bonus feature contrasts the early storyboard sketches with the final product.Bottom Line: Entertaining for Hugh Jackman fans and "Van Helsing" fans. Definitely worth renting at least once, but I wouldn't go out of my way to buy it (well, not yet at least;-))."

Better bonus features then features.

thebaird | Oak Park, IL United States | 05/12/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"This is a 30 minute cartoon explaining why the movie "Van Helsing" begins in Paris with Van Helsing fighting Mr. Hyde. There is no need to go any deeper into the plot. What's worse than the plot is the animation, which is flat and looks cheep. It's so bad that the computer animated components stick out very badly in some of the scenes and clash with the backgrounds. If you are expecting quality along the lines of The Animatrix or HBO's Spawn series, lower your standards a bit. You will be less disappointed if you are expecting the quality of an after school special. The actors who play Van Helsing and Carl provide the voices for their animated counterparts which prevents the cartoon from being a complete waste of time. However, this was not directed by Stephen Sommers, but by former a story board artist, Sharon Bridgeman and it shows. The animation is stiff, but the backgrounds look good. The best thing about this DVD is the 30 minute feature on how they made the Van Helsing movie. It's far better then the cartoon. I can't recommend buying this DVD unless it's a freebie shrinked wrapped with the Van Helsing DVD when it's released. It's worth a rental if you have a coupon for a free rental."

Setting the Stage.

tvtv3 | Sorento, IL United States | 05/24/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"VAN HELSING: THE LONDON ASSIGNMENT fills in the rest of the story that makes up the introductory sequence to the movie VAN HELSING. In this animated story, Van Helsing is sent to London to find out who is responsible for several recent killings of young women of the night. Van Helsing soon finds out that the killer is a brutish monster who calls himself Hyde who has some sort of connection to Queen Victoria's personal physician, the mysterious Dr. Jeckyl. The Doctor is up to something no good and Van Helsing is going to find out exactly what.VAN HELSING: THE LONDON ASSIGNMENT is not a cartoon meant for the really young. It shows a lot of violence and includes some sexual induendo. Were it a live action piece, it would garner a PG-13 movie rating.When viewing the piece as a whole, it seems somewhat choppy and spliced together as though it were a television show. Which in fact is what this animated feature is intended to be. THE LONDON ASSINGNMENT isn't just a prequel to the successful movie, it's also the pilot for a planned animated series.The DVD includes several extra features: a "Behind the Scenes" look at the movie, movie storyboards for the animated story, a making of look at the animated story, and a making of look at the Van Helsing video game. The extra features might not seem like much, but for a 33 minute cartoon, it's quite a lot of stuff. Overall, a nice gift for anyone who likes VAN HELSING."

Yet Another Monster Remix

Marc Ruby? | Warren, MI USA | 12/08/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Well, there's nothing unusual about turning a reasonably successful film into the centerpiece of a marketing campaign. So, naturally, there will be a game, action figures, tee shirts, and this time there is even an animated half hour short.

The story this time is set as a prequel, although there really isn't anything that requires that you even know about the film. Prophecying the first 10 minutes of the film, this tidbit has the 'other' monster, Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, walk out of Robert Louis Stevenson's pages and start hunting through London's streets (as a thinly disguised Jack the Ripper) stealing souls in order to restore Queen Victoria to her youth and make off with her. Van Helsing, of course, to the rescue.

The action is furious, with train chases (trains seem to play an important part in this), balloon rides, trips through the sewers and the dark streets of London. Blood flies, damsels are distresses (and slain), rooftops are leaps, and, in general, a good time was had by all. The dialog seems to be mostly quips, wisecracks, and growls, but action films never really are about verbal communications.

Animation is several notches above Snow White, but in some strange way the approach and animation style remind me of the Disney era more than they do of the Yu-Gi-Oh and Scooby era. For those of us spoiled by high end anime The London Assignment seems a bit dated artistically. So it's a good story with unexceptional artwork. And the wrong amount of violent - too graphic for the youngest audiences, and to lame for more mature viewers.

There is a very good 'making of the movie' film included, but otherwise the extras are lackluster. My overall feeling is that this is an entertaining 30 minutes to rent, but not really worth the cost of keeping it around.

"

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