Van Helsing: The London Assignment

UPC: 025192451324

Studio: Universal Studios

MPAA Rating: NR   Contains:[Violence, Scary Moments]

Summary: Van Helsing: The London Assignment offers a glimpse into the title character's life before he became a renowned monster hunter, and chronicles the sequence of events leading to his acceptance of the position. With the city being terrorized by nightly crime sprees, the Knights of the Holy Order conclude that they must send a young Van Helsing into London in hopes that he will find and capture the perpetrator, Mr. Hyde. The animated prequel features the voice of Hugh Jackman, star of the 2004 movie adaptation of Van Helsing. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Category: Horror

Features: ccVan Helsing: "Behind the Screams" - An exclusive behind-the-scenes look into the world of Van Helsing, hosted by one of Dracula's brides, actress Josie Maran
"The Making of the Van Helsing Game" - See what it takes to transform a hit movie into a gripping video game experience
"Animatic to Animation" - Moving storyboards reveal how four thrilling scenes from the film are taken from concept to final animation

Van Helsing: The London Assignment

Format: DVD

Release Date: 05/11/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 33 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Subtitles: French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Jeremy Wheeler

Van Helsing: The London Assignment is an exciting and visually stunning straight-to-video prequel that should set up the world of Stephen Sommers' $200 million epic nicely. The animated mini-movie has a slight anime look to it, which makes sense when you start to delve into the mostly Asian production behind it. Through this bold visual style, the audience is treated to some highly entertaining (and quite violent) scenes of monster mayhem, with the hero taking on various ghouls and creatures whose look, more often than not, hearkens back to Mike Mignola's (creator of Hellboy) style of deep shadows for extra-creepy effect. Hugh Jackman does an admirable job with the line delivery, though the same cannot be said for his annoying sidekick, Carl (David Wenham) -- a cookie-cutter character made in the exact comic relief mold that series creator Stephen Sommers has written into every one of his movies. Even with that character's incessant whining, The London Assignment is still a breezy, fun time for those looking for a little lead-in to the big event film. It might be a little too violent for some of the youngsters, but older fans will be surprised at just how much they manage to get away with here. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Alun Armstrong  Actor 
Bob Ducsay  Executive Producer 
Stephen Sommers  Executive Producer 
John Van Tongeren  Composer (Music Score) 
John Kafka  Producer 
Sharon Bridgeman  Director 
Sharon Bridgeman  Producer 
Judith Reeves-Stevens  Screenwriter 
Garfield Reeves-Stevens  Screenwriter 
Hugh Jackman  Actor 
Robbie Coltrane  Actor 
David Wenham  Actor 

Country: USA