Van Helsing: The London Assignment

Last updated
Van Helsing: The London Assignment
Van Helsing The London Assignment.jpg
DVD cover
Directed bySharon Bridgeman
Written by Garfield Reeves-Stevens
Judith Reeves-Stevens
Based on Dracula
by Bram Stoker
Produced byJohn Kafka
Starring Hugh Jackman
Tress MacNeille
Tara Strong
Robbie Coltrane
David Wenham
Dwight Schultz
Edited byKen Solomon
Music by John Van Tongeren
Production
companies
Distributed by Universal Studios Home Video
Release dates
  • April 17, 2004 (2004-04-17)(Netherlands)
  • May 11, 2004 (2004-05-11)(United States)
  • August 27, 2004 (2004-08-27)(Japan)
Running time
33 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Van Helsing: The London Assignment is a 2004 American anime-influenced action horror animated short film by Universal Studios Home Video. [1] [2] It features the voices of Hugh Jackman, Tress MacNeille, Robbie Coltrane and David Wenham. The London Assignment is an animated prequel to the 2004 motion picture Van Helsing (released the same year). [3] [4] It tells of the events before the film. It was animated by Universal Cartoon Studios, Production I.G, and Sunwoo Entertainment. [5]

Contents

The short film received mostly positive reviews, with some noting it to be a significant improvement to that of the original film. [6] [7]

Plot

Monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing and friar Carl travel to London to investigate a series of horrific, and decidedly supernatural murders, being committed by the mad scientist Dr. Jekyll, in the form of his evil alter-ego, Mr. Hyde. When tracing Hyde to his underground fortress, Van Helsing and Carl find a young woman who claims to be Queen Victoria, and they discover that Dr. Jekyll is in love with the Queen. In order to keep her young and thus immortal, she has been given a potion by Dr. Jekyll that turns her into a young woman for one night. In order to create the potion which causes the transformations, Dr. Jekyll needs the drained souls of his freshly killed victims and thus the killings will never stop.

Dr. Jekyll then kidnaps Victoria, using the Golden Jubilee Balloon to escape. Van Helsing uses his grappling gun to follow the balloon, then proceeds to board it. In the balloon, Dr. Jekyll becomes Mr. Hyde to kill Van Helsing and crashes the balloon in the process. While fighting on the in-construction Tower Bridge, Mr. Hyde is shot through the arm but manages to escape. Upon returning Victoria to Buckingham Palace, Van Helsing says that daybreak will break the enchantment, returning her to her real age.

To reward him, Victoria kisses him, at the precise moment of daybreak, causing her old self, completely unaware of what happened, to slap him and call for guards. Van Helsing sends word back to Vatican City about what has happened while he tracks Jekyll to Paris.

Voice cast

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (character)</span> Fictional character by Robert Louis Stevenson

Dr. Henry Jekyll, nicknamed in some copies of the story as Harry Jekyll, and his alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde, is the central character of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. In the story, he is a good friend of main protagonist Gabriel John Utterson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Wenham</span> Australian actor

David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in film, television and theatre. He is known for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Friar Carl in Van Helsing and Van Helsing: The London Assignment, Dilios in 300 and its sequel 300: Rise of an Empire, Al Parker in Top of the Lake, Lieutenant John Scarfield in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Hank Snow in Elvis. He is known in his native Australia for his role as Diver Dan in SeaChange and Price Galese in Les Norton.

<i>Van Helsing</i> (film) 2004 film by Stephen Sommers

Van Helsing is a 2004 action horror film written and directed by Stephen Sommers. It stars Hugh Jackman as monster hunter Van Helsing and Kate Beckinsale as Anna Valerious. Van Helsing is both an homage and tribute to the Universal Horror Monster films from the 1930s and 1940s, of which Sommers is a fan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Van Helsing</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysic. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypical parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Harker</span> Fictional character

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

<i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> (1920 Paramount film) 1920 film, directed by John S. Robertson

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1920 American silent horror film produced by Famous Players–Lasky and released through Paramount/Artcraft. The film, which stars John Barrymore, is an adaptation of the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. John S. Robertson directed the production, and Clara Beranger wrote the screenplay, based on the 1887 stage play by Thomas Russell Sullivan that in turn was based on the novel.

<i>The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs</i> American animated series

The Secret Files of the Spy Dogs is an American children's animated series, produced by Saban Entertainment, that aired on Fox Kids from 1998 to 1999.

<i>The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll</i> 1960 British film by Terence Fisher

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll is a 1960 British horror film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Paul Massie, Dawn Addams, Christopher Lee and David Kossoff. It was produced by Michael Carreras for Hammer Film Productions. The screenplay was by Wolf Mankowitz, based on the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

MoonDreamers is an American animated television series that aired in 1986 as part of the My Little Pony 'n Friends lineup.

<i>Jekyll</i> (TV series) British television series

Jekyll is a British television drama serial produced by Hartswood Films and Stagescreen Productions for BBC One. The series also received funding from BBC America. Steven Moffat wrote all six episodes, with Douglas Mackinnon and Matt Lipsey each directing three episodes.

<i>Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> 1953 American film directed by Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1953 American horror comedy film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, co-starring Boris Karloff, and directed by Charles Lamont.

<i>Van Helsing</i> (video game) 2004 video game

Van Helsing is an action-adventure video game for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Game Boy Advance, which is based on the 2004 action horror film of the same name by Stephen Sommers. Hugh Jackman and Richard Roxburgh reprise their roles from the film. The game is one of the few games on Playstation 2 that can run in 480p.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1974 film) 1973 television movie directed by Dan Curtis

Dracula, also known as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Dan Curtis' Dracula, is a 1974 British made-for-television gothic horror film and adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. It was written by Richard Matheson and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, with Jack Palance in the title role. It was the second collaboration for Curtis and Palance after the 1968 TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

<i>Animaniacs Game Pack</i> 1997 video game

Animaniacs Game Pack is a 1997 computer game based on the animated television series Animaniacs. It features five arcade games starring the Warner kids, Yakko, Wakko and Dot. It was published and developed by Funnybone Interactive. Voices for all characters in the games are provided by the voice actors who performed the roles for the television series. It was the first Animaniacs media to use digital ink and paint, mostly used in cutscenes. Also, it used 3D pre-rendered backgrounds in some games

Adaptations of <i>Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde</i> Adaptations of 1886 novella

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an 1886 novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It is about a London lawyer, Gabriel John Utterson, who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll and the misanthropic Mr. Hyde. In a twist ending, it is revealed that Jekyll and Hyde were the same person, and that Jekyll had regularly transformed himself into Hyde by drinking a serum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monster literature</span>

Monster literature is a genre of literature that combines good and evil and intends to evoke a sensation of horror and terror in its readers by presenting the evil side in the form of a monster.

<i>Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde</i> 1886 novella by Robert Louis Stevenson

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and a murderous criminal named Edward Hyde.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a four-act play written by John McKinney in collaboration with the actor Daniel E. Bandmann. It is an adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The story focuses on Henry Jekyll, a respected London doctor, and his involvement with Edward Hyde, a loathsome criminal. After Hyde murders a vicar, Jekyll's friends suspect he is helping the killer, but the truth is that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person. Jekyll has developed a potion that allows him to transform himself into Hyde and back again. When he runs out of the potion, he is trapped in his Hyde form and commits suicide before he can be arrested.

<i>Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Or a Mis-Spent Life</i> Play by Luella Forepaugh and George F. Fish

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Or a Mis-Spent Life is a four-act play written in 1897 by Luella Forepaugh and George F. Fish. It is an adaptation of Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, an 1886 novella written by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. The story focuses on Henry Jekyll, a respected London doctor, and his involvement with Edward Hyde, a loathsome criminal. After Hyde murders a vicar, Jekyll's friends suspect he is helping the killer, but the truth is that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person. Jekyll has developed a potion that allows him to transform himself into Hyde and back again. When he runs out of the potion, he is trapped in his Hyde form and commits suicide.

References

  1. "Van Helsing: The London Assignment". Rotten Tomatoes .
  2. "Cool Zone Submitted for your approval: Van Helsing: The London Assignment". 11 May 2004.
  3. "Van Helsing: The London Assignment Sharon Bridgeman | Exclaim!".
  4. "We're giving away 'Van Helsing: The London Assignment'!". 11 May 2004.
  5. "Van Helsing: The London Assignment Company Credits". IMDb. Archived from the original on May 7, 2023. Retrieved September 4, 2004.
  6. "Van Helsing: The London Assignment DVD review | Exclaim!".
  7. "Van Helsing: The London Assignment".