''Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell'' is a 2016 American

direct-to-streaming Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strateg ...

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

superhero film Superhero film/movie is a film genre categorized by the presence of superhero characters, individuals with extraordinary abilities who are dedicated to fighting crime, saving the world, or helping the innocent. It is sometimes considered a sub ...

featuring the superhero character

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

. The movie takes its name from a 1970s

Marvel comic Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

book title. The film is set within the same continuity as '' Avengers Assemble'' and ''

Ultimate Spider-Man ''Ultimate Spider-Man'' is a superhero comic book series that was published by Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2011. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running Spider-Man comic book franchise as part of the company's Ultimate Ma ...

''. It is the second film in the

Marvel Animated Universe Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Entertainment units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years old. Disney XD's progr ...

after '' Marvel Super Hero Adventures: Frost Fight!''.

Plot

Doctor Strange Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Steve Ditko, the character first appeared in ''Strange Tales'' #110 (cover-dated July 1963). Doctor Strange serves as ...

brings

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to assist fighting rampaging

monsters A monster is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, fiction and religion. They are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

night, which were young teens stuck dreaming and changed into the monsters that they fear. During battle, Hulk randomly reverts to an unconscious Bruce Banner. Doctor Strange planned a trip to the Dream Dimension with the Hulk to get to the bottom of the monsters while confronting

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...

. Before this happens, they call upon the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Paranormal Containment Unit (consisting of

Jasper Sitwell Jasper Sitwell is a fictional character, an espionage agent appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was portrayed by Maximiliano Hernández in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Publication history Created by wr ...

zombie A zombie (Haitian French: ; ; Kikongo: ''zumbi'') is a mythological undead corporeal revenant created through the reanimation of a corpse. In modern popular culture, zombies appear in horror genre works. The term comes from Haitian folkl ...

form,

Man-Thing The Man-Thing (Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writers Stan Lee, Roy Thomas, and Gerry Conway and artist Gray Morrow, the character first appeared in ' ...

, Vampire by Night / Nina Price, and

Warwolf The Warwolf, also known as the ''Loup-de-Guerre'' or ''Ludgar'', is believed to have been the largest trebuchet ever made. It was created in Scotland by order of Edward I of England, during the siege of Stirling Castle in 1304, as part of the ...

) to watch over their physical forms and contain the rampaging monsters. Banner and Hulk split for their trip to other dimension with Banner using the dream version of Iron Man's Hulkbuster armor. Meanwhile, Hulk and the captive monsters escape from the Sanctum, and the Paranormal Containment Unit pursues them. In the other dimension, Strange is captured by Nightmare after Hulk joins him and opens the portal to the real world. This turns out to be a strategic plan by Hulk and Banner to free Benito Serrano and the young teenagers, Ana, Eric, and Gayle, by facing their fears and managing to escape. However, Serrano is trapped in the monstrous appearance of the Minotaur in the hands of Nightmare. Upon escaping the dimension, Nightmare begins to invoke more fear in the New York residents, Hulk, Strange and the Paranormal Containment Unit enter the battle and with Serrano now a member of the team, they manage to defeat Nightmare sending him back to the dimension. In the end, Hulk decides to name the Paranormal Containment Unit as the

Howling Commandos The Howling Commandos is the name of several fictional groups appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team also appears in the franchises developed for other media. Fictional team history Original Incarnation (1963) T ...

and they enter Strange's Sanctum until they wait for a S.H.I.E.L.D. plane.

Cast

Jesse Burch Jesse Burch (born Jesse E. Johnson; September 2, 1970) is an American actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional ...

Bruce Banner The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

, Waiter *

Fred Tatasciore Fred Tatasciore ( , , born June 13, 1967) is an American voice actor who has provided voices in animated and live-action films, television shows, and video games. He is known for voicing the Hulk, Volstagg, and Beast in various Marvel media and ...

, Countdown *

Liam O'Brien Liam Christopher O'Brien (born May 28, 1976) is an American voice actor, writer, and director. He is a regular cast member of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' actual play series '' Critical Role,'' playing Vax'ildan ("Vax"), Caleb Widogast, and Orym. ...

as Stephen Strange / Doctor Strange * Matthew Waterson as

* Edward Bosco as Vince Marcus / Warwolf,

Minotaur In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (, ''Mīnṓtauros''), also known as Asterion, is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "par ...

, Reveler * Jon Olson as Dr. Theodore "Ted" Sallis / Man-Thing, Rorgg, Sporr, Zzutak * Michael Robles as Benito Serrano * Mike Vaughn as

's Undead Form *

Zach Callison Zachry Dean Callison (born October 23, 1997) is an American actor and singer. He is primarily known as the voice of the titular character Steven in the ''Steven Universe'' franchise. Career Callison began acting on television in 2009, with ...

as Eric, Kid Dressed as Ninja * Hope Levy as Gayle, Kid Dressed as Pirate, Kid Dressed as Princess *

Laura Bailey Laura Bailey (born May 28, 1981) is an American voice actress. She made her voice acting debut as Trunks (Dragon Ball), Kid Trunks in the Funimation dub of ''Dragon Ball Z'' and has since voiced List of Gunslinger Girl characters#First Generati ...

as Ana, Kid Dressed as Vampire, Kid Dressed as Football Player *

Chiara Zanni Chiara Zanni () is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Amy Ryan on The N series '' About a Girl'' and Maggie Buckman on the CBC series '' Edgemont''. She is also known for her voice-work as Hahli in '' Bionicle: Mask of Light'' ...

as Nina Price / Vampire by Night, Bee Girl, Nurse

Production

The film is produced by

Marvel Animation Marvel Animation Inc. is an American animation production company. It was incorporated on January 25, 2008, to direct Marvel's efforts in animation and home entertainment markets. The incorporated Marvel Animation included then ongoing animatio ...

Jamie Simone Jamie Simone is an American voice director and producer, best known for directing ''Naruto'', ''Sailor Moon'' and ''Tiger & Bunny''. He is the owner of the recording studio Studiopolis. In 2012, he was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outs ...

serves as the casting and voice director.

Release

''Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell'' was first announced and had its world premiere at the 2016

San Diego Comic-Con San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...

. The film was released on

Digital HD A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy (typically a DVD, Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, or Ultra HD Blu-ray disc) with ...

on October 21, 2016. In 2017, it was released on

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

. In 2022, it left the streaming service. The film later became available to stream on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Reception

Joe Garza of ''

/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''SlashFilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. The site's reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, and as of 2024, two of its leading film cr ...

'' stated, "While this is primarily a Hulk flick, the inclusion of Doctor Strange and the haunted heroes of the Howling Commandos makes ''Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell'' an absolute blast." Gab Hernandez of ''

Screen Rant ''Screen Rant'' is an entertainment website that offers news in the fields of television, films, video games, and comic books. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publications including Comic Book Resources, Collider, MovieWeb and XDA Developers. ...

'' included ''Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell'' in their "8 Best Adaptations of Doctor Strange In Movies and TV" list, writing, "While the movie is definitely more of a fun monster mash than a strong narrative, that's totally fine for a comic book movie meant for kids." Johnny Brayson of ''

Bustle A bustle is a padded undergarment or wire frame used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skir ...

'' ranked ''Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell'' 10th in their "19 Best Animated Movies On Netflix Right Now" list. Ben Silverio of ''ScienceFiction.com'' gave ''Hulk: Where Monsters Dwell'' a grade of 3.5 out of 5 and called it a "solid Halloween cartoon overall," saying, " It’s a lot of fun and action-packed, while being a bit edgier than what’s on TV so as to give older fans just as much reason to check it out with or without their little True Believers."

References

External links

* {{Animated films based on Marvel Comics 2010s American animated films 2010s direct-to-video animated superhero films 2010s monster movies 2016 animated films 2016 films 2016 direct-to-video films Animated films based on Marvel Comics Animated films set in New York City Hulk (comics) films Animated films about demons Direct-to-video animated films American films about Halloween 2010s English-language films Animated films about Halloween English-language science fiction horror films English-language action films