Marvel Animated Movie Planet Hulk Arrives February 2

»
S
I
D
E
B
A
R
«

January 7, 2010

While both superhero comic companies have had success with TV shows based on their characters, when it comes to direct-to-DVD animated films, DC’s lineup has gotten the bulk of the attention with such titles as Superman/Batman: Public Enemies, Green Lantern: First Flight, Wonder Woman, and the upcoming Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths.

Marvel’s lineup, over the past two years, has consisted of Hulk Vs., two short battle films guest-starring Thor and Wolverine, and Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, previously known as “Teen Avengers” and “Avengers Reborn”. These movies are not as well-received and in the case of the latter, don’t star recognizable characters.

Planet Hulk
Buy this DVD

I think their new release, though, might change things. Marvel’s latest once again stars the Hulk, but this time, they’re sticking with a known storyline. Planet Hulk is based on the comic storyline written by Greg Pak. The DVD and Blu-ray will be released February 2 and feature cover art by Alex Ross.

I thought this storyline was genius, because taking the Hulk off Earth allowed him full reign to smash and bluster without the “oh, he might hurt someone” concerns that have hobbled the character in Earth-bound stories. Plus, he plays well on his own, without worrying about how he fits in with other superheroes. Here’s the plot synopsis:

Earth’s mightiest heroes exiled him into outer space. But now the Incredible Hulk crash lands on the distant planet Sakaar, ruled by the tyrannical Red King. Sold into slavery, Hulk becomes the planet’s mightiest gladiator — but his new masters get more than they bargained for when he forges a bond of brotherhood with his fellow fighters: crafty insectoid Miek, ruthless rock-man Korg, ex-shadow priest Hiroim, and the noble-born rebel Elloe. Unlike Earth, the desperate people of Sakaar believe a monster is just what they need. But will the Hulk be the one to save their world … or destroy it?

Also included on the DVD are two commentaries — one by supervising producer Joshua Fine and screenwriter Greg Johnson, the other by director Sam Liu, character designer Philip Bourassa, and key background painter Steve Nicodemus — a Wolverine and the X-Men episode where Wolverine battles Hulk, and two featurettes, “A Whole World of Hurt: The Making of Planet Hulk” and “Let the Smashing Commence!: The Saga of Planet Hulk”.

Plus, there’s a preview of the next direct-to-DVD animated movie, Thor: Tales of Asgard, as well as the two Marvel motion comics, Spider-Woman and Astonishing X-Men, and two music videos promoting them. I’m not sure what they have to do with Planet Hulk, but I guess it’s nice to have Marvel’s current entertainment attempts in one place. The second disc of the set is a digital copy.

You can see the trailer for Planet Hulk at the official website.

12 Responses

Bill D. writes:

January 7, 2010 at 12:44 PM

I’ve been disappointed by a lot of the direct-to-DVD Marvel stuff so far, but Hulk Vs. was actually pretty good (and certainly delivered on the premise, as it’s mostly just people fighting the Hulk), so I’m definitely interested to see how they handle Planet Hulk.

Johanna writes:

January 7, 2010 at 1:24 PM

Glad to hear from someone who’s seen some of the previous releases. Until now, I didn’t even know some of them had come out.

James Schee writes:

January 7, 2010 at 2:23 PM

I’ve only seen the Hulk Vs. ones, but that one was pretty good. The one vs. Wolverine was really similar to the Wolverine origins movie to me, with Deadpool stealing the show.

The Thor one was beautiful as it used a lot of the Walt Simonson designs and takes on Asgard and its characters.

Dedpool writes:

January 28, 2010 at 2:23 PM

I’ve seen all the DTV films from both Marvel and DC. I must say DC is currently winning this race. That said, I loved Hulk Vs. (cause they did Deadpool right, did an awesome Wolverine story, and made Thor awesome), and after that my next favorite would be Dr. Strange (what a way to re-invent the character). Otherwise they’re okay, with Invinceable Iron Man being the worst (build up to a climactic fight that never happens? why?), and the Avengers films (Ultimate Avengers 1&2, Next Avengers)being decent. However Planet Hulk is the film that could really change things and Thor:Tales of Asgard looked pretty fun in the teaser/preview I saw on Hulk Vs. It was smart for them to hold it back to help get the Thor bug buzzing in everyone’s ear for the live action film. Can’t wait for Planet Hulk, one of the best Hulk stories ever. I’ve read some reviews and the changes they made are big but understandable as theywere adapting 13 issues into 72 minutes. My one issue is a major character gets the shaft and they had a great arc in the books.

Win Planet Hulk Before You Can Buy It! » DVDs Worth Watching writes:

January 29, 2010 at 11:19 AM

[...] will be releasing the original animated Marvel movie Planet Hulk on February [...]

Chad writes:

January 31, 2010 at 4:41 PM

I don’t know if Disney had any effect on how terrible this Planet Hulk was or not, but I’ve loved Marvel comics, and pretty much Marvel everything all my life. For them to throw it all away by selling it to Disney is appalling. I loved every animated movie the Hulk was in until now. Planet Hulk was terrible. He got smashed around the whole movie and they made it look easy to crush the Hulk. The weak smart Hulk is crap. Toss it.

Dedpool writes:

February 1, 2010 at 11:02 AM

@Chad: Have you read the books they’re based on? Did you pay attention to the dialogue in the film? He’s weak because of the portal. In the comic it made the Silver Surfer weak, and he’s got cosmic power and could stand toe to toe with Hulk on a bad day, so you can imagine what it did to Hulk. But if you noticed he was getting progresively stronger throughout the film. This happens in the book as well. I won’t lie that this was a shock to deal with at first, and the film does little to explain things, but they do mention the portal weakening people just after Hulk wakes up. Disney had nothing to do with this, it was a great story in the comics, actually one of the best Hulk stories ever, and the film condensed a years worth of stories to bring the action to life. He got smacked around yes, but damnned if he didn’t just keep getting up and dishing it right back.

Planet Hulk Winner » Comics Worth Reading writes:

February 1, 2010 at 8:25 PM

[...] winner of my giveaway of a copy of the Planet Hulk animated movie, due out tomorrow [...]

Breexie writes:

February 20, 2010 at 1:55 PM

I thought Both Hulk -vs-, and Planet Hulk were excellent. I excited to see the Thor: Tales of Asgard movis. Since seeing those I am planning on getting the Invincible Ironman as well as both the Ultimate Avengers movies. Can anyone tell me how these movies are? Thanks, B

e*c*king writes:

February 20, 2010 at 8:15 PM

Chad has no idea what he’s talking about. Planet Hulk was definately not terrible or awful. It was a great adaptation of an awesome comic storyline. Honestly, if you think it’s bad, you dont know what a good Hulk story is.

Dedpool writes:

February 22, 2010 at 9:30 AM

@Breexie. Invinceible Iron Man is horrible. If you want CG Iron Man, watch the current series. It’s not the Iron Man we know and love but like “X-Men: Evolution,” it took a chance with changing things and turned out pretty good. Ultimate Avengers 1&2 are okay. Not bad first efforts from Marvel, but the second one wasn’t nearly as good, and I hated the change to Black Panter’s mask. That said still solid first efforts. Dr. Strange is great, Next Avengers is okay, and Hulk Vs. is just plain fun!
@e*c*king
I agree. It’s hard enough adapting a storyline, let alone a year’s worth into an hour and 20 minute film. I think they did far better than DC did with “Superman: Doomsday.”

edvion writes:

September 12, 2010 at 4:33 PM

To tell you the Planet Hulk is pretty good if Marvel make a movie thats realistic like the last big Hulk movie this will be great.