Stretching the limits of the imagination, and breathing a whole new life into a classic work of Medieval literature, Anchor Bay Entertainment releases the stunning animated feature Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic (trailer) on DVD and Blu-ray(TM) February 9th. Prebook is January 6th, and SRP for the DVD is $26.97 and $34.98 for the Blu-ray(TM). This is a collaboration with Electronic Arts, which first conceived of a new telling of the classic story and will release its “Dante’s Inferno” videogame day-and-date with the animated feature.
Film Roman, the acclaimed animation studio behind such films as Dead Space: Downfall (based on the Electronic Arts game “Dead Space”) and Hellboy Animated, took a wholly new approach to creating the circles of Hell the films’ hero Dante must navigate. Under the guidance of producer Joe Goyette and working from a story and creative vision by EA/Visceral Games executive producer Jonathan Knight, this unprecedented project enlisted some of the best animation studios in the business to create unique visions of the underworld, including such noted Asian animation studios as Production IG (Kill Bill animated sequence), Dongwoo (Batman: Gotham Knight), Manglobe (Ergo Proxy, Samurai Champloo), JM Animation (“Avatar: The Last Airbender”) and more.

Highlighting the feature’s unique artistic signature, the Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic DVD and Blu-ray(TM) boasts six limited edition customized covers specially created by the six participating animation studios.

Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic is just one piece of a new project spearheaded by Electronic Arts, which also includes the highly anticipated videogame and a previously released six-issue comic series from DC Comics/WildStorm. Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic expands this franchise with a must-see feature that soars on high-octane energy and amazing visuals – combined, of course, with a story that has haunted dreams since Dante Alighieri wrote it down almost 700 years ago. This amazing journey takes viewers along with the warrior Dante, and his spectral guide Virgil, into the legendary and frightening nine circles of Hell. Join Dante as he travels through Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery, all in search of his one true love, Beatrice.

By employing a range of animation studios steeped in the anime tradition, Film Roman and EA created a completely unique vision of Dante Alighieri’s 14th century masterwork The Divine Comedy, with each circle of hell having a distinct look and tone. While this gives it a modern twist, the feature still stays true to the original elements of the poem that is known to most as “Dante’s Inferno.” Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic is sure to delight all gamers and fan boys, but voice-over work by Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Victoria Tennant (Legend of the Mummy), Vanessa Branch (Pirates of the Caribbean), and Graham McTavish (“Prison Break”) as Dante, give this production extra dramatic depth and the literary source material makes this a project that will appeal to an unusually broad range of adult audiences.

Film Roman, which along with Anchor Bay Entertainment is a division of Starz Media, first worked with EA on 2008’s Dead Space: Downfall. The venerable animation studio also provides the animation production for Fox/Gracie’s “The Simpsons” and Marvel Entertainment’s new hit “Super Hero Squad.”