In a nice little piece of marketing work, Universal is all set to release a 30-minute animated short 'prequel' to its big Summer blockbuster "Van Helsing" on May 11th, just four days after the film debuts in theatres. Here's a copy of the cover art and the press blurb, courtesy of Animated Bliss:
"Unveiling The Extraordinary Beginning of The Van Helsing Adventure With the All-New Original Animated Film Prequel. From The Director And Producers Of The Motion Picture Van Helsing Stephen Sommers and Bob Ducsay.
Features the voice of Van Helsing star Hugh Jackman. Loaded with bonus features, including cast and crew interviews and an in-depth look at Van Helsing's groundbreaking special effects".
Meanwhile two scoopers over at Ain't It Cool were at the Munich Film Week the other day and got to see the opening ten minutes of the film. Here's a sample of their descriptions - SPOILERS AHEAD:
"The movie starts with the famous Universal logo, which, while turning black and white, turns into a fireball of a torch, which belongs to the mob outside a castle. Inside, Dr. Frankenstein awakens the monster while the mob tries to break in to kill it. After the successful awakening we can see Count Dracula who - as we find out - financed the whole endeavour, apparently because his three brides wanted him to (?!?). Since he doesn't need the Doctor anymore, he kills him (his jaws/teeth reminded me a bit of Fright Night). In the meantime the monster gets rid of the straps on the table and flees with the body of his "father" to the nearby windmill. The mob follows him and puts the windmill on fire. The mob panics as the count and his three brides fly towards the windmill. Apparently they arrive too late, as the windmill collapses..." (full report)
"Cut to Paris at night (now in color), where Van Helsing removes a Wanted Poster (I think it was him on it) and walks into Notre Dame where a very tall (think Hulk) Mr. Hyde is expecting him. After a long fight, including a huge church bell and the loss of one of Mr. Hydes arms (as soon as it is cut off, it turns into the arm of Dr. Jekyll), Hyde falls to his death from the top of one of the towers of Notre Dame. The people in front of the church scream murderer to Van Helsing as the body lying on the floor now belongs to a mere mortal (Dr. Jekyll)..." (full report) (second report)
Thanks to 'JHBlade' and 'Neville'
