Tara Duncan (Werewolf Transformations)

Tara Duncan is a French fantasy cartoon. One of its minor characters, Fabrice, happens to be a werewolf, and he's seen transforming in episodes 6 ("Frère de crocs") and 15 ("Le regard de Claire"). The first two transformations in this clip are from the former, the last TF from the latter. The transformations are somewhat disappointing, since rely too much on the old cheat of having glowing light obscure the changing body parts.

Rated A For Awesome (Monkey Transformation)

Rated A For Awesome is a computer animated series made in Canada. In episode 12 (or 24, since each episode consists of two stories), the main character Les gets his DNA mixed with a monkey's. The first part of his transformation starts at school--sadly the second part occurs off camera. I've roughly edited together a  video for your enjoyment...

Wolfenjump (Werewolf Transformation)

Wolfenjump is an online anthology of indie/anime comics that have a wolf theme. One of these comics, titled "Luna," also has a werewolf transformation. See it here.

Versipellis (Werewolf Transformation)

Many thanks to Werefan for making this clip possible.

The clip below is from a hard-to-find Italian short film. The transformation itself is abbreviated (and it looks like the rest of it would have involved skin-ripping), but as werefan points out, the real glory of the film is the werewolf suit, with its excellent design and menacing face. Proof yet again that old-fashioned special effects can still kick CGI's ass.

Hor Taew Taek Waek Chi-Mi (Werewolf Transformation)

Hor Taew Taek Waek Chi-Mi  apparently is the third installment of a transvestite ghost-comedy franchise. (yeah, you heard me right), and this time werewolves and vampires are involved. It's an incredible farrago, but here's a quick and shoddy werewolf transformation, with added slow-motion replay at the end.

Apparently the werewolf (the hunk with the chin beard) is confronting the vampire (the hunk in the pool who can get changed quickly). Or so I think. It's not as if explaining it would make this clip make sense. But at least the werewolf is a stud.

Le Collège Invisible (Werewolf and Zombie Transformations)

This comedic bande dessinée is about some teenagers attending a school for magic (sounds familiar?). In Volume 2, Thomas (the hero William's best friend) contracts lycanthropy, giving rise to the following dialogue:

-- Uh ... William, I'm growing hair.
-- At our age that's normal Thomas. It's puberty, your body changes, it's nothing to be ashamed of.
--No, I'm really growing hair.


The comic than skips ahead a couple pages before returning to the transformation:

I'm not going to translate the whole page, but "couché" obviously is equivalent to "sit!"


After Thomas wakes up human the next day, he's told of his condition, and asks if he was bitten last month. That should be easy to verify, says William:

"Ah," says William, "you see, I was right...you can still see the mark. Crazy! My friend is a werewolf. My cousin will be jealous--his friend is just a redhead."


Later we get a one-panel transformation:

After this, we get another one-panel TF in Volume 4, when Thomas is in a magic competition with someone who foolishly generates a fool moon...

Lastly, in Volume 7 Thomas is held at gunpoint and comes up with a visual simile:

And that's all. The series has reached 10 volumes, but with no decent werewolf transformations in the last three entries. However, as a bonus I'm throwing in a zombie/ghoul transformation from Volume 5. Enjoy mes amis!

Homemade Werewolf Animation 3 (Werewolf Transformations)

Hello everyone, and sorry about my absence (June was a depressing month). But I'm back, and many thanks to Drake for prompting the post below.

I'm not a big fan of computer animation. I can't even recall seeing a really good computer-animated werewolf transformation. Until today that is--thanks to an artist named Medhue.

Let's start with his early test animation:

Pretty good, and the multiple angles are a nice bonus.


Here's a later, more atmospheric effort:

As with the earlier piece, Medhue has taken advantage of the smoothness of digital effects, but he's used it to  further detail the transformation, instead of using the too-fast morphing we're used to with computer animation.


And now we come to his magnum opus (so far):

More and more cartoons on TV are computer animated. Should any of these shows try a transformation scene, I hope they're as good as Medhue's.

The Art of Petplayer976 (Werewolf Transformations)

As her deviantart account also demonstrates, Petplayer is a big werewolf fan. Her art is anime inspired and has a spiky look and bouncy energy. When it comes to werewolves she loves drawing painful grimaces, popping/cracking flesh, exploding clothes, blood spurting from new claws, drool-leaking snouts, and monstrous glowing-eyes. Just what I like!

She's drawn several werewolf sequences, both for her own enjoyment and as commissions:

The first is "Shadow Werewolf," an early, rougher-looking work: 01. 02. 03. 04.

Her next sequence, "Night After Yesterday," is more assured: 01. 02. 03. 04.

"The Anniversary Gift" is something of a departure, since it features a were-panda! 01. 02.

"Prom Nightmare" returns to lupines:  01. 02. 03.

"Can't Fight the Moon":  01. 02.

"Wilson's Nightmare":  01. 02.

"Not Really the Night":  01. 02. 03. 04.

We take another departure with "Bloodshed," an alien Zergling TF:   01. 02. 03. 04. 05.

Back to wolves with "Sunrise," but this time it's a transformation back to humanity:  01. 02. 03. 04.

There are also some one-page works that depict werewolves in mid-transformation, such as "Bring The Pain," "Night Beast," "Contest Entry," and "Halloween in the Saints."

Homemade Werewolf (and Werecat) Animation, Part 2 (Werewolf/Werecat Transformations)

This is a sequel to my earlier post on amateur/homemade animation. Let's start with this fast but very fluid werewolf transformation:




The same artist, Eric Strother, surpasses this with a superb and beautifully smooth puma transformation--look at how the entire process occurs in one shot, with no cutaways:




Next comes a finely detailed werewolf transformation from Luis M. Pérez Suárez, showing a gentleman enjoying his change into a well-muscled lycanthrope. This TF uses cutaways to good effect:




We'll take a brief detour out of 2D animation with "An American Werewolf in Maya." I think this is better than many of the transformations we see in computer-animated cartoons:




An anonymous comment on my earlier post reminded me that I forgot to include one of the greatest amateur werewolf animations of them all. Created back in 2004 by William Short of "Voria Studios", this is a definite classic:

In many respects it's an example of the archetypal modern werewolf transformation: shots of the expanding back developing ridges and bursting through clothing, extreme muscle growth, and snout formation--all accomplished with cinematic direction and an excellent soundtrack of moans, groans, and snarls.

Hellblazer (Werewolf Transformation)

First off, I'm back! Apologies for the gap between updates--I moved to a new room and had to clean and find occupants for my apartment. Now the only room left to clean is my own, and I have time to post some transformation tidbits for you. Today's updates are all from comics, but I have several videos lined up for the weeks ahead. Nothing current though--this has been a dry period for TF fans, especially with disappointments like Hemlock Grove. But hopefully these scans will serve as a stopgap.

In Hellblazer #292, John Constantine gets scratched by a werewolf and becomes a rather studly lycanthrope...

I, Zombie (Dog Transformation)

I, Zombie #6 amusingly features a character who turns into a were-dog, or to be more precise, a were-terrier...

Monster-Size Hulk (Werewolf and Hulk Transformations)

Monster Size Hulk #1 features a meeting between Bruce Banner (the Hulk) and Jack Russell (Werewolf by Night). The two meet in their human forms, and Banner locks Russell in a cage right before the full moon. And then all hell breaks loose...a pity the art isn't clearer.

The Darkness Versus Eva (Werewolf Transformation)

The Darkness Versus Eva, Daughter of Dracula #1 (whew! long title) opens with a scene on a subway, showing a blond werewolf harassing a passenger. Why don't we see blond werewolves more often?

Wolverine 1000 (Werewolf Transformation)

The comic Wolverine 1000 features a story set in World War II, with everyone's favorite hairy Canuck battling Nazi werewolves. I've included the before and after pages to give some context.

Quick Site Update

The copyright thugs at youtube blocked my video of Lastikman, but I've reuploaded it to vimeo. If you haven't seen it before or crave a rewatch, go here.

Battledogs (Werewolf Transformation)

I had very low expectations for Battledogs--after all, it's a "SyFy Original Movie." And, truth be told, I fast-forwarded through most of it (life is short, so sue me). However, there's a transformation scene near the beginning, which I am pleased to bring to you. Since the scene cuts off abruptly, I've included a snippet beforehand to show you what the werewolf design is like. My comments are below...




The werewolves look ratty and remind me too much of those in the American Being Human. However, I was still pleasantly surprised by this scene. It looks like even the folks who make SyFy movies are getting better at handling CGI, and even using it to more closely mimic classic, pre-CGi effects--as with the face morphs (too bad we don't see the muzzles fully grow out) and nice shirt and shoes ripping with digital fur underneath.

Hemlock Grove (Werewolf Transformation)

(Thanks to our good friend Werefan for the tip!)

Hemlock Grove is a much-hyped horror/thriller TV series produced by Netflix. It'll debut in mid-April, but the a preview clip of one of the main characters turning into a werewolf has already been released. The character is played by Landon Liboiron, who previously played a werewolf in the horribly awful The Howling: Reborn. Did he get a better transformation this time? Watch and see. My comments are below.





The transformation scene in Hemlock Grove was hyped as "something you'd never seen before." Turns out it's just another skin-ripping transformation, but with added gore. Beware of any filmmaker who claims he's reinvented the wheel.

Now, skin-ripping transformations were an interesting novelty way back when The Company of Wolves was released. In that film, men tore off their skin, and the werewolf was formed from their muscle layer; the bedrock of their flesh (as seen here, courtesy of Dutchbull). This worked in the context of the film, because it was dreamlike and surreal. But in a non-surreal film like Van Helsing, skin-ripping transformations just look stupid. Wolves and humans are mammals, and having the wolf somehow develop inside the man, like a butterfly in a cocoon, is too insect-like. (It also makes changing back into a human awkward. The only film to successfully deal with that issue was Romasanta.)

The biggest problem with skin-ripping is that it doesn't give the full sense of a transformation. Instead of seeing a man change into a wolf, you see a wolf burst out of man. Visually, it's a cheat, since the human form isn't seem transforming--it's just shucked off. So, Hemlock Grove has done nothing particularly new or original. Though it's well done, I can't say I like it. Stuff like the eyeballs popping out (another pair were waiting right behind, like shark's teeth?) is gore for gore's sake. But that obviously interests a hack director like Eli Roth more than an actual transformation.

P.S. There are lots of negative comments on youtube as well. However, those who claim that what the character transforms into "isn't a werewolf" are wrong. For hundreds of years European mythology has considered a werewolf any man who turns into a wolf. The two-legged anthromorphic werewolf is a creation of Hollywood. However, I agree with those who dislike the final form because it's an anticlimax--all that gore and shifting, and he just transforms into an ordinary wolf?

"Three Wolves" (Werewolf Transformations)

(Thanks to Mike for the tip!)
Having discussed amateur werewolf animation in our last post, here's an amateur live action example. Three Wolves is a mockumentary interview with three werewolves, each awaiting moonrise. The video is cleverly shot to look like research footage, and the editing is very clever--the jump cuts suggest the look of rough amateur footage and also allow the make-up to change between cuts, creating the illusion of transformation. The make-up has a homemade look, but I find that more charming than slick CGI. Three Wolves originated as a university assignment--if only more dissertations were like this...

Homemade Werewolf Animation (Werewolf Transformations)

Amateur/homemade animation is an area we've slightly neglected on this blog, but we hope to make amends. There are several videos of this type on youtube, and though we won't be able to cover them all in this post, we'll make a start.


I'm slightly cheating with our first example, since it's from a professional animation studio, but I suppose it qualifies as "homemade". Plus, it gives you a useful behind-the-scenes look at its creation:




Ending on a similar amusing note is our second example, which is a genuine amateur effort:





Our third example qualifies as fan-art, since it shows a character from the show Code Lyko turning into a werewolf. This was obviously a hand-drawn labor-of-love, and we salute the artist's attention to detail:


For a look at the fan-art that inspired this video, take a look at this werewolf-themed deviantart folder.



The fourth example is my personal favorite. The artist was obviously inspired by the Oozaru transformation scenes from Dragonball--the nicely masculine metamorphosis is slowly depicted, body part by body part:

Mr. Young (Monster/Growth Transformation)

Mr. Young is a Canadian childrens' sitcom about a 14 year old who teaches high school. In the (Season 3, #4) episode "Mr. Hyde," Mr. Young drinks a potion that turns him into hulking monster. The special effects are bargain-basement, but they have a sort of goofy/stupid charm. Any effort is always appreciated around these parts...

Lobo (Werewolf/Wolfman Transformation)

Someone’s finally done the right thing—they hired a good-looking guy as a werewolf and actually showed him transforming into one!

I’m referring about the first episode of Lobo, an Argentinean telenovela that finished airing a year ago. It’s about a tall, dark, good-looking guy who turn into a real beast-man, thanks to a curse that kicks in when he turns 30. He's played by the already wolfishly handsome Gonzalo Heredia.

However, it should be said that what he transforms into is a wolfman-style werewolf. I know wolfman transformations are not everyone’s favorite, but when done well they can accentuate the idea of humanity gone feral. By keeping a more humanoid face, the wolfman shows humanity at the very brink of slipping away, but not yet fully bestial.  And because the wolfman's face is still humanoid, with features like overgrown sideburns and eyebrows and excess facial hair, it heavily suggests the metaphor of lycanthropy as puberty gone haywire into adulthood. Anyway, enough blabbing from me, here's the clip:




The wolfman in Lobo reminds me of the one in the Tales From the Crypt episode “Werewolf Concerto.” Both monsters partake of the wolfman form, though with their hyper-masculine faces and torn open-shirts they look like more like debauched rockstars than Lon Chaney Jr.  The wolfman in this episode is played by Timothy Dalton, and the transformation is short but features familiar, beloved standbys like claws tearing out of shoes (Lobo throws in two shots of this!) and the beast’s humped back ripping through his shirt. Personally, I'd rather see a younger actor doing the transforming--not that I have anything against Dalton's acting (he was the best James Bond since Sean Connery). He certainly acts with brio in this scene:




Getting back to Lobo… for those curious about behind-the-scenes details, the effects crew was instructed to design a werewolf that “should retain the physiognomic characteristics of the actor.” In the first stage a mold was taken to copy the features of the actor and his teeth. From the resulting sculpture came the werewolf suit, made of latex and imitation leather, with fur added “hair by hair.” Applying the costume and makeup to the actor took two and a half hours (for a video of the process, click here),  The transformation itself was CGI, created with software like Maya and Mudbox. The press materials brag that the effects are on par with those of American TV, and I would agree. Though there should have been some shots of  Heredia’s face shifting, the stretching fingers and ears and growing chest are smooth and lifelike and don't compare badly to the effects in the recent Wolfman remake.

Unfortunately, Lobo never surpassed its first episode, and the show was cancelled after a rather short run (by telenovela standards) of 53 episodes. Perhaps viewers were disappointed by the lack of werewolfishness—the remaining transformations are disappointing and grow progressively shorter, dribbling out after episode 21. They're also partial and repeat effects from the first transformation. I have links to three of the later TFs, but be warned that they're disappointing:

Partial Transformation 01
Partial Transformation 02
Partial Transformation 03

Lastly, here's a bonus scene. It has no TF content but gives a fuller view of the werewolf...and of Mr. Heredia's posterior, for those of you into beefcake...

Spirou et Fantasio (Werewolf Transformation)

Spirou et Fantasio is one of those massively popular European comics that never made it big in America. Spirou, as far as I can tell, is a dude in a bellhop outfit who has all sorts of crazy adventures. In book 52 of the series, La face cachée du Z, he ends up on the moon and is somehow turned into a wolfman (don't ask me, my French is rusty). This page is a badly edited-together panel compilation by yours truly.

Superman-Batman 66-67 (Bat Transformation)

Issues 66 to 67 of Superman-Batman contain a story arc featuring Bizarro, Solomon Grundy, Frankenstein, and Man-Bat. The latter is of course a classic Batman foe. Here he's seen struggling between his man and beast forms--we very much appreciate artist Scot Kolins' eye for detail.

Man-Bat had several memorable appearances in animation as well. He's in the classic first episode of Batman: The Animated Series, and his transformation can be seen here thanks to our friend Dutchbull. He also made several appearances in the later (and inferior) cartoon The Batman. Those TF scenes, also hosted by Dutchbull, are listed below:
01  02  03  04  05

Wolverine Annual '97 (Werewolf Transformation)

Wolverine Annual '97 pits everyone's favorite feisty Canuck against Ilya Dubromovich Skorzorski, code-named VOLK. An ex-KGB assasin, Volk was experimented on and got his DNA fused with that of a wolf. Violence makes him transform, and he gets into a scrap with his old enemy Wolvie.
As the comic progresses, Volk's werewolf form grows progressively more feral, until he permanently turns into an ordinary wolf (which was the battle-weary lycanthrope's goal all along). We commend the fine linework of artist Leonardo Manco for bringing the beast to life.
 Now, since Volk's transformation from human to werewolf to wolf takes place gradually over many pages, I had to cut and combine several panels into composite pages. So story-wise what you're going to see is messy and a bit incoherent because of my edits. However, you're also getting the undiluted TF content, so enjoy!

 



In case you're curious, Wolverine himself has become a werewolf on several occasions. His comic transformation occurred off panel, but he got a decent TF scene in the old X-Men cartoon from the late 90s. Though seen mostly from the back, there's some good clothes and shoe ripping, and his monster-form is an intimidating wolf-hulk.

Batman (Werewolf Transformation)

Here's yet another werewolf comic drawn by a great illustrator. The story is "Moon of the Wolf," from Batman #255. The art is by Neal Adams, the definitive Batman artist of the 70s. In these three (non-continuous) pages, athlete Anthony Lupus gets in touch with his inner beast...

Two decades later, "Moon of the Wolf" was closely adapted into an episode of Batman: The Animated Series...so closely that the three transformation scenes in the cartoon correspond to the comic's. You can compare them by watching the videos hosted by our friend Dutchbull:

01. The reversion scene. 
02. The partial transformation.
03. The full transformation.
 

The only major difference between the cartoon and comic was that Lupus was renamed Romulus.

Which version do you prefer? I vote for the cartoon. Adams's art is fantastic, with its patented mix of realism and dynamism, but his werewolf design is underwhelming--a hairy dude with lynx ears. The cartoon version preserves the original's bulk but adds a genuine wolf snout and a full-on jagged fur coat. In a nice touch, human Romulus sports a unibrow in old werewolf tradition.

Though BTAS was one of the greatest cartoons of the 1990s, "Moon of the Wolf" is regarded as one of its worst episodes. But from a transformation point of view it's fantastic, with some of the most lovingly storyboarded werewolf TFs of its time.

In the reversion scene we get detailed close-ups of Romulus's paws shifting into feet, claws into hands, and even reverse muzzle growth as he gives a last howl to the moon. In the third transformation, we get epic clothes-bursting (though there's a notorious continuity error involving his shirt--or shirts), hands bulging into black-tipped claws, and muzzle-growth wittily timed with a lightning flash. The superimposition of cells that creates the transformation effects recalls the lap-dissolves used in Wolf Man, but animation allows a fuller and wilder transformation than anything in comics or live action.
All in all, a great TF rite of passage for those of us who were impressionable kids back in 1992.

Swamp Thing (Werewolf Transformation)

Continuing our theme of werewolf transformations from old comics by great artists, here's some lycanthropic goodness from Swamp Thing (Vol.1, #4), drawn by Berni Wrightson.

The TF is mostly shown via the face (alas), but the werewolf design is a neat blend of classic wolfman (no muzzle) and bestial modern werewolf (lupine hind legs and ears, hulking upper body). The only demerit goes to the colorist, who has inexplicably made the beast white.
Later tonight I'll have a final entry in our comics series, so keep those yellow eyes peeled!

"House of Mystery," "Creepy," "Menace," "Horror From the Tomb," and "Secrets of Sinister House" (Werewolf Transformations)

This post is our second devoted to werewolf transformations from old horror comics. (The first, dating from 2011, can be read here.) This time around we have art from some of the best illustrators in the field. 

First comes "The Way of the Werewolf," from House of Mystery #231, which features some fine facial transformations by Gerry Talaoc. It can be read here, at Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blogzine.

Next is "Werewolf!," drawn by the great Frank Frazetta. Taken from Creepy #1, read it here at the blog Black 'N' White and Red All Over. The TF is on the last page.

Also hosted by the same blog, and from the same comic (issue 12), is a real gem--"Blood of the Werewolf!" -- with gorgeous art by none other than Steve Ditko. Go here to feast your eyes on Ditko's fine, strapping wolfman.

From Menace #3 comes "Werewolf!", drawn by Bill Everett. It can be seen here, at the blog The Horrors of it All. The TF is on the last page.

Horror From the Tomb #1  features "Werewolf of the Alps," with art by Jon D'Agostino. You can find it here, at the blog Four Color Shadows.

Our last item is "Castle Curse," from Secrets of Sinister House #10, beautifully rendered by the great  Alfred P. Acala, though the only TF action is a face revert on the second-to-last page. See it here, at the blog Lounge of the Severed Head.

A Werewolf Boy (Werewolf Transformation)

A Werewolf Boy is a Korean romantic drama about a girl who befriends a feral orphan boy. On one level, the movie is porn for 14 year old girls, but with sentiment instead of sex. On the other hand, it's filmed and acted with much greater grace and sensitivity than something like Twilight. And Joong-ki Song gives a fine performance as the beastly title character, who is tamed like a dog.

 Anyway, the werewolf boy does in fact turn into a werewolf--or rather a wolfman, and even then he doesn't look have a snout or any especially wolfy attributes. But the transformation is worth excerpting (I quite like the foot-to-paw CGI). I've rather crudely edited it together with a much briefer second TF from later on in the film.

Many thanks to our friend Mike for letting us know of the source material for this clip!

Harey Podder: Say the Magic Word (Rabbit Transformation)

No points on guessing what Harey Podder: Say the Magic Word is a parody of! This is another very funny short by the very talented animator Stodoe.


And once again, we have the treat of looking through still frames of the transformation! Viewable here.

Everyday Hulk (Muscle Growth/Monster Transformation)

Our friend Makaio wrote in to recommend this very funny short film, which definitely deserves a post. It's a homemade, terrifically-rendered animation by a professional animator nicknamed Stodoe. Most of the animation made for the web is either Flash or 3-D, so kudos to someone so talented at creating traditional animation (which is the best kind!).

There's an additional treat in store for guys--still frames from Hulk's transformation! Take a look at them here.

Manzanita Sol (Evolution Transformation)

Manzanita Sol is a fruit-flavored soft drink sold in Spain or Latin America, and this amusing commercial features a fish so desperate for a gulp that he evolves out of his tank and into human form, turning into a half-dozen species along the way. It's bad science, since hardly any of the creatures he evolves into are human  ancestors, but I wouldn't mind seeing more commercials of animals turning into naked men.

Dutchbull updates (and so will I!)

Hello all,

Just a quick note to let you know that I'll be updating the blog with four or five new entries within the next couple of hours, so stay tuned. In the meantime, why not check out the recent update at Dutchbull's site? He's managed to find even more clips from Mission Odyssey, which you might fondly remember from my last update, along with TF scenes from 17 other shows and movies, ranging from Hanuman: The Last Monkey Warrior to We're Back. And stay tuned for his next update, on April 24th.