"Marvel's Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell" Feature Talkback (Spoilers)

[RoyalRubble]

Check out Marvel's new feature-length animated Halloween movie! Available on Digital HD and On-Demand through select digital retailers, starting today!

Marvel's Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell
Release Date: October 21st, 2016 (Digital Release Only)

Written by: Marty Isenberg and Dave McDermott
Directed by: Mitch Schauer
Executive Producers: Alan Fine, Dan Buckley, Joe Quesada, Jeph Loeb, and Cort Lane

Synopsis: This All Hallows’ Eve, Nightmare is bent on conquering our waking world by crossing through the Dream Dimension, and converting each dreamer into a monster. Can Dr. Strange, Hulk and the Howling Commandoes hold the line and put an end to his nefarious scheme?

The voice cast includes Fred Tatasciore as Hulk; Liam O’Brien as Dr. Strange; Jesse Burch as Bruce Banner; Edward Bosco as Warwolf and Minotaur; Chiara Zanni as Nina Price, Vampire by Night; Mike Vaughn as Zombie Jasper Sitwell; Matthew Waterson as Nightmare; and Michael Robles as Benito.

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[TheLemsterPju]

Here is another review for the movie.

 

[Troy Troodon]

It's alright for the most part. It's the second half of the film that shows it's true potential, though not exactly in the same league as, The Batman vs Dracula. I'm not asking for too much from them, but I do feel they still could have done better in some spots.

Again the animation for the most part is not very impressive, although the coloring and character designs did seem more remnant to some of Phil Bourassa's work like Young Justice or the CW Vixen short series.

As for the voice work, Fred Tatasciore is spot on as always as the big green goliath, though I'm afraid I can't say the same for Liam O'Brien as Doctor Strange, which is a fine casting choice but the direction they went with him felt rather dull.

The other voice actors for the Commandos and the teens did fine with what they were given, it's nice to hear new talent fill in like Edward Basco as Warwolf for example; though I can't help but feel Matthew Waterson tried a bit too much to be more like Troy Baker's impersonation of Mark Hamill's Joker.

The musical score tends to vary between casual AA music, to something more original and more akin to orchestral themes from the DC Animated movies. The latter I would very much have preferred rather than this inconsistent track.

I' not surprised it's not as "adult" as they promised, but it would have been nice for them to push the envelope and at least try and have plot writing, again closer to something from DC.

Maybe if they had a bigger budget, they could add more fluidity and expression to the character animation and not just rely on cheap camera pans.

As for scares... well they did have plenty of scary ideas (like the implement to the death of a background character through the method of conveying splashing soup at the screen in place of blood) but for the most part at least they didn't actually come of as scary per say, even for something child friendly.

Overall, this film is just average at best. 6/10.

 

[TheLemsterPju]

Finally saw it, and really enjoyed it!

A few tidbits:

* Zzutak, Sporr and Rorgg make their animated debuts. Even if they're just the kids as monsters.
* The movie had some nice darker moments, mainly Doc Strange's fear of the kids dying on the operating table and losing his hands, or had consequences like Benito being permanently stuck as a Minotaur.
* Nina Price (Vampire By Night) seemed to have the same personality as Carol Danvers from A:EMH/
* I guess they finally decided on an origin for the Hulk in this universe: the original gamma bomb explosion.
* It sucks that Hulk didn't even bother to acknowledge his Agents of SMASH when he was discussing his acts of heroism with the Avengers.
* Neil Gaiman's S̶a̶n̶d̶m̶a̶n̶ Nightmare. He looked great. His monster form...not so much.
* Warwolf is a mood killer.
* I haven't read the comics with Zombie Sitwell, so I imagined he wouldn't even talk in this other than growls. Thankfully, that wasn't the case and I ended up like his character and voice.
* The shading in this was great. I wish the shows had this sort of contrast.

7/10

 

[JoeMabbon]

Is there any word of this airing on Disney XD?

 

[Roxas_Sora]

I have seen the movie, and it was quite good. However, I have a few comments to do. Let's see:

+ Well, guys, I suppose some of you may have recognized the character named "Benito Serrano", also known as "El Toro" in the comics. He's a teen hero able to transform into a minotaur-looking superhero, but with more human looking style than in this movie. He's known for have being a member of the most recent version of the Young Allies, which also included Anya Corazon as Spider-Girl. If they haven't cancelled "Ultimate Spider-Man", this could have been a great member of SHIELD Academy.

+ "I'm starting to see why certain webslinger likes doing this!". Try to guess who was Hulk talking about.

+ I don't get it. Why did they create a new "Howling Commandos" instead of using the ones who already appeared in "Ultimate Spider-Man" and "Hulk and the Agents of SMASH"? They had Blade, Werewolf by Night, the Living Mummy, Frankenstein's Monster, Man-Thing and the Invisible Man. What happened to these guys then?

+ Finally, I recognized the other monsters who were Benito's friends: Sporr, Rorgg and Zzutak. Their human selves were named Gayle, Ana and Eric. Do you have any idea if they were based on other characters from the comics? Because I suspect at least one of them could have been based into a quite popular character from Spider-Man's world. You see, the girl named Ana had a monster self who were called "Rorgg, King of the Spider-Men". "King of the Spider-Men". Doesn't makes you think about the Spider-Queen from "Spider Island"? I mean, her human name was "Ana" too.

Well, opinions?

 

[spyke]

This was a decent movie with a few flaws that prevented it from being a great movie.

1. The story was decent, but it wasn't anything special or outstanding. As usual, some story elements were recycled ideas from Marvel animated TV series and animated movies that have been produced under the current Loeb/Quesada regime.

2. The art was hit and miss. The character designs looked good and the shading/use of shadows (the few times that they used them) looked good. The coloring sometimes looked good and sometimes looked bad (especially for the CGI scenes).

3. The animation wasn't that good and it was made even worse by the bad CGI.

 

[Dustellar]

No Dum Dum??

 

[Otaku-sempai]

In the pre-release discussion RoyalRubble posted:

According to OuterPlaces.com,

The movie is described as being dark, creepy, and more adult than any of the shows Marvel is currently producing

Marvel seems to have missed the mark on this seeing as the MPAA rated the movie 'PG'.

 

[Troy Troodon]

In the pre-release discussion RoyalRubble posted:


Marvel seems to have missed the mark on this seeing as the MPAA rated the movie 'PG'.

If you ask me this film should have just been rated G. If I directed a PG animated Marvel movie I'd add a bit more context and more challenging content so it isn't too kiddy; something along the lines of Coraline or more recently Kubo; and of course some of the former DC animated films like, Bats vs Drac

 

[RoyalRubble]

- I didn't mind the rating so much as the fact the producers insisted that the movie is supposed to be dark and mature, even comparing it to "The Killing Joke". Now to be fair I wouldn't have really wanted a dark, depressing and violent animated movie about Hulk, but something a little more serious and mature than the animated series produced by Marvel these last few years sounded good to me.

- The movie was pretty good. The team-up between Hulk & Doctor Strange was fun. I liked how they touched on the conflict between Bruce Banner and Hulk, something they haven't really addressed in the cartoons for a while, but they still could have done more with it. It felt like they kind of glossed over it just to get to some more action scenes, which granted were pretty entertaining.

- Doctor Strange was handled pretty well though I didn't particularly care for his design here. The Howling Commandos were decent though they didn't really leave a big impression on me. Still I liked the variety the team offered and how they fit into the plot. Seeing them in action was also pretty cool.

- Nightmare was a decent villain but his plan was pretty generic, as well as something we have seen before in the cartoons. Stretching it to fit an entire movie just got tedious by the end. His evolved form looked pretty dumb, not nearly as creepy or threatening as his original design.

- I admit, Benito being stuck as Minotaur was a pretty surprising turn of events.

- All things considered, not a bad movie. I'll probably post more thoughts later on, but in short it's a decent enough adventure. At the same time, it's not really something I'd watch again anytime soon.

 

[Troy Troodon]

- I didn't mind the rating so much as the fact the producers insisted that the movie is supposed to be dark and mature, even comparing it to "The Killing Joke". Now to be fair I wouldn't have really wanted a dark, depressing and violent animated movie about Hulk, but something a little more serious and mature than the animated series produced by Marvel these last few years sounded good to me.

My input exactly. Not too adult, but just a bit more complex and interesting to give it that extra edge the current shows severely lack. I think other good examples of this would be in several episodes of Steven Universe, regarding those corrupted Gem Fusions; one involving Garnet nearly breaking into split personality, and another being somewhat more bitter sweet with Steven coming to reconciliation with those Gems.

 

[Rick Jones]

I hoped it could be good, then started watching this and stopped as I just figured it felt about the same as a SMASH episodes without the SMASHers. I gave it another shot and watched the whole thing and I liked it. It wasn't ground breaking or anything, and it definitely wasn't a step up from the TV stuff production wise, but it felt as though it had actual peril and stakes. I wish everything they aimed at kids didn't have to be a yuckfest but it did feel as though there were stronger themes at work here than what's usually on the TV shows. With stronger animation and maybe a bit less of the comedy, I think this could have been more than it was (which wasn't bad). It sucks that Benito was stuck in that form but he seems as though he'll take it in stride.

+ "I'm starting to see why certain webslinger likes doing this!". Try to guess who was Hulk talking about.

The reference was pretty noticeable. They probably still can't actually even use Spidey in one of these or use his name out right.



Sent from my HTC6535LVW using Tapatalk

 

[RoyalRubble]

The kids trick-or-treating at the start of the movie also mentioned seeing a guy riding a motorcycle, and his head was on fire. Can't imagine who they were talking about.

I think my favorite bit in the entire movie, which worked both in terms of creepiness and comedy was that short scene at the restaurant, with the fly in the soup.

Like I said before, the movie wasn't all that bad. I think it was definitely better than the two "Heroes United" movies, at least.

 

[Rick Jones]

Like I said before, the movie wasn't all that bad. I think it was definitely better than the two "Heroes United" movies, at least.

Definitely better than the Heroes United movies. The Cap one probably wasn't as bad as the Hulk movie but it was still pretty subpar. I'm glad that they're doing these. This and Frost Fight should have been on TV as specials.





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[Frontier]

I thought this was overall a fairly fun animated Halloween movie from Marvel Animation. It wasn't necessarily impressive or exceptional in any area, maybe marginally so compared to your average episode of Assemble, but the writing, animation, voice work, and story were all solid and I enjoyed the movie as a whole. All in all a nice way to spend an hour and 15 minutes on Halloween .

First things first, despite the title and advertising, this isn't really much of a Hulk movie. He has a good deal of screentime and his own sub-plot to deal with that brings everything together in the end, and Bruce Banner plays a decent role along with getting the final hit on Nightmare, but at its core it's really a Dr. Strange adventure featuring Hulk and the Howling Commando's .

It's even timed around the release of his movie and the main villain is one of his Rogues, and overall it feels more like a Strange movie then a Hulk movie. Which is fine, since Hulk's name was probably attached to it for name recognition since Strange wasn't a proven name with kids or general audiences at the time this was produced, but anyone expecting more may feel disappointed at how underplayed Hulk and the Commando's, as well as their stories, are compared to Strange .

Second of all, comparing this to the Killing Joke in any way shape or form was a great exaggeration on the part of the producers. The content and story weren't anymore adult or ill-suited for kids then a Batman Unlimited movie, though they definitely did go for some creepy visuals, though no more then you would expect for a Halloween themed kids movie. Overall it feels perfectly in-line with the rest of the content produced by Marvel Animation, for better or worse .

Compared to the current cartoons, I'd say the animation quality and coloring was generally improved, and looked fairly good throughout the movie, though there were some clunky movements and jarring scene transitions interspersed throughout. Though for a movie, you would expect maybe a little more in the visuals department then what you could normally expect from an episode of Assemble and Guardians with what one would hope is a bigger budget .

As far as action sequences go, while they were all serviceable throughout the movie, there was no fight that felt really exciting or memorable in my opinion. I think the various sub-plots the movie had to juggle contributed to this to some degree, leaving the Howling Commando's hunt for the monsters and Hulk vs. Banner feeling very rushed and undercutting those moments overall. Even the final fight with Nightmare was only marginally more impressive, not helped by his monster form being actually a little less intimidating then his more humanoid form .

I thought this was a pretty strong showing for Dr. Strange in the movie, with him playing off the rest of the cast fairly well, referencing his past as a neurosurgeon and using that as a basis for a strong moment when Stephen is captured by Nightmare, plenty of cool spell-casting moments, and Liam O'Brien doling out each incantation with gusto .

Whenever we go into the Sanctum Sanctorum I have to keep asking myself "where the heck is Wong?" .

Strange's new design, which I'm curious as to how soon we'll see implemented into the other cartoons, was okay. I'm glad he doesn't look like a Goth sorcerer anymore and has some more manageable hair, looking more like classic Strange compared to his old design, but it does feel a little blander by comparison. I'm also not really feeling his shirt design, or the random white streak on-top of his hair in addition to the traditional streaks on the side, but the Cloak of Levitation at least looked fine .

Hulk also had a pretty solid showing in this movie, and I like that it at least tried to address Hulk and Banner's relationship and the dichotomy of the two personalities, which has been severely underplayed or downright nonexistent in the cartoons for the most part in favor of Hulk all-the-time or just treating Banner and Hulk as the same entity (which the movies are also guilty of) .

That being said, I think that aspect, for how important it is to the character and how it was one of the elements that was heavily promoted for the movie, was not explored as much or as in-depth as it should have been, with all the other stuff in play taking away focus from it. I also think, in having Banner being completely accepting of Hulk and Hulk's enmity with Banner stemming more from anger over Bruce compromising Avengers missions then Hulk's real personal issues with Banner, it took away from the emotional drama and real conflict that could have been mined in that segment of the movie .

I still can't help but feel bad for Banner though. Sure, he acts fine with it, but he's still completely given up on curing himself and lets The Hulk have control most of the time, robbing him of a normal, safe, life in-spite of all the good it does. In a story that, even to some degree, examined the dynamic of Bruce being The Hulk, it feels like it could have been better explored by including those most effected by it like Betty, Ross, or other Hulk characters. But, again, this wasn't really a Hulk movie .

It was neat seeing the MCU Hulkbuster armor show up again, and Banner once again donning it, though while I'm glad they didn't animate it with CG, apparently that design in general just does not animate well...which I think hurt Banner's fight with Hulk quite a bit (besides lackluster fight choreography) .

Using the Howling Commando's from the relatively quickly canceled All-New All-Different Marvel book felt like an odd choice, but one that did fit the tone and setting of the movie with the focus on Halloween and monsters, and I thought they were used pretty well in the movie. Despite having to balance screentime with Strange and Hulk, I think the team came off as fairly likeable as a whole, and added a fun and spooky element all their own. I'm not sure if we'll ever see them again after this, but I certainly wouldn't mind it after a fairly strong debut .

I wish they had gone more in-depth in regards to each member, in terms of their origins and who they are (like how the heck Jasper Sitwell went from a normal SHIELD Agent to a zombie) but for what was there I think the movie did a good job of showcasing the group as a whole in terms of their powers and personalities. Their voice actors also all did solid jobs with each character, and I liked the design for each Commando .

As far as each Commando goes, I thought Nina (Vampire by Night) was fairly well-rounded and likeable for a female character in Marvel Animation, and maybe a little bit more overtly feminine .

Warwolf felt like Red Hulk if he was only a little less aggravating but had the same basic personality, which lent to him coming off a little better then Red did in quite a few SMASH episodes. His VA even sounded at times like he was doing a Clancy Brown impersonation .

Sitwell's straight-laced officer personality contrasted with the group and the grievous bodily harm he kept enduring made him a pretty entertaining member of the team .

And who doesn't love more Man-Thing ?

So...we're just going to ignore the previous Howling Commando's team from USM and SMASH? Y'know, with Blade, Werewolf-By-Night, The Living Mummy, and Frankenstein's Monster? Guys Hulk has actually teamed-up with? You're just going to reference the name as being the same as Cap's old unit? Okay...

I liked the Ghost Rider and Spider-Man references .

Not going to mention your old Agents of SMASH team, and how they helped you embrace being a hero over being a monster, are you Hulk? That's Avengers elitism for you .

Nightmare was a fitting villain for this special, and I liked his David Bowie-esque redesign. His VA did a great job with this take on Nightmare and overall I thought he was handled decently, if not as intimidatingly a villain as he could have been .

These kids must have some weird fears if it ends up turning them into Minotaurs or known Marvel monsters .

Benito being stuck in his Minotuar form was definitely not something I was expecting, but it was an interesting twist and way to end the movie on, and I overall liked Benito rising to the many challenges he faced in the movie to become a true hero. I'm only worried that we might not ever see any follow-up on his story .

(Gasp) We even got a little romance going, albeit tragically, with Benito and Anna. It was only a small part of the movie but I thought it was kind of cute, and with the major lack of any real romance in Marvel cartoons for the most part, I'll take anything I can get, even if involves purely original characters .

 

[Rick Jones]

It probably wouldn't have hurt if Doctor Strange had co-billing on the title, with Hulk getting kids attention before the movie release and Doctor Strange getting the attention after.

 

[JoeMabbon]

While there were a few moments that kinda dragged on too long and the backgrounds looked pretty bad, I liked it well enough.

Whenever we go into the Sanctum Sanctorum I have to keep asking myself "where the heck is Wong?" .

Maybe he'll start showing up in the cartoons now that he's appeared in live action.

 

[Fone Bone]

Marvel's Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell

Honestly, that wasn't too shabby, but the truth is it felt overlong for the subject matter, and had to spin its wheels a bit in several places. I also didn't like Benito's ending.

Nightmare has a very cool and scary design.

I liked Dr. Strange suggesting that perhaps science is just magic we don't understand yet. Good way to flip the Marvel script.

Jasper Sitwell? The turncoat SHIELD Agent who was secretly Hydra? Why is he a zombie here with Jimmy Olson's outfit, Buddy Holly's glasses, and Jon Tester's haircut? Was this cartoon made before or after his heel-turn and death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier?

As far as Marvel cartoon movies go, it definitely is nowhere NEAR as bad as the Heroes United stuff. I actually thought it was all right. ***1/2.

 

[Rick Jones]

Jasper Sitwell? The turncoat SHIELD Agent who was secretly Hydra? Why is he a zombie here with Jimmy Olson's outfit, Buddy Holly's glasses, and Jon Tester's haircut? Was this cartoon made before or after his heel-turn and death in Captain America: The Winter Soldier?

I haven't read anything in a long time but Jasper was a faithful SHIELD agent in the comics from the 60s up until he was killed off in some comic not too long before I stopped reading regularly. I have no idea if this zombie thing ever happened in a comic.



Above is a screenshot of him from Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

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