Trailer
Plot summary
Hellboy isn't your average hero. Hell. He isn't even your average superhero. Brought forth by the Nazis during a sacred ritual towards the end of World War II. Our hero was summoned by accident when the evil monk of Russian history/folklore, Grigori Rasputin was meddling with forces that lead to his undoing. With the twisted and evil monster trapped for another sixty years when things don't go as planned (US soldiers heroically intervened). Hellboy is raised by Prof. Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm, an expert in the occult. Our demonic hero is initiated in to the Bureau of paranormal research were he joins the amphibious, kind hearted, and clever fellow "Freak", Abe Sapien. When Rasputin returns once again with the aid of his minions the maniacal, undead assassin Kroenen and the monk's faithful lover Ilsa. Hellboy must unwillingly pair up with John Myers, an idealistic, naive new agent of the Bureau. Not only that but the big hunk of an evil basher becomes entangled in a love triangle with the pyro-telekinetic love of his life Liz and his new comrade. Fighting evil couldn't prove more difficult or out there.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Hellboy (2004)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- David Hyde Pierce was hired to provide the voice for Abe Sapien because he was a "bigger name" with a "more recognizable sound", then refused to take credit, perform press tours or attend the premiere, out of respect for Doug Jones.
- Some theaters refused to host the film because of the word "hell" in the title; certain theaters in the South marketed it as "Helloboy" to avoid perceptions of sacrilege alongside the then-release of The Passion of the Christ, and some dropped it during Easter while it still played nationwide.
- Guillermo del Toro and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola envisioned the film as a Ray Harryhausen film, and it was shopped around and rejected by various studios for years because they disliked the title and the script and objected to Ron Perlman being cast as Hellboy.
- Del Toro invited Ray Harryhausen to teach the film's animators what made his effects techniques unique, but Harryhausen declined, feeling that modern films were too violent.
- Vin Diesel was linked to the role when the film was being proposed at Universal Pictures, and Jeremy Renner was offered the title role but turned it down because he had no attachment to the source material.
- Del Toro noted that the scene following the shot of a rock hitting the screen was carelessly removed by projectionists in American theaters, and deduced that they believed the reel had ended.
